The Saga of the Infinity Pirates
by CSpacian
Summary: Join Mikoto and the rest of the booming Infinity Pirates as they sail the Grand Line in search of two things: treasure and adventure. Will they become the Third King of the Pirates or will the Grand Line, Shichibukais, and even the mighty Yonkous prove too much for them?
1. Chapter 1 Enter Mikoto

**Chapter 1: Chapter 1 Enter Mikoto**

* * *

First off legal junk: I do not own One Piece. (If I did own One Piece…*wicked grin*…let's not get into that…)

A large bald man was sitting behind a bar glaring down upon am 15 year-old kid. The bald man was wearing a white T-shirt belittled with barbecue and alcohol stains. His jeans had many holes in them that were poorly stitched up. His grey mustache indicated that he was at least 50-something years old. They were both locked in on each other's eyes. The man's brown eyes never left the kid's green eyes, the opposite was also true.

The kid was wearing a black T-shirt with a giant red question mark in the middle of it. His jet-black hair was short, but long enough to just barely cover his ears. His brown pants were clean and free of any stains. He had a cocky surefire smile on his face, it was the face of a man who was confident he would win.

The bald man spoke first, "I walk on four legs in the morning, two in the day, and three at night! What am I?" It was an old riddle.

The kid smiled. "You are a man. You are baby at first so you crawl on all fours, then you are an adult and you walk on two, and finally you are an old man so you walk on two legs and you have a cane! Three legs! Next!"

"Two sons and two fathers goes fishing and they only catch three fish is this enough to feed them all if they all want one fish a piece?" said the man.

"Yup! The two sons are a little kid and his dad. The two fathers are the grandpa and the dad again. The dad's the grandpa's son. So he is both a father and a son!" shouted the kid loudly answering the riddle with a extreme pride.

Men from the tables turned around and looked at the kid. The bald man calmed them down and several of them twisted around returning to their own conversations.

"Listen, Mikoto, I know how excited you can get, but you need to calm down, these riddles aren't that big of a deal," said the bald man.

"What are you talking about!" shouted Mikoto as he stood up and rubbed the old man's head with his knuckles. "Riddles are tough. They require knowledge and expertise among other things. Only thing a pirate needs is a gun or sword and they are set! Besides these pirates aren't worth anything, we are in the East Blue remember? They are all washed-up old sea dogs or wannabes who still don't have their sea legs." Xavier grunted and groaned. He was just asking for trouble.

One of the nearby pirates stood up and walked over to Mikoto. He was wearing a long gray trench coat and brown boots. His had a hook for his left hand. "I hear you are bad mouthing us pirates. Saying we are easy then riddles, eh? Well, guess what kid, I got a sword here that says different!" The pirate pulled out a 4-foot long sword. He was wielding it with his right hand alone, since it was obvious that his left hand was worthless. "Take back what you said about us here pirates, before I carve you up like a turkey!"

Xavier stood up first, "Listen, you don't want to do that! You don't know what you are getting into." He glanced over at Mikoto who just put his glass down on the table. "The kid's a little weird and he possibly suffered from some brain damage, so just go off now, save yourself the trouble. Don't bother him...please. Take the drink in your hand out with you, free of charge!"

"See what I mean, Xavier," said Mikoto as he stood up from his seat and brushed Xavier to the side, "it always comes down to a sword or a gun." He brushed some dirt off of his pants. "I on the other hand fight with a bit more of an original style."

The door blew open as the pirate was blasted through the door. Several pirates rushed outside into the day. All of them screaming. The one pirate that lay on the ground lifted his head up and stared at the emerald eyes of Mikoto. "You ain't normal! You are a monster!" The man's head fell back down onto the ground with a loud thud as he passed out.

Mikoto took a sip of the lemonade Xavier handed to him. "Yeah, tell that to someone who cares!"`

Xavier smiled. "I warned him."

* * *

OC section was removed as it was in violation of rules.

Secondly! I want to point out that A) this is my first story so story-wise, grammar-wise, and especially in terms of writing battles it gets better later on B) I do make a few changes to the One Piece world (like introducing new races and new powers) and finally C) the first few chapters are short, but they become 2000 word chapters pretty fast.


	2. Chapter 2 Setting Sail with Mikoto

"Mikoto," said a tall, young woman as she stepped around the body lying on the ground. She was in a green shirt and a long green skirt. Her long brown hair flowed to her waist. "Not again!" She picked up the body and put it down onto the table. "If you are going to keep acting like this you might as well go off and join the marines!"

"Ah, come on, Melanie, the marines are boring! I'd rather be a pirate then a marine!" shouted Mikoto.

"A pirate? You?" said Melanie. "Your father was a terrible pirate and you'll be even worse!"

"Yeah, I mean after all I sleep in your class everyday what does it matter to you if I run off!" said Mikoto.

"Guys, just cool it okay," said Xavier, "there is no need for you guys to fight like this…"

"Shut up, Xavier," remarked Mikoto, "this is between me and her!"

"Yeah, Xavier," said Melanie. "You know nothing about this brat! Nobody does not ever since his parents died when he was 4 years old!"

"You take that back!" shouted Mikoto. "My parents have nothing to do with this fight or for that matter me!"

"I would normally blame the parents for such a terrible offspring," said Melanie. "But I guess since you don't have any I'll just have to blame you."

"You stop talking about my parents, now or I'll…I'll…" started Mikoto.

"Or you'll what? Hit me? You hit me and you know very well almost everyone in this town will hit you, after all you are the only one who doesn't get that you aren't supposed to hit girls, Miko-chan*," she said. She put extra emphasis and sweetness on the last word. (Miko-chan is a shrine maiden usually with magical powers.)

"Don't call me that!" shouted Mikoto. "Don't call me Miko-chan!"

"Miko-chan, Miko-chan, Miko-chan!" shouted Melanie.

"If you call me Miko-chan once more, I promise you I will run away and become a pirate just to spite you!" shouted Mikoto.

"Like you can be a pirate," stressed Melanie.

"That's it!" said Mikoto. He knocked the pirate on the table off of the table and back onto the ground. He ran out of the door.

"Melanie!" shouted Xavier, "now look at what you have done! He's run away! Every time you two fight, I'm the one who has chase after that kid. He always gets onto a small raft he makes and sails away!"

"Let him drown," said Melanie. Xavier had his arms crossed glaring at her. "He'll just walk back to the shore after he goes out ten feet!"

"He ate the Devil Fruit! He ate the Inu-Inu no mi, Model Coyote: (Mutt-Mutt fruit, Model: Coyote)! The sea will drown him!" shouted Xavier. Melanie looked down at her shoes in despair and embarrassment.

"I…I…I didn't know!" said Melanie. "We have to save him!"

The duo raced down to the beach. Mikoto was already on a small boat sailing out to sea. He had probably already traveled fifteen feet. He shot a smile back to them. "I'm going to be King of the Pirates just to spite you Melanie! Just you watch! I'll make it big!"

Melanie stood at the shore crying. Xavier pulled off his shirt and was about to jump in, but Melanie grabbed him and stopped him. "Don't do it…he wanted to be a pirate ever since he was young. He'll travel the seas, collect riddles, and be back when he is the pirate king. He wants to accomplish his father's dream." She turned to Mikoto. "Yeah, you better! If you don't you'll have to answer to me!"

Mikoto smiled. "What about you Xavier? Have anything to say to the future Pirate King?"

"Yeah! You better come back alive! I'm going to have thousands and thousands of riddles for you and one of them is going to stump you!" shouted Xavier.

Mikoto laughed. "See you then! I swear on my life I will return as the Pirate King, I will get the infamous treasure of the last two Pirate Kings or my name isn't Mikoto D. Azgard!"

* * *

Hey, everyone who read this story, figured I'd add a list of OC's I still got to add to this story.

**THE CREW:**

Captain: Mikoto D. Azgard

Swordsman: Atrum Zesiro (Obscurum of Aquora) (more spots available)

Navigator: Hiro-Shu (Fanfiction AA)

Sniper: Empty

Cook: Bardroy Sage (Chite)

Doctor: Enma (nerazo) (more spots available)

Archaeologist: Empty

Shipwright: Maria (Draco Oblivion)

Musician: Ridley Blackwell (more spots available)

Thief: Empty

Chore Boy: Empty

Helmsman: Empty

Others? (In case I have forgotten anything)

**THE MARINES:**

Fleet Admiral: Filled

Admiral: (One) needed)

Shichibukai: (One empty spot, maybe more depending on how the story goes).

Vice Admiral: (Two needed)

**RIVAL PIRATE CREW:**

All spots needed!

**Other notes:**

Yonkou: (Two needed)

Supernovas (I'm debating about using them, but still feel free to send them in)

CP9 (I am NOT going to be using CP9, sorry)

Any slot not filled up in the time I believe it is required I will fill in personally.


	3. Chapter 3 Mikoto's Debt

" A dog came into the kitchen, and stole a piece of bread, a cook came up from behind him, and beat him till he was dead " sang Mikoto as he sailed in his tiny boat. He tapped his foot for a while trying to think of another song. "Dang it! I should've brought along Xavier. He knows more songs." He calmed down trying to think of another song; the seas were still as quiet as ever.

" There's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen wheels on a big rig " started Mikoto again remembering a stupid song some pirates used to sing in the bar. " Now in Latin! There's I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII wheels on a big rig " Mikoto stretched down onto the boat's seat. "Who thought of that dumb song?"

Another wave brushed into the small boat nearly turning it over. "Okay, okay! I take it back! It's a good song! A really good song! I don't want to drown!" cried Mikoto. He peered over the boat; a small green fish swam gracefully underneath it. Mikoto stared over at the empty space near the middle of the boat. In his haste he forgot to grab food or water rations.

"I got a fishing rod somewhere in this boat," said Mikoto as he rambled through his supplies. He finally pulled out a large glass telescope. He picked it up and looked through it scanning the oceans. He pulled it off of his eye. He looked at it slightly annoyed. "What good are you? There's nothing to see out here, except for sea! And you can't help me catch a fish!" He peered through it again. He scanned the seas again in a desperate attempt to make use of the item; he finally laid eyes on a small island. He put the object down again. Then put it back to his eye in disbelief. Yes, there was an island there! "Land ho!" said Mikoto. He put his oar into the water and started paddling as fast he could to get to dry land.

His boat bumped into the land and he jumped out onto it. He screamed and yipped and hollered hooray! Mikoto sat down on the ground just enjoying being away from the dreaded sea. He quickly spun around and tied his boat to the ground. He ran off towards the town. The first place he headed was for is the café.

He pulled a seat over from a nearby table and sat down in it. He picked up a menu and looked at it. He flipped straight to the seafood section. He skimmed the page trying to find a good meal to eat. His eyes finally settled on the seafood basket and he ordered it from the waiter. The waiter quickly fetched him his food. Mikoto devoured the food in a matter of minutes. He was listening to classical music playing the restaurant almost wishing for silence when the waiter returned with the bill. Mikoto looked at the bill. He stood up in astonishment. He grabbed the waiter by the back of his shoulder.

"1,000 belies!" shouted Mikoto his sharp teeth showing. "What kind of cheapskate restaurant are you running? That meal wasn't worth 1,000 belies! Tell you what I'd give you 400 for it." Mikoto held a finger up to the waiter. "Remember I'm being nice."

"I am sorry, sir, but I do set the price here, you'll have to settle it with the cooks," said the waiter trembling in Mikoto's hand. "They are in the kitchen."

"Cool, everyone is nice to me," said Mikoto he dropped the waiter to the ground and walked into the kitchen. "I am not going to pay 1000 belies for this meal!" Twenty angry cooks glared at him. Several of them had long curved knives in their hand or giant sized spoons. Mikoto's spirits fell. "So, um…I don't have enough money to pay for your great food! So, can I just wash dishes for the day and we can call it even then, right?"

The head chef walked up to him. He was wearing a huge chef's hat. He had a clean shaved face and his brown eyes glared down upon Mikoto. He reached a good 2 meters (6 ½ feet) easily. He had a long curved knife in his hand. "A day? My food is worth 20 days of your life! But if you wash dishes for 10 days and give me your 400 belies, we can call it even. Remember I'm being nice."

"You heard what I said about your food, huh?" said Mikoto, "I'll work for one week, keep my 400 belies, and then we'll call it even!" The chef's flare intensified and when he was about to respond a loud blaring noise overcame the entire kitchen. "What the heck is that noise?" shouted Mikoto struggling to talk over the sound.

"ITS THAT NOISE MAKER RIDLEY! HE ALWAYS DISTURB OUR CLASSICAL MUSIC WITH WHAT HE CALLS HIS REVOLUTIONARY MUSIC," shouted the head chef. "AND WHENEVER WE TRY TO GO OVER THERE TO STOP IT, HE IS OUT OF HIS HOUSE AS SOON AS HE SEES US COMING!"

"TELL YOU WHAT I'LL STOP HIM IF YOU WIPE MY BILL CLEAN," shouted Mikoto over the noise.

"NO WAY YOU OWE US…" started the chef, but he was interrupted by another blast of noise coming from outside. "FINE! FINE! GET HIM TO STOP PLAYING AND MAKE SURE HE DOESN'T PLAY EVER AGAIN!"

"DEAL!" shouted Mikoto as he rushed outside. He covered his ears with his hand it was even louder outside. The noise was now blaring. The citizens were all covering their ears and stuffing as many earplugs into their ears a possible. Mikoto looked around he finally saw a big house with several speakers covering the walls. Mikoto smiled. Not only is he going to get a free meal, but also he is going to beat the crap out of some guy without being yelled at.

A bit longer then my previous chapters. I apologize for the shortness in lengths of the other ones. And for those of you who care for Mikoto, here is his profile.

* * *

Full Name: Mikoto D. Azgard

Aliases (or nicknames): Miko-chan (much to his despair)

Age: 15 (105 in dog years)

Gender: Male

Specialty/Position: The Captain

Race: Human

Devil Fruit/Weapon: Inu-Inu no mi, Model: Coyote

Physical Appearance: Human Form-A man of average height around 5' 10". He has jet-black hair that barely covers his ears. He has emerald green eyes. He often wears a black shirt with a giant red question mark on it. He traded in his brown long pants for simple brown shorts. (He will often comment on how many pockets they have.) He will often go without shoes, however he has black sandals.

Hybrid Form-His body is covered in a grayish fur. His ear are pricked up. His fingers and toes and adorned with claws.

History: His mother and father died while he at the age of 4. Ever since then his teacher, Melanie, had been taking care of him. He also hung out a lot with Xavier. They have quickly become best friends and Xavier is the only person who knows that he ate the Devil Fruit.

Family: Both of his parents died before they had the chance to have another kid. His father however was a pirate. (A terrible one, he never even had a bounty.)

Personality: Is a goof-off, he likes noise and will make noise if there is no noise. He sadly has a bit of a fear of heights (this includes being one foot off of the ground.) He enjoys riddles and will often try to trade valuable things away in exchange for a good riddle. He actually has a book in which he writes down all of the good riddles. He will also say 'Remember I am being nice,' when he is actually being mean to people.

Likes: Riddles (to a point of obsession), noise, and his favorite food is seafood.

Dislikes: Heights, quiet, fighting for no reasons (or a dumb reason)

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): To become King of the Pirates and to compose the best riddle book ever!

Other: When stating his age he will often say 105 first.


	4. Chapter 4 'Noise Maker' Ridley Appears

Mikoto rushed to the door. His hand grasped the door and ripped it open. Inside was one teenager in the middle of it. He was dressed in jeans and an all white T-shirt. He had two big speakers strapped to his shoulders. He had a large green Mohawk. He had headphones strapped over his head. His back was currently turned to Mikoto so he couldn't make out his face.

"HEY," shouted Mikoto trying to yell over the blaring music. The teenager didn't turn around to see him. "HEY!" shouted Mikoto even louder. The teenager still stood there strumming his guitar ignoring Mikoto. Mikoto walked up to the guy he pulled the headphones off of his left ear. "HEEEYYYY!" shouted Mikoto as loud as he could into the man's ear.

The teenager jumped backwards and stopped playing his guitar. He looked the Mikoto up and down. "Yo, the name is Ridley and who do I owe this intrusion to?"

"The name is Mikoto," said Mikoto. "I hate to silence your music, but…" Ridley held up a hand for silence.

"This is not simply music," said Ridley. "This," started Ridley playing another music note, "is art! And you will not silence it! If you silence me you will be taking the paintbrush away from artist's everywhere!" He started adjusting the speakers on his shoulders and turning them up.

"Geez, I don't know what to do…I mean I don't want to rob people of their art, but…WAIT! What the heck am I doing?" said Mikoto. "I'm not going to be fooled by you."

"You are not going to silence my sound, for if we fight you are going down," said Ridley. "You better be ready for my music and me, for if you are not you might want to flee."

Mikoto was silent for a moment. "Fine…but these are my conditions if I win not only do you got to stop playing, but…" Mikoto thought for a second before his face lit up, "you also got to join my pirate crew as my musician!"

"I accept your condition, but beware I am no ordinary musician," said Ridley. He started playing his guitar quietly at first, but he started making it louder and louder to the point where Mikoto was forced to cover his ears with his hands.

Mikoto glared at Ridley. His body soon shifted into his hybrid form. His body was covered in black fur similar to his hair. His ears sharpened to a point. His hands gained sharp talons. A long skinny hairy tail fell in between Mikoto's legs.

"Going to tell me how you came to look like that, or am I going to have to force you to scat!" said Ridley again.

"I ate the Inu-Inu no mi, Model: Coyote," said Mikoto. He held his claws, "These puppies aren't just for show."

"Whoo-hoo, a tail and claws is what you got, well guess what I've got guts!" said Ridley. He strummed another wave of noise out at his opponent. Mikoto plugged his ears with his hands. He growled at Ridley.

"_Damn," _thought Mikoto. _"I forgot about how sensitive my ears are when I am in this form." _Mikoto glanced around the room. _"Where's something I can throw at him?" _He saw a small wooden chair to his left.

Ridley continued playing his musical note. Mikoto picked up the nearby chair and tossed it towards Ridley. The chair tumbled towards Ridley's left side missing him by a long shot. Ridley stopped playing. "Hey, that's my chair!" Mikoto took this opportunity and rushed Ridley, his claws gleaming. Mikoto slashed at Ridley. Ridley jumped back. Mikoto continued his onslaught off slashes at Ridley.

"**Wolf Cutter!"** shouted Mikoto. He brought his left hand up from the ground and into Ridley chin. Small drops of blood fell onto the ground. Mikoto brought his other leg up and into Ridley's side. Ridley crumpled to the floor briefly before getting back up.

"Time to break the sound barrier! Time to call in a burier!" shouted Ridley. Instead of increasing his volume like usual he jumped straight to the loudest level of noise he had. Mikoto fell straight to the ground.

"All things vibrate at their own matters, increasing my vibrations causes things to shatter!" shouted Ridley. Mikoto fell to the ground. He tried to struggle to his feet but couldn't. The noise was making him falter. Despite his being thoroughly beaten his ambition was urging him on. This musician was going to join his crew! Mikoto managed to get back up onto his feet. Ignoring the pounding pain in Mikoto's ear rushed at him once more his mouth agape. When Mikoto got close enough he bit down into Ridley arm. Ridley screamed out in pain. "Let go of my arm you, beast! I am not a human feast!" Ridley slammed his fist into Mikoto's head. Mikoto let go of Ridley's arm. Mikoto's toothy grin shown.

"**Leg Whip!" **shouted Mikoto. Ridley looked at Mikoto's unmoving body. Mikoto moved at high speeds he brought his left leg sweeping across Ridley's feet. Next thing Ridley knew he fell onto the ground. Mikoto sprang on top of him. His tail swaying behind him side to side. Mikoto was pinning Ridley to the ground. Drool overcoming Mikoto's front teeth. Some of the drool started dangling in front of his mouth.

"Fine, fine you win," said Ridley. Mikoto sucked the drool back up into his mouth and smiled his toothy smile. Ridley looked up at Mikoto. Mikoto remained in his position. "GET OFF ME, YOU MUTT!"

Mikoto chuckled embarrassed and climbed off standing on his hind legs. His body slowly reverted back to its original human form. Ridley stared at the kid in disbelief. Mikoto stuck out a hand to help Ridley up. Ridley ignored the hand and stood up on his own. "So, a pirate crew, huh? Who else is in it? We got a navigator, yet?"

"The crew now consists of me, you, and…well, that's it," said Mikoto. "Well, I should probably go to the restaurant and tell them I stopped you from playing."

"Wait," said Ridley running in between Mikoto and the door. "I just joined a pirate crew with just one person! That's not a crew! That's a person!"

"Saying I want you to join my 'person' sounds weird though," said Mikoto. He struggled to get past Ridley and out the door. Ridley held strong trying not to let Mikoto through. "Come on, if I don't go down to the restaurant and tell them I made you stop playing, I'll owe them 10 days of work and my 400 belies!"

"You only have 400 belies!" shouted Ridley. "Great, I just joined the smallest and poorest pirate crew in the world!"

"As long as you have joined you can say anything you want about us," said Mikoto. With one final push he broke through Ridley's one-person barrier. Mikoto rushed down the road back to the restaurant. Ridley let out a deep sigh. He might as well sign his will now; he isn't going to be alive very much longer with this captain.

* * *

Ridley will hopefully be the very last nakama of my design…as I have gotten very wonderful ideas from my reviewers. Thanks all!

To top off the end of this chapter enjoy getting to know Ridley a little bit better. I will still accept other musicians, as he is a bit different from ordinary ones.

Full Name: Ridley

Aliases (or nicknames): 'Noise Maker' Ridley

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Specialty/Position: Musician

Race: Human

Devil Fruit/Weapon: A guitar and two speakers strapped to his shoulders. The speakers increase the noise he creates to monumental sizes. It is often used to annoy people.

Physical Appearance: He often wears jeans and black shoes. His shirt is ever changing but it is usually a solid color. And despite his punk rocker attitude he has NO piercing. He has a green Mohawk. (Note: Green is not actually his real hair color he dyes it that color.) He has brown eyes. He is often seen with his guitar strapped to his back and one speaker tied to each of his shoulders.

History: He has been living by himself for years and has been causing a ruckus for all of the island's inhabitants with annoyingly loud music. As such not many people living on the island like him. His parents are not dead but he is an orphan they abandoned him when he was a little over 12.

Family: Two parents that abandoned him when he was young.

Personality: He enjoys loud music and similar to Mikoto he can't stand silence. He has an odd dislike for piercing. He is also a very kind person when he isn't acting out and he will help out many people in need even if they don't like him. He is also a claustrophobic.

Likes: Noise, loud music, and open spaces.

Dislikes: Small spaces and piercing

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): To have his music played all around the world.

Other: Will often challenge Mikoto to a ridiculous contest to see who will be the captain.


	5. Chapter 5 Ridley and Mikoto

Ridley's and Mikoto's First Island

"Soooooo, Ridley, know any good sing-a-longs?" inquired Mikoto. Ridley looked up from his silent guitar strumming to look at Mikoto. His amplifiers lay across from him on the other end of the boat.

The two of them were sailing in a little boat with enough food to last them the rest of the way to the next island. "Music is made to be heard," pronounced Ridley. "All good songs have no words to them for then people listen to the music not the words. It is want makes all songs universal!"

Mikoto looked at Ridley for a second, with a serious look on his face. "Okay, so no sing-a-longs…I can deal with that…how about riddles?" Ridley slammed his head into the palms of his hands. He started muttering something along the lines of 'why me?'

Mikoto interrupted his pains with a sudden shout. Ridley looked up. "Land ho! Land ho!"

They soon docked their ship into a local harbor. Mikoto jumped out. Ridley was a bit more calm and walked out steadily. The town stretched out in front of them. Several buildings were gigantic and stretched out. Mikoto glanced from side to side trying to find the best place to go first. Mikoto started to run away, but was held on firmly by Ridley's hand.

"Listen, Mikoto, first off we need to see about getting a navigator," said Ridley. He glanced back at the little boat behind them, "possibly a bigger boat while he are at it."

"Nope," said Mikoto firmly. Ridley looked at Mikoto. "A cook comes first! We need good food if we plan to sail the seas."

"Yeah, but we need a navigator to be able to sail the seas, so a navigator comes first!" shouted Ridley.

"COOK!" screamed Mikoto back.

"NAVIGATOR!" shouted back Ridley.

"COOK!" "NAVIGATOR!" "COOK!" "NAVIGATOR!" "CCCCOOOOOKKKKKK!"

A devilish grin appeared on Ridley's face. "How about this? If a navigator joins the crew first, you relinquish your title as captain to me and become the chore boy…"

Mikoto thought for a second. "And if I win?"

"Then…" Ridley looked franticly about the boat. He stopped when he saw his guitar. "Then I will learn some sing-a-longs just for you."

"Deal," shouted Mikoto. "You better get a sing-a-long book ready for me!" Mikoto rushed off into the distance in order to find a cook.

"I really did get stuck with a fool for a captain…he is willing to give his position up just for me to learn some songs." Ridley shook his head. He noticed Mikoto getting father and farther away. Ridley rushed after him.

"Aaah," screamed Mikoto as he tripped over something. He looked behind him. A man wearing huge work boots and baggy jeans. The man's flannel shirt had thousands of dirt specks on it. His face was hidden due to his cap. He was holding some packets of seeds in his hands. Mikoto reached down a helpful hand to pull the man up. "I am so sorry, man, I had no idea you were down there. I didn't see you. If there is anyway at all I can make it up to you, let me know." Mikoto shuffled around in his pockets. He pulled out some dust, some sheets of paper, and a pencil. He shrugged it off. "I would give you money, dude, but I am broke." He looked around the place. He saw a bar a few more steps away. "I got some business I need to go do, but…" he saw the bathrooms. "Hey there are some bathrooms! Why don't you go cleaned up in the boy's bathroom and you can meet me over at the bar and we can discuss how I can make you feel better." Mikoto rushed to the bar leaving the man standing there.

Mikoto broke into the bar and ran up to the barman. "Excuse me, sir, do you know if they are any good cooks around here?"

The bartender looked at him. Another kid. "Sorry, sonny, but it will cost you."

"Can I pay you in dust? I got no other currency on me right now," said Mikoto.

The bartender laughed. "This is a bar! Either pay or leave! Or you can pay and leave, I don't care as long I get money!"

"Oh, come on!" shouted Mikoto. "Just give it to me for free!"

"I only give free things away to women!" shouted the bartender. "And you are not a woman!"

"Fine, I didn't want to have to do this, but you left me with no choice!" shouted Mikoto. He turned around and faced the opposite way of the bartender. His body shrunk into a small dog-like form. "PUPPY DOG EYES!" Mikoto swung around on the stool. Both of his normally perky ears were laid flat on his head. His two green eyes shimmered with genuine sadness. His bottom lip formed the smallest of a pout. Even his rugged and jagged fur seemed more calming.

Bartender didn't even put up a struggle. He couldn't look away and he couldn't say 'no' while staring at a face like that. How could anyone? The man slammed his face onto the table. "There's Drury, Jacob, Gwen, Bardroy, Stefani, Washi, Ming…" the man continued to spout random names for the next few minutes.

"Okay, how many of them are interested in joining a pirate crew?" asked Mikoto.

The bartender looked bewildered at the small dog sitting on his barstool. "A pirate crew? You are the captain of the Pirate crew? Which one?"

"Me and my musician don't have a name yet," said Mikoto. "But we'll probably go with something cool like…Wolf Fang Pirates or Musical Hound Pirates, something like that. OR maybe even the Riddle Pirates!" Mikoto took out a piece of paper and wrote 'Riddle Pirates' down in a very sloppy handwriting.

"Well, Drury's way too old to go on an adventure like that," said the bartender. "Jacob's afraid of the sea. Gwen hates pirates, and Ming is well Ming is Ming. So that leaves you with the other ones named."

"Cool," said Mikoto. "So many to choose from…" He counted them all on his hands. That's nine!" Mikoto returned to his human form.

"Wait, I named at least 16 cooks!" said the bartender. "What happened to the other ones?"

"Washi is a stupid name," said Mikoto. "What is it Portuguese or Russian?"

"You can't judge a character's attitude by his name!" shouted the bartender. Ridley walked into the bar. "Like that guy with the green Mohawk…you can't judge a book by its cover either. He looks stupid, but I bet that he is a genuinely nice guy."

"No, he's a fool," said Mikoto.

"Really, why?" asked the bartender.

"He's my musician and we have a bet," said Mikoto. "I bet him that a cook is more important then a navigator while out at seas. And that I can recruit a cook faster then he can recruit a navigator."

The bartender just started to realize the depths of Mikoto's ignorance to the world. "What did you two bet? Who'd wash the dishes?" The man laughed.

"Nah, that's stupid! If he wins he becomes the captain and if I win he's got to learn some sing-a-longs!" shouted Mikoto. Ridley sat down and nodded at Mikoto and the bartender. He had a big smile on his face upon seeing that Mikoto had failed to recruit a cook, yet.

The bartender ignored Mikoto's last sentence. He sighed. Then a young lady entered the bar. Her blue eyes scanned the bar real quick. She then started to quicken her pace to the bartender and Mikoto. Her black hair flowing behind her. Hints of blue developed in it with every step. She was wearing a short skirt barely covering up to her knees and an orange shirt. Her sandals made little noise on the hard wood floor.

She stopped behind Mikoto. Her face red with anger. Mikoto looked up at her a big goofy smile covered his face. "I'm sorry is this your seat. Give me a second, I'll get up…" before the last word left his lips the girl's open palm made contact with his cheek making the loudest slapping sound ever heard.

Mikoto was on the floor in an instant. Ridley over him checking the swollen red cheek he now possessed. Mikoto managed to pick himself up into a sitting position. He looked at the girl. "Why did you hit me?"

"'Let's discuss how I can make you feel better.' Remember those words?" asked the girl.

"Oh, the man I tripped over earlier today! Was he your boyfriend?" asked Mikoto. The girl leaned in and delivered another powerful slap to his other cheek. "What? Your brother?" Another slap rammed into his face. "Why do you keep hitting me?"

"That man was me!" shouted the girl. Mikoto looked stunned. He was slapped again, this time by Ridley.

"Why did you hit me?" asked Mikoto.

"For mistaking this lady as a guy!" shouted Ridley. "Do you know how many nights she will toss and turn remembering you?" The girl slapped Ridley across the face. "Why me?"

"I can slap this fool myself!" said the girl.

The bartender jumped over the bar and grabbed the girl by the hands. "Listen, Bardroy, I know what they did to you couldn't have been worse, but trust me in your work clothes you do resemble a guy." The bartender was sent to the floor by another slap from the girl.

"Bardroy?" said Mikoto out loud. The girl looked at him.

"Yeah, that's my name. Why do you care?" said the girl.

Mikoto's eyes lit up. "Will you join my pirate crew? Please, I really need a cook!"

"What? First I beat you up and then you ask me to join your crew? Are you ill?" asked Bardroy. She was a little taken back by the request.

"Yeah, he's something along the line of mentally ill," said Ridley. He had a worried look on his face. "You should definitely not join up with our crew. At least till, you know, we at least get a navigator. Yeah, we don't even have a navigator how is it going to feel to be marooned on a small little ship with two guys for…a year maybe even more! We might be forced to eat if we are not fed."

"If that happens, we'll just eat Ridley first," said Mikoto "actually you might be able to make him taste good. I think he'll taste good with ketchup." Ridley jumped back a few feet staying away form Mikoto.

"I'm sorry," said Bardroy. She was staring away from Mikoto avoiding eye contact. "I can't…I just can't join up with you and your…one man crew." Bardroy ran out of the bar.

"Don't ever ask her that again," said the bartender. "She has a reason for not wanting to join up with you pirates…it all started long ago…" the bartender was interrupted by Ridley.

"I'm sorry to tell you this mate, but Mikoto left," said Ridley. It was true. The little half-dog, half-man ran out after Bardroy. "But, hey, I am about to lose our bet, anyways, so I'll hear your story."

Next Chapter:

Bardroy's Past


	6. Chapter 6 Bardroy's Past

A foreword to this chapter. This is probably one of the easiest chapters I have ever written. Mainly because I barely wrote any of it (Most of it was already in Bardroy's history). By the way I forgot to mention this last time, but Bardroy is the magnificent character created by Chite (I apologize Chite, please forgive me!)

* * *

So, the story of Bardroy began.

~Flashback~

The villagers ran scurrying back and forth; the famous botanist Mrs. Sage was furthering her research into the planting, harvesting, and creations of Devil Fruits, soon there might actually be a Devil Fruit tree because of their own prestigious botanist on this very island and she is coming down the street now!

The many villagers bowed to her and her daughter as she walked by. The woman was tall, she was wearing a green sundress. Her light black hair flowed freely behind her. Her face was nice and soft with a slight smile over it. She waved hello to everyone who walked by.

The little girl was also in a green dress. Hers was a bit more child-like covered in several small white flower imprints. She wore a bigger smile then her mother's and was waving overly energetic to everyone she saw.

One man (the bartender), approached them, "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Sage, and little Bardroy!" He hugged the little girl and shook the mom's hand.

"You, too, Steven," said the mother. "I'm just coming into town to pick up some more tools for my research. Then its back off to my greenhouse."

"Oh, come on, Mrs. Sage," said Steven. "We hardly see you much anymore, the least you can do is tell us about your research. It has been…at least three weeks before we heard anything about your Devil Fruit growth simulation."

"And it will be another three weeks if you keep pestering me about it," said Mrs. Sage. She slapped his hand away. The villagers all groaned simultaneously and re-entered their houses.

Steven remained outside. "Well, at least let me look over Bardroy for the day! She has such a happy smile!" Bardroy's smile increased in size.

"Oh no, no, no, the last time I let her stay with you, she picked up so many foul words, I had to scrub them out of her mouth with soap and water," said Mrs. Sage. Bardroy's smile disappeared and she stared at the ground.

"I guess that's okay, you are only looking out for," said Steven. Something hit him at that moment. "There is a new pirate gang going around, called the 'West Devils', you might want to watch out for them."

"Ooh, a new pirate crew," said Mrs. Sage, "Ever since the last pirate king's death, they certainly have been an increase in them. Then again for the One Piece why wouldn't there be?"

"That's true," said Steven. "I'd pay half my entire stock just to look at it. The mountains of gold, piles of rubies, stashes of silver. Man, it must be worth at least three fortunes!"

"Yeah, it must be," said Mrs. Sage, "As long as there is treasure there will be pirates." Mrs. Sage waved good-bye to Steven and continued walking away.

Bardroy finally spoke, her voice sweet, "Mommy, why are you always so interested in pirates?"

"Bardroy, there is something about pirates, almost all of them, the fact that simple ambition can drive them on. The fact that despite all of things the 'Marines' try to do, they still pursue their dreams. Even when faced with the odds that they are often faced with, even when people spit at them and treat them horribly, EVEN when they are on their deathbed, they can still laugh whole-heartedly knowing that they chased their dreams to the fullest," said Mrs. Sage.

"Mom, are you a pirate?" asked Bardroy.

"Me? No…I am not a pirate," she answered. "But I do know some very famous pirates."

"Like who?" asked Bardroy.

"Aren't we full of plenty of questions," laughed Mrs. Sage. "I suppose it doesn't really matter who they are, as long as they can sit down and laugh about their journeys at the end."

"Okay, mommy," said Bardroy. With that the two women returned home.

~The next day~

A gunshot awoke Bardroy. She rushed down to the laboratory where her mother was working. Her mother was working on the Devil Fruit. She didn't even hear the gunshots outside. Bardroy quickly snapped her out of it.

"Mom, mom, I hear gunshots," said Bardroy, "did pirates finally come to this island?"

"No, no, dear," said Mrs. Sage, "we are too close to the navy base, only dumb pirates would come here."

Another loud gunshot took off into the sky. Mrs. Sage muttered something under her breath. She grabbed the two Devil Fruits she was keeping to study and gave one to Bardroy. She looked worried, "If I tell you to eat this thing and run, okay?"

Bardroy nodded. The two women walked up to the above ground level and walked into the greenhouse. A group of 10 men walked in. They were all wearing striped shirts and black pants. Many of them had a suspicious grin on their faces.

"See, I told you the old man was lying," said one of the pirates.

"Even after our captain really beat him up," said a second one.

"I had to he didn't tell me anything," said another one. He stood taller then the rest of them. He glared angrily from person to person. He stopped and stared at the woman. He saw the fruits she had in her hand. "Devil Fruits?" He was intrigued and walked up to her. "Give me that fruit or I hurt the girl," said the pirate. He looked at the girl and noticed a similar fruit in her hand. "Correction, give me both of the fruits."

"Meanie!" shouted Bardroy. He tongue sticking out at him. "You aren't a pirate! Pirates are supposed to be nice!"

The pirate captain looked angry now. "I am Pirate Captain, Oz! I am named after one of the deadliest warriors ever! I have a 5 million belie bounty, and you call me a fake pirate!" He chuckled. "New deal…give me the two fruits and you go away with no harm done, but the girl dies."

Bardroy looked scared. Mrs. Sage's earlier look of worry wore off. It was instead replaced with a look of pure rage. "Remember what I told you downstairs?" Bardroy nodded. "Do it."

Bardroy chucked the entire fruit into her mouth and ran off. The pirates turned around. But Mrs. Sage stopped them. She picked up her Devil Fruit and ate, too. A wicked smile crossed her face. "Leave my little girl alone!"

Bardroy was out of the building and safe. She kept running, only until she could no longer hear the overlapping fighting did she turn around. The greenhouse was still in view. She smiled, her mother wasn't going down without a fight. The fruit she gave her was horrible tasting, but she could deal. Her and her mother would be reunited soon. The next thing she saw was a horrible sight. The greenhouse collapsed. It buried all of its contents, the pirates, her mother, her mother's research, all of it.

A few weeks passed since the destruction of the greenhouse. Steven and the rest of the islanders lead a search party. 11 bodies were found. One of them was the body of Mrs. Sage.

-Back to the modern time-

"Come on, Bardroy!" shouted Mikoto. He was still chasing after the girl. She was at a complete halt a couple of feet in front of him. He smiled. "Thanks for waiting. So, about joining my crew?" Mikoto looked up ahead of him.

A man stood in the pathway. He was wearing a striped shirt and black pants. Both of these articles of clothing had been ripped to shreds. His face was swollen and red. Other parts of his body had long and deep scars in it.

"Hello there, little girl," said the man. "Do you remember me? I hope so, because I, Pirate Captain, Oz, remember you!"

* * *

As done with all of my main characters done so far, and hopefully with all of the future important characters here is Bardroy's profile. (For those of you who are too lazy to go look it up.) (Expect the next chapter soon)

Full Name: Bardroy (pronounced Bard-wah) Sage

Aliases (or nicknames): The Plant Sage (It's a pun! Sage is her name, but the noun "Sage" means both "a person famed for wisdom", and is the name of an herb used as seasoning! Get it? *shot*)

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Specialty/Position: Cook/Botanist

Race: Human

Devil Fruit/Weapon: Osu-Osu no Mi (Press-Press Fruit), it allows her limited control of the air pressure around her--she can only control the air pressure up to about fifteen feet away from her in any direction, but when someone is within that range, watch out! She can do things such as giving someone Decompression Sickness all the way to simply popping peoples' heads with the air pressure, though she doesn't resort to that unless you make her REALLY angry...

Physical Appearance: She's about 5'2", has sea-blue eyes, and black hair with a blue-ish tint to it in the sun that is just long enough to brush her shoulders. When she's working with her plants, she wears baggy jeans, heavy work boots, a large long-sleeved flannel shirt, and a cap that both shields her eyes from the sun and keeps her hair relatively clean, because she tucks her hair up into it. Because of this it is possible to mistake her for a boy. However, when she is cooking or doing anything else, she likes wearing girly clothes like Nami and Robin (skirts, dresses, sandals, etc.) to enforce her I'm-Just-An-Innocent-Little-Girl-Who's-Not-A-Threat image.

History: (Seriously, read the chapter!)

Family: Father is unknown, mother is dead.

Personality: She's generally a calm, peaceful girl, but she has something called Seasonal Affective Disorder, which causes mood changes with the seasons. She will be interesting company when the crew begins sailing to seasonal islands in the Grand Line! In the Spring, when the plants are just sprouting again, she is overly happy, optimistic, and generous. In the Winter, however, when all the plants are hibernating or dead, she tends to be gloomy, pessimistic, and immature. Summer and Fall don't cause much of a change in her mood, because there are no major changes to the plant cycle and she really only hates freezing weather, not the mild cold in the Fall. She is desperately afraid of fire and... *shudder* LEECHES. She is, ironically enough, very book-smart, but she's not very street-smart, and is often easily tricked into buying things by those darned convincing infomercial people in stores.

Likes: Plants, the sun, cooking, gardening, making others smile, reading, sleeping, and the rain

Dislikes: Fire, leeches, people who touch her plants, death of children or parents, cold weather, when people mistake her for a boy when she's in her work clothes

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): Sage's goal is to find the Tree of Life/Tree of Knowledge to find out how to grow Devil's Fruit (fulfilling her mother's dream) and to ask the tree what the meaning of life is (Sage's dream).

Other: When someone does make her mad enough to pop their head, she says something like, "POP goes the weasel...",


	7. Chapter 7 Sage's Future

By far my longest chapter, yet.

* * *

Bardroy was quivering where she stood. Mikoto glanced from her to Oz and back to her again. "Who is ugly guy?"

Bardroy remained speechless her lips couldn't quite form any words. Her mind kept wandering back to the days with her mother. The man stood there shaking his head.

"First off I am not ugly, I am trapped in this infernal body, because of her mother!" shouted Oz. "Her mother brought down the greenhouse on top of both me and my pirate crew. But sadly she couldn't save herself." He held the blade up to his face. "She couldn't even save her own little girl apparently."

Tears dropped around Bardroy's face. Her mind was caught up in the past, she didn't even notice the overly damaged man take a few more steps forward.

"I've been waiting for years for my wounds to heal where I can find my ship, gather a new crew, and set sail again, regaining my 12 million belie bounty," said Oz. "But now that I see you, it reminds me of the look your mother had on her face. A face of rage and a face of love! It irritated me!" He held his sword above his head. "DIE!" He charged at Bardroy.

The sword cut skin. Bardroy's eyes opened. Blood dripped in front of her face. But she wasn't injured at all. She looked around her and Mikoto was in front of her in his half-coyote form. His hand gripped the blade. The blade had cut into it.

"12 million belies? I guess the bar has definitely dropped since the death of the last Pirate King," said Mikoto. He drove his claw into the man. The man collapsed to the ground. "I would only give you a 50 belies bounty." Mikoto turned around and faced Bardroy. "There. I paid you back for my mistake earlier. I hope you don't mind, but I didn't kill him. I'm a Peace Maine, I don't like…" Blood spilled from Mikoto's side.

Oz was back up on his feet, his sword driven into Mikoto's side. "I had a building collapse on me, I am not going to die from a simply flesh wound!"

"That was a cheap shot," said Mikoto. Mikoto turned around to face him. "I let you live, you should be grateful. Tell you what leave now and never return to this village, and I promise I won't hurt you further. Remember I am being nice!" Oz drove his sword into Mikoto's stomach. An evil look across his face. He pulled it out.

Oz looked at Bardroy. "Just stay there, I'll kill you after I kill him." He took a step forward and quickly lost his balance. "What, the? Suddenly *gulp* I don't feel so well," said Oz.

"Its called Decompression Sickness, it can present itself in several ways," said Bardroy. "I can inflict it on people due to my Osu-Osu no mi (Press-Press Fruit.) But that's not the only thing I can do." She looked Mikoto. "Watch, I promise you I won't let him kill you."

"Best promise of the century," said Mikoto.

"Pop goes the weasel!" shouted Bardroy with a smile on her face. Oz screamed out in pain. He looked down at hid hand. His pinky finger had exploded. "By controlling the air pressure I can cause certain things to explode. I could've jumped straight to your head, but I wanted to give you the chance to retreat and run away. Are you going to accept it?" She smiled. "Remember I am being nice."

Oz brought his sword around to his side. The cold metal against his face. "I've waited years to be able to get that Devil Fruit! And now I will kill the girl who ruined my dreams!" Oz charged at Bardroy. His sword swinging wildly in the air.

Bardroy froze for a second, but then, as she grimaced, blood gushed over Oz's body. Oz stumbled to the ground his head was still in tact, but his left arm was completely destroyed. He looked at her. He stayed on the ground. He didn't even make the slightest attempt to get up. He couldn't. His arm was blown off, his pinky finger was destroyed, as much as he wanted revenge, he wanted his life more.

"Thanks, Bardroy," said Mikoto standing back up. His chest still bleeding. He didn't seem very fazed by it.

"My friends call me, Sage," said Bardroy with a smile.

"Fine, Sage," said Mikoto. He looked down at his chest. "Do you know any places where I can get a really big bandage?"

"Steven can probably fix you up," said Sage.

"Back to town we go," said Mikoto. Mikoto started running off towards town. Sage stood there for a while in complete awe of the man running while bleeding due to a sword wound with a very dangerous pirate. Insane…

(--)

Mikoto threw some more rations into the boat. He sighed. He hadn't heard anything from Sage since yesterday after she dropped him off with Steven. He kicked the stones around his feet. He couldn't stay here any longer. He had just learned of the Marine Base a few miles off of the coast. He had to head out soon or else he would already have a run in with the Marines. Mikoto jumped into the boat. He was about to cut the rope when Ridley spoke.

"Aren't we going to wait for Bardroy?" said Ridley. "Isn't she our third crew member?"

Mikoto looked up the road. "She prefers Sage." Mikoto struggled to find a person. "I don't see her coming and if we aren't out of this place before the Marines show up we aren't off to a good start as pirates."

Ridley tapped his foot. "So, our bet is still on then, huh?" asked Ridley. Mikoto nodded. "Just you wait the next pirate we recruit is going to be a navigator." Mikoto remained silent. "Or maybe another cook."

"What? You mean I'm getting replaced," said Sage as she came into view. Mikoto stood up, smiling. She was holding multiple bags of her stuff. She saw the tiny boat and reeled back. "That's your ship. A boat?"

Mikoto looked at it. "Yeah, it is kind of small! Do you have better ship?"

"Actually I do," said Sage. She turned around and started walking back to town. Mikoto shrugged and followed her, Ridley got up and followed her as well.

They soon neared a huge ship. A pirate ship. The masts stretched several meters into the air. The helm was nicely taken care. The ship had several plants growing out of it due to the fact that it hadn't been used in several years. The boat also already had another pirate flag on it. The flag of Pirate Captain Oz.

"Its someone else's pirate ship," said Ridley. "We can't just take it."

"We are pirates!" shouted Mikoto. "If we don't steal this ship, can we really call ourselves pirates." Sage nodded.

"Besides the person who had this ship is long gone," said Sage. "Its been mine for over several years. I've been growing plants on the outside. It should be a pretty easy pirate ship to manage. The only thing we need to do is put your stuff onto this ship."

"I'll go get it," said Mikoto. "You two can start cutting down the ivy on it."

"Yes, Captain!" said Sage. Ridley mouthed it.

"Oh, and Ridley," said Mikoto. Ridley looked up. "I expect five sing-a-longs before tomorrow morning!" Ridley's head fell.

~A couple of weeks afterwards~

"Mikoto, why did you have to bring that boat? She told you to grab your things," said Ridley, "Not your boat!"

"The boat is mine!" said Mikoto. "It's been mine since I left my hometown. And I'm not leaving it behind."

"Then let me throw it overboard," said Ridley, chuckling.

"You can't throw my ship overboard!" said Mikoto. "It's a part of me!"

"Fine, I'll throw you over then," said Ridley.

"Good luck trying!" said Mikoto. "I already beat your butt once!"

Ridley looked annoyed. "Fine, since I know I can't talk you out of your ideas. How about the name for this ragtag group of pirates."

"Wolf Gang Pirates!" shouted Mikoto.

"No, no, no, how about something more rocking," said Ridley, he played a few notes on his guitar trying to think. "I know, the Harmony Pirates!"

"NO! Something that strikes fear into people's hearts…like the Mikoto Pirates," said Mikoto.

"MIKOTO! If it is named after anyone it should be named after me, The Ridley Pirates!" said Ridley.

"Ridley? That's a dumb name," said Mikoto.

"Its my name!" shouted Ridley.

"That's why its dumb," shouted Mikoto back.

"Take it back," shouted Ridley throwing dirt from Sage's flowerbed at him.

"NEVER! Ridley is a dumb name, Ridley is a dumb name " sung Mikoto. More dirt was thrown at him. A big lump of black mud finally slugged Mikoto into the ground. He quickly sat up and glared at Ridley, who was laughing. A book flew from the helm slamming into the side of Ridley's face. The book fell to the ground. Ridley looked up at the helm. Sage was standing there glaring at him.

"Keep it down would you, its hard to keep track of the sea and the compass without you guys yammering!" shouted Sage. She looked down at the two. "Next person that shouts is getting their head popped off!" She turned around and walked back to the helm.

Mikoto picked up the book and looked at it. "Hey, Ridley," he whispered. Ridley walked over to him. "Look at the title of the book. Looking Glass: Infinity. That could be our name."

Ridley thought for a second. "Yeah, the Infinity Pirates…I like that."

"Infinity Pirates? I was going to say the Looking Glass Pirates, but the Infinity Pirates! That's a lot better! We'll keep that name," said Mikoto.

"Looking Glass Pirates? That's your big idea," said Ridley. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me! What is wrong with you!" shouted Mikoto. He covered his mouth. "Oh, no, I shouted! Sage is going to kill me!" Mikoto looked side-to-side. He saw the side of the ship. "I have to save myself!" Mikoto ran towards the edge of the ship and jumped over the edge.

"IDIOT! YOU ATE THE DEVIL FRUIT!" shouted Ridley chasing off after him. He heard a splash. "SAGE STOP THE BOAT!" The boat slowed down. Ridley threw his shirt off. He jumped into the water after Mikoto.

* * *

I apologize for the short fight sequence. I wanted to make it longer, but I also wanted to showcase Sage's power and her power makes a fight against a weak pirate like Oz fairly short.

By the way I hope you enjoyed how the pirates got the name. (Don't worry, Mikoto won't drown.)


	8. Chapter 8 Fish Island and Atrum Zesiro

First of all, I would like to say what is up with the complete lack of navigators! The crew needed a navigator! Or did you think they would get from island to island simply by luck? (Then again Mikoto is a pretty lucky coyote!)

* * *

Mikoto shook the water off of his fur again. For probably the hundredth time. Thanks to Ridley his life had been saved. The had to apply another large bandage to his wound to stop him from bleeding from the sword mark. But he was still thankful to Ridley. Ridley was the only person on the boat that could swim. (The other two having eaten the Devil Fruit.) It was a little worrisome. Almost as worrisome as the fact that all three couldn't navigate. It was sheer and utter luck that has brought the trio this far.

The docks of the next island were in view. The houses on the next island were interesting instead of tall looming buildings made of stone and steel, this island had houses primarily made of wood. The beach was clear and unpolluted. It seemed old, but it was also incredibly clean.

The ship soon pulled into the dock. Mikoto was the first one off happy to be back on land and off of the dangerous seas. Ridley soon followed since he was one of the more serious members and knew the first things to do. Sage was the last one off; she had some last minute fixings to do to her damaged garden.

Mikoto breathed in the fine fresh air. He then saw something he couldn't believe, a walking salmon! A big walking salmon! He barred his teeth evilly. He wondered how well Sage could cook up a giant salmon. Well, the easiest way would be to ask her, but the most fun way would be to catch the giant fish and then give it to her! She was an amazing cook with the supplies they had, but a giant salmon! She should be able to make it taste wonderful! He started tiptoeing after it, making sure the rest of his crewmates didn't catch on. He wanted it to be a surprise. The fish caught sight of him with his evil grin and ran. Mikoto started to chase it.

Ridley just finished tying the boat to the dock and sat down to rest and enjoy the peace and quiet. He liked noise, but the noise Mikoto makes! It was enough for anyone to try to saw their own ear off. He looked around. He realized why it was so quiet. Mikoto left! He shot up. He called over to Sage.

"What do you want, crop killer," said Sage. (See the last chapter when Mikoto and Ridley were fighting.)

"Did you see where…" started Ridley before Sage interrupted him.

"Plant Pulverizer! Dirt Defiler! Garden Gouger!" shouted Sage, before cooling back down.

"Okay…I think I might have deserved those, but where did Mikoto go?" said Ridley.

Sage looked around her. She looked shocked, she had just now noticed that Mikoto left. "I don't know, maybe he went out to pick up supplies?"

Ridley thought for a second. "If Mikoto is going out to pick up some supplies we are going to have a monkey on board this ship…we got to go stop him."

"Why a monkey is a lot better, then a Harvest Hater!" shouted Sage. She muttered a few more words. "But I suppose we should stop him." She was about to run off and get him, but Ridley stopped her.

"Why don't I go find him and you buy us all the stuff we are going to need to fix your garden, to cook, and to sail?" asked Ridley. Sage nodded. Off she went. Ridley sighed. "Now I need to find Mikoto." Ridley got up and started to walk towards town.

(--)

"FISH, FISH, COME BACK HERE FISH!" shouted Mikoto. "I WANT TO EAT YOU! I HAVE SOMEONE TO COOK YOU! DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER?"

The salmon didn't even turn around to see Mikoto still running after him. The salmon just kept running. A large brazen arm stretched out in between Mikoto and the salmon. Mikoto smashed into the arm at full speed. Despite his head being stopped he kept on trying to run actually pulling the arm with him. The man in control of the arm stopped it by slamming Mikoto into the ground.

The man looked down upon Mikoto. He was a dark blue color everywhere, except on his underbelly which was a light blue. He had large dorsal fin on his back and gills appeared on his face stretching down to his shoulders. His black pants covered up grey swirls on his back. Two sword holsters with swords in them hung at his waist. He looked intently down upon Mikoto. His three layers of teeth showing.

"This is Fishman Island #2 in the East Blue," said the shark-like man. "And I am Atrum Zesiro. A Mako Shark Fishman and while I know for a fact that enslaving Fishmen is against Marine laws, the laws are fuzzy about eating them. But I got to advise against it, or else."

"Fishmen?" asked Mikoto, "I didn't want to eat a Fishman! I just wanted to eat that giant, walking salmon!" Mikoto looked all around him. He couldn't see the salmon anymore. "Darn it! Thanks to you I just lost my lunch!" Mikoto transformed into his half-coyote form. His long black hair morphed into a dark grey color, his hands grew long claws. His face became covered in hair. "You better pay for my next meal!"

Zesiro grinned. He drew his two swords. "If you can beat me, I will!"

Mikoto looked stunned. "You can use swords! You should join my crew! Be our swordsman!"

"I'm more of a navigator," said Zesiro growing annoyed. "Are we going to fight or not?"

"A navigator! That is even better! Join my crew!" shouted Mikoto. Zesiro swung his sword Mikoto. The sword missed by a quarter of an inch.

"Let's fight!" said Atrum becoming more annoyed with this lunatic. "Next time I won't miss!"

"I hope not, because if you did, you wouldn't be good enough for my pirate crew!" said Mikoto his grin growing ever wider. Another slash of Zesiro's sword whizzed through the air this time cutting a gash into Mikoto's cheek. Blood dripped to the ground. "Okay, Okay, I know we want to see if you are strong enough for me to want, and I respect your kindness." Another slice whizzed through the air, but this time Mikoto dodged it stealthy.

"Nice dodge," said Zesiro. "I thought you were just going to keep talking while I chopped you up." Zesiro struck out with another salvo of slashes. Each slash from Zesiro seemed to blend perfectly in with the next until it was almost a dance with blades. Each slice destroyed a trashcan, a bench, or something else, but Mikoto was dodging each slice. Mikoto landed awkwardly for a second, but that was all the time Zesiro required. He launched another slice aimed perfectly at Mikoto. The slice caught Mikoto perfectly across the chest, blood spurted onto the ground. Mikoto staggered for a second. Zesiro continued with his barrage of cuts landing another several blows onto Mikoto's body. The last slice cut open the bandage that was tied around Mikoto's chest. The bandage fell to the ground. Zesiro's rapid slashes slowed to a complete stop. The man in front of him had a hole in his stomach. Not even your average hole, it was probably two or three inches wide going all the way to the other side.

That moment was the last moment he saw a fully injured man in front of him. Mikoto disappeared with a blur. The next thing Zesiro knew a punch had landed straight into his face. Zesiro turned around to face the advisory, it was Mikoto. Mikoto struck out using his other hand in a sweeping fashion. His claws dug deep into Zesiro's cheek. Zesiro backed up a few feet in pain. He glared at Mikoto. Mikoto's hybrid form was hunched over, his two claws on the ground.

Zesiro smiled. "I was going to toy with you a while longer, but…" his attention wandered back to the numerous wounds on Mikoto, he shook it off, "but I think it will be better if I just end it now! **Shark in the Middle!"** Zesiro stretched both of his arms out and started spinning his swords. The two swords formed two dangerous pinwheels on both sides of him. He opened his mouth up wide. He charged at Mikoto. _"If he goes to either side, he'll get chopped by one of my swords. If he stays in the middle, I'll take a big chunk taken out of him with my teeth."_

Mikoto didn't move. He struck out with both of his two hands. He used both of his hands to pry open Zesiro's mouth. Zesiro froze in place. Mikoto's hands gripped Zesiro's mouth. Despite Mikoto's inhuman strength, Zesiro continued to push causing Mikoto to slid across the ground. Mikoto twisted his body, throwing Zesiro into a nearby pedestrian.

Mikoto dashed over to the pedestrian and helped him up. The pedestrian patted the dirt off of his black cloak. "I am so sorry!" He looked around him. He saw trash cans cut in two, benches shredded, and even long scars dug into buildings. "Me and my nakama have been causing a ruckus, huh?"

"I'm not your nakama," said Zesiro standing up letting the cans that collapsed on him roll off of his sleek body. "I refuse to join forces with someone who eats my friends!"

"I didn't eat him!" said Mikoto. "You let him get away," muttered Mikoto under his breath.

"You were still going to eat him! If I hadn't intervened you'd be eating Salmon Sushi right this instance!" shouted Zesiro.

"I think Sage could cook something better then sushi," said Mikoto. "I hope so anyways."

The pedestrian spoke up before the fight could start again. "No, no it's my fault…you see, I am kind of drawn to fights and your fight interest me. I was wondering if you'd want a job at an island a few miles off of the coast. At the Underground Rally Arena?"

"Underground Rally Arena?" asked Mikoto, "Never heard of it!"

"I have," said Zesiro. "One of three men who are currently fighting over the title of the World's Greatest Swordsman actually started his career back then, but that was before it was put under the control of the Shichibukai, 'Reaper' Trevor. I'm going to decline your offer."

"Its true, the Underground Rally Arena, was at one time illegal," said the man. "But thanks to Trevor, it is now perfectly legal. And besides, my offer wasn't meant to be declined. If you two don't accept it, I will make the Marines hunt you down like dogs."

"Like you have that kind of power," said Zesiro.

"I have that kind of power and more," said the man. "For you see I am Dominic Renvont." He threw his cloak off of his body. Underneath it was a blood red shirt with a bulls-eye in the middle of it. Mikoto just now realized how tall the man stood, reaching about 6 foot easy. His blue jeans ended at his pitch-black shoes. "Better known as 'Gunslinger Renvont, the only sharpshooter in the Eastern Blue to ever have a bounty of 40 million belies."

"40 Million Belies!" shouted Mikoto. He thought for a second. "Why aren't you in the Grand Line, scared?"

"No, sadly I lack both a boat and a crew," said Renvont. "So, I will continue to wander the East Blue until both of those two things fall underneath my control."

"You can join my crew," said Mikoto.

"I am meeting way too many freaks today," said Zesiro.

"I appreciate the offer, and I will ignore the insult," said Renvont, "But sadly I must decline. I have my reasons…Anyways, back to the matter at hand, about my offer."

"If you are declining my offer, I'm going to decline your offer!" shouted Mikoto.

"So, you both agree you would rather have the Marines hunt you down," said Renvont.

"Yes," said Mikoto.

"Like you can have the Marines chase after us," said Zesiro.

"You said 'us' we are officially a team!" said Mikoto.

"That's not what I meant," said Zesiro.

"I feel sorry for you, Zesi," said Renvont, Zesiro gripped his swords tighter, "And you, too, Miko-Chan." Mikoto growled. "For now I will have to go over my 100 kills per day limit."

"DON'T CALL ME THAT," shouted Mikoto and Zesiro in unison. Zesiro sliced out with both of his swords at Renvont's head. Mikoto aimed lower at Renvont's legs. Renvont disappeared like a blur.

"Wow, he's fast," said Mikoto. "I could barely keep up with him." Mikoto was twisted around looking at the top of the building.

"You were keeping up with that speed," said Zesiro. He twisted around and saw what Mikoto was looking at. On the top of one house stood Renvont.

"Let me introduce to you, Cerberus and Anubis," said Renvont pulling out two separate large handguns. **"Crimson Napalm," **said Renvont. He pulled the trigger on the left one, Cerberus. A bullet exploded from it. Renvont didn't move. The bullet collided with another house. It exploded. The house exploded in a brilliant red inferno.

"My village," shouted Zesiro.

"I can see the head lines now," said Renvont. "'Wild Wolf' Mikoto and 'Shark Bite' Zesiro destroyed an entire village in the Eastern Blue. They are now being classified as dangerous pirates, they will now have a bounty of 25 million for the captain Mikoto and 18 million for the navigator of the crew."

"I'm not on his crew," shouted Zesiro. Renvont fired another bullet another house exploded into flames. His eyes exploded into rage. He charged at Renvont. He jumped up clearing the building. Before he could even strike out with his swords, Renvont fired another bullet into Zesiro's chest causing him to collapse onto the ground beneath him. The resulting impact knocked Zesiro out cold.

* * *

Atrum Zesiro is the creation of Obscurum of Aquora. Dominic Renvont is the creation of Mavrik Zero. I'll have Renvont's profile up next time. By the way I need some Marines for an upcoming story arc.

Full Name: Atrum Zesiro

Aliases (or nicknames): Shark Bite Zesiro

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Specialty/Position: Navigator

Race: Fishman; Mako Shark

Devil Fruit/Weapon: He has two katana that he has had since leaving his home island. One has a light blue hilt with a black blade. The other has a red blade and a light grey hilt. His fighting technique is normally flowing and ever moving, much like water, and tends to make his opponents bleed heavily.

Physical Appearance: Zesiro stands around 6' 2" and is lean but muscular. He has dark blue skin with a much lighter blue underbelly, like a shark. He also has a dark grey patch that covers his shoulders. Just before the dorsal fin in the middle of his back, he has two swirls of a lighter grey on each side that reach down to his knees. His gills start in the middle of his neck and end on his shoulder. Normally he wears just a pair of black or grey pants that reach down to his ankles, obscuring some of his markings. Once in a while, he will throw on a shirt if it is a cold day.

History: Zesiro grew up on an island near the Calm Belt. He grew up without his parents, as they died before he could really remember him. When he was still young, he visited a village on the other side of the island and was called a demon. From that point on, that village tried to drive Zesiro out or kill him whenever they got the chance. Zesiro tried to leave the island, but would be stopped every time by some large sea kings that lived in the water around the island. When he was nine, he was running away from the villagers when he found a cabin tucked away behind a few boulders. Curious, he went inside and found two swords hanging up above the fireplace. He wanted to get a closer look, but the old man that lived there came back from hunting. Zesiro started to apologize, but the old man just shushed him. The old man, who's name was Garneth, told Zesiro of how his parents were killed by the villagers, but his mother managed to find Garneth before dying, telling him to keep the swords for their son. Zesiro didn't know what to think of the old man, but he did take his parent's swords. He got away from the island a few months later by stowing away on a pirate ship that had stopped in a nearby cove. Since then, he has mostly stayed on that island training to become a great swordsman in memory of his parents.

Family: Both his parents are dead, and he doesn't know any more about his family.

Personality: Zesiro is fairly smart, but doesn't like to flaunt it or make it well known. He's normally laid back and doesn't react to insults unless they are directed at people he cares about. When he fights, he tends to play around a bit, unless his friends are threatened. Sometimes he reacts to blood, much like a shark would, but normally he can control it. His biggest fear is that the people he trusts will turn on him.

Likes: Swordplay, flying fish, hunting, swimming in the open sea

Dislikes: The one island that he grew up on, anyone who hurts someone close to him

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): He wants to become a great swordsman with people he can trust.

Other: He hates being called Zesi


	9. Chapter 9Mikoto's Death!

This was an interesting chapter to write. However, if you like Mikoto for his all out ignorant blissful habits, you will be slightly disappointed in this chapter.

* * *

"This is the most fun I've had in years," said Renvont. "The cries of innocent people, the slaughter of many, the pure joy and adrenaline rush of a massacre!"

"MONSTER!" shouted Mikoto.

Renvont's attention turned to him. "A monster? Yes. A killer? I am indeed. But the odd thing is I don't care." He fired another round of bullets from Cereberus making more houses burn. "Grab Zesiro and go to your boat…you two get to live along with your crew, however any other witnesses must die." He fired around of bullets from Anubis. Innocent Fishmen took it hard and feel to the ground.

Mikoto looked up at the man. "You know, I can't let you get away with this. I will kill you!"

"What makes you think, I expect anything less of you?" said Renvont halting his mad firing. "I am a monster, and I do expect to die eventually. That's actually my single quest to be killed."

"Then just shoot yourself!" shouted Mikoto. "Stop killing these innocent people!"

"I can't just shoot myself," said Renvont. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone running away from him. He shot the man down in flurry of shots. "I want to be killed, not die. I want to meet someone strong enough to kill the monster that I have become. And if I have to do it myself it just won't be as fun."

"Then let me kill you right here and right now," said Mikoto. "Stand still!" Mikoto rushed at Renvont. His claws gleaming in the sun. An explosion came from Renvont's gun.

"**Stopping Shot,"** said Renvont. The bullet exploded with such force it broke any momentum Mikoto had. Mikoto slowed to a stop. "No. We both you know that you cannot kill me…you'll be lucky to get to me." He looked over the town. "You came here with a girl right? How about I shoot her right now?"

"Don't shoot Sage!" shouted Mikoto. "She's my cook!"

"How about the guy?" asked Renvont. "The guy with the green spiky hair. I bet his requiem would be great."

"Don't shoot Ridley!" shouted Mikoto. "He's my musician!"

"Fine. Leave," said Renvont. "And take Zesiro with you…I don't want such a fine warrior to die like this."

Mikoto stood there trembling. "Stop killing people then."

"Or what?" said Renvont. "You are going to fight me?"

"Or you are going to lose two fine warriors," said Mikoto. He picked up Zesiro's sword and held it, pointing it at his own neck. "You kill one more person, and I kill myself!"

Renvont tapped his foot. "You might just make my wish come true…you might actually kill me in the future. Next time we meet, I might just have to take you up on your offer to join your crew." He loaded another bullet into his gun. "But I don't make such deals." He shot the sword out of Mikoto's hand. It landed back next to Zesiro.

"Go for it again, and I will kill everyone," said Renvont. "I will kill you, Zesiro, Sage, Ridley, every inhabitant of this island will die. Then I will move to the last couple of islands you've been to, kill all of them. I don't want to lose you Mikoto. You might actually kill me in a few years. You just might." He fired another bullet towards the dock. "Leave."

Mikoto nodded. He had no option. Renvont was going to kill everyone. It was either this island or three islands. It was a lose-lose option. He picked up Zesiro and ran towards the dock.

"Good boy," said Renvont. He looked over the island. The immense infernos. "I have already exceeded my daily kill limit, maybe I should stop." He pointed his gun at another house and pulled the trigger. The house exploded into flames. "Nah, its too much fun."

"Ridley, we got to leave," said Mikoto. He ran into Ridley who was apparently trying to find him. "I've got us a navigator!" He pointed at Zesiro who was passed out on his back.

"Right on, finally you have priorities," said Ridley. He looked beyond Mikoto and saw the blazes that were once houses. "Got something to tell me?"

"Yeah, I'm going to beat you to the boat," said Mikoto. He started to dash towards it. Ridley smiled and joined in chasing after him.

Mikoto jumped on the boat and dropped Zesiro off on the boat. Ridley came on soon after. Sage was standing there looking a bit embarrassed. Behind her were piles of junk.

"I know what you are going to say," started Sage. "But all of these things were extremely vital, like the…the…the towels! They absorb water and make everything work out better! As a matter of fact they are so important they salesman told me to buy 12."

"How many did you buy," said Ridley. "And how much did all of this stuff cost?"

"Uh…12," said Sage, "and all of the money was mine anyways, so does it matter if I spend half a million belies. It was all on my ship."

Ridley looked annoyed. "Mikoto, come over here and see what your cook did!"

"Yeah, yeah, great job, Sage," said Mikoto. He pulled out his old boat and threw it into the water. He untied the boat from the dock.

"You are finally getting rid of that thing," said Ridley. "About time!"

"Mikoto, are you okay?" asked Sage.

"Yeah, yeah, beef sounds good for dinner," said Mikoto he threw some rations out over the boat and onto the smaller one.

"Don't throw the food away we are going to need that," said Ridley.

"Mikoto, Mikoto!" shouted Sage.

Mikoto turned around and faced Sage. "Listen, I know we just met, but I am going to miss you. And if we meet again, I want some seafood." He hugged Sage. He turned to Ridley.

"Man, you are freaking me out," said Ridley.

Mikoto hugged Ridley. "You freak me out, too, but still me and you are friends for the rest of our lives, okay?"

"Mikoto, I think you are becoming delirious," said Ridley.

"Mikoto?" said Sage. "Are you okay?"

"No," said Mikoto. He jumped out of the boat and pushed it forth across the seas. The boat started to move. The sails already picking up on the winds, the boat started to sail. Mikoto stayed on the dock.

"Mikoto, you are supposed to be in the boat before you kick it off," said Ridley.

"I'll catch up later," said Mikoto. He turned around rushed back to town.

"That's it we are turning around and going after him," said Ridley. He ran up to the helm and to the wheel and tried to turn it around, but it didn't budge. "That maniac, he froze the rudder! We can't turn back!"

"Where is he going?" asked Sage, by the rail looking back at Mikoto.

Ridley kicked the rail. "I should've seen it coming! That fool is ditching us! That fool is ditching us!"

"He wouldn't do that," said Sage. "He loves us! We are his nakama!"

"Wake up and smell the roses, Sage!" said Ridley. "Mikoto wasn't your knight in shining armor! He ditched us! He sent us out to sea to die upon the clear blue. While he sits back on that peaceful island!" An explosion sounded. Sage gasped in horror. Ridley turned around. The island was a giant bonfire.

"You were wrong about Mikoto, Ridley," said Sage. "Dead wrong."

(-)

Ridley sat on the boat spinning his thumbs around each other. He stomped on another one of Sage's plants. He twisted his heel into it, completely destroying it. Even though Sage was in full view of the torment he just delivered to her precious garden, she didn't say a word. No 'crop killer,' no 'dirt defiler,' not even a 'harvest hater.'

Ridley remained quiet; the new guy Mikoto brought onto the deck remained knocked out. Nothing they did woke him up. Ridley thought he was going to take over being captain if anything happened to Mikoto, but he wasn't handling it too well either. Nobody has even tried to free the locked steering wheel. They have just been sailing for miles without any real thought. Sage looked almost as depressed as he felt.

"Hey, Sage, I am the part of the bird that is not in the sky, I can swim in the ocean and always stay dry. What am I?" asked Ridley.

"Mikoto liked riddles," said Sage.

"No, no, the answer is its shadow!" said Ridley. "See it's never in the sky because it's always on the ground and it can go through the ocean and its always dry because…oh, what's the use, its no fun without Mikoto." Ridley lied back down onto the ground.

"You guys look like you lost something," said a dark voice. Ridley jumped up and picked up his guitar. Sage simply looked up, her expression still sad. In front of them stood a man reaching 6 foot. He wore a blood red shirt with a bulls-eye in the middle of it. The shirt had been ripped to nearly ribbons and blood could be seen from the holes. His jeans were also in a similar state of disrepair. His face had numerous claw marks on it. Over his shoulder was a person.

"Get off of our ship," said Ridley, "Before I start playing!" He put his fingers onto his guitar strings. His speakers aimed at the man.

"Yes, I am sure your playing is terrible," said the man. He dropped the person on his shoulder onto the ground and turned away. "Keep this maniac alive, he may very well be the next Pirate King." With that last word the man disappeared.

Ridley looked at the person on the ground. Numerous bullet holes scorched through his completely destroyed shirt. His body showed signs of severe burns. _"Great first Mikoto dies, and now some random guy drops another random guy off on their boat!"_

"Mikoto?" said Sage. Ridley looked first at her then back on the boy lying on their boat. He picked the head up. Yup, it was Mikoto's face. Battered and bloody, but it was Mikoto.

"Mikoto!" shouted Sage jumping up. She ran over to Mikoto. She put her hand to his chest. A steady heartbeat, so he wasn't dead.

A loud crash was heard from below the deck. Next came a shout, "Where the heck am I?"

"Great, now he wakes up," said Ridley. "I'll carry Mikoto to his room, you go check on new guy."

"Okay, but first," said Sage sweetly. She leaned over towards Ridley. She unleashed another hard slap onto Ridley's face. "That is what you get, Herb Harmer!" With that Sage walked down to check on the new guy.

(-)

Zesiro was a little bit worried. He had just woken up on a strange boat. He didn't remember anything. But after a glance at his chest it was obvious he was shot, but somebody strapped a large bandage around it. It was poorly done, but it saved him from bleeding. He touched it slowly. It was still pretty sore. But he could deal with it. He heard footsteps coming down from the deck. Whoever captured him was coming down to meet him.

A young woman stepped into view. She was wearing a light green blouse and skirt. She smiled at him. "The name is Sage. I am the cook on this ship. Mikoto is currently upstairs knocked out."

"Mikoto?" repeated Zesiro. The name was bringing back a few memories. He remembered the crazy half-coyote kid. "Let me guess he said I am your guys' new navigator?"

"That's right," said Sage. "Why do you ask? Did you not agree to it?"

"No," said Zesiro. "I didn't." More memories were flooding back to him. "Did you guys see a tall man in a blood red shirt with a bull's eye on it?"

Sage thought for a moment. "Yeah, he brought Mikoto back onto the ship. Do you know him?"

"Yeah," said Zesiro, "He was destroying my town, which way did he head off?" Zesiro stood up. He was about to walk off, but Sage stopped him.

"First off drive us to the nearest island," said Sage.

"Why?" said Zesiro. "I think I can overpower one girl."

"A normal girl maybe, but what about a girl that ate the Devil Fruit?" said Sage. "I ate the Osu-Osu no mi. I can blow your head off in an instant."

"Why would you do something like?" said Zesiro. He gripped the katana at his side. "What do you have to motivate you to kill someone?"

"My captain is near death," said Sage. "As it currently stands neither me nor Ridley are good enough at sailing to land on the next island. Where we need you to do it."

Zesiro tapped his foot thinking. "Fine. Deal, I'll take you guys to the next island…but be warned, I don't think they'll accept you pirates very happily."

"Why not?" said Sage. "What's so bad about the next island?"

"From where we are," said Zesiro as he sat down. "The next closest island is an island designed strictly for Marine battle training. They'll probably attack any pirate ship within distance."

Sage was quiet for some time. "We got no choice. Mikoto probably won't last too much longer on these voyages, we need to dock as quickly as possible and if we need to fight in order to keep Mikoto alive, then me and Ridley are going to fight."

"Fine," said Zesiro standing up. "Next stop Marine Base East 4."

* * *

Welcome to the first arc of my story! The Marine Base Arc! And hopefully with this my writing style will evolve into a whole new level power! (This includes more and hopefully better fight scenes.) The story of Mikoto, Sage, Zesiro, and Ridley is just starting! Oh, and as promised enjoy listening to the darkest character so far in my story. Dominic Renvont!

Full Name: Dominic Renvont

Aliases (or nicknames): Gunslinger Renvont

Age: 19

Gender: Male

Specialty/Position: (What is your Character good at and what would their position on the crew be?) first mate/ marksmen

Race: human

Devil Fruit/Weapon: (Devil Fruit are not required. If you wish to add some of your character's attacks feel free.)He uses two huge handguns, witch he named Cerberus and Anubis.

Physical Appearance: (Be as descriptive as possible, please)He stands at the six foot mark, lean muscles, He wears a blood red t-shirt with a bullseye on it and a black sleeveless trench coat with fur on the collar. blue jeans and black boots. (add more description if you want I suck at describing things  
Hair color: Dark brown

Eye color: amber

History: At a young age Dominic was orphaned after a guy named Azrael. Axleke killed his parents, which causes Azrael to take Dominic in and teach him how to kill with efficiency. Azrael eventually dies, and tells Dominic that he needs to become a monster in order to survive. After that, Faust took Dominic in and he became an assassin for the World Government. Having been killing and exposed to death since early childhood, Dominic left the World Government in order to think for himself and not to follow their orders.

Family: none

Personality: outside of a fight Dominic is quit and a loner only speaking when its important or to make a joke at someone, or to get into a fight. and loyal to those that has paid him or travels with. will help out a friend if needs be, but in a fight He freely taunts and belittles his opponents.  
He fights with ferocity and often extreme cruelty, rarely shooting to kill until his target has been disabled and humiliated, while frequently giving his enemies more than one chance to kill him before retaliating. He admits he is a "monster".

Likes: Slaughter, massacres. kicking puppies, gunplay, banter, the rain

Dislikes: gods, all those warm owy gooey feeling. hurting children

Goals To find Someone strong enough to kill the monster he has become


	10. MB Arc Part 1 Enter the Marines!

To start off with a little recap! Mikoto is currently unconscious due to a fight with Dominic Renvont (Mavrik Zero's creations). Where his crew and Zesiro are headed towards Marine Base E-4 to get help to heal his wounds. Welcome to the first Arc of 'THE SAGE OF THE INFINITY PIRATERS!'

* * *

The marine's voice buzzed over the announcements. "Remember folks we are going to be visited by Shichibukai today, so no mishaps or failures, if there is even one, they'll be hell to pay. And have a nice day."

A man twisted in his chair. "Blasted announcements…I've been in charge of this base since Vice Admiral Jugo went traitor. And, yet, I still got to wait for the announcements to learn anything." He stood up. His white uniform shirt was now in full view. He walked over towards the door and put his brown jacket over his uniform. He put his white uniform hat on and walked out the door.

"Captain Kin, ready for the Shichibukai visit?" said one of the lower ranking Marines.

"Yes," said Kin. "The day's been peaceful so far, training's been on time, no incidents, and none of the inmates have been fighting."

The announcements buzzed on again. "Captain Kin, incoming ship to the main deck, NOW!"

"Why me?" said Kin. He pulled a den-den mushi out of his pocket and talked into it. "Coming." He turned around started walking down the hall.

(-On Mikoto's ship-)

"We're almost in range," said Zesiro. "If they fire any cannonballs at us, we better be ready to dodge." Sage nodded.

Ridley came up from the better of the ship. "Mikoto's still holding up well. He's pretty torn up." He looked over the edge of the ship. "Uh…a ship is coming here."

Sage looked out, too. "Yeah, they must be coming from the Marine base to check on this ship."

"Marine Base?" said Ridley. "Are you guys crazy? We are pirates! They are Marines! If even the slightest thing goes wrong, they'll have an army after us in no time!"

A woman climbed onto the boat. She wore a tight white halter top with the words MARINE written across her ample chest. She wore a white Marine cap. She also had a white uniform skirt that reached to just below her knees on. "The name is sergeant Miho! I am here to inquire! Why have you entered Marine sea space?"

Sage was about to speak, but Ridley stopped her. Ridley started speaking in a sweet voice. "We are a group of traveling Explorers. Our captain was attacked by a group of pirates along the way. We need a place to dock and heal him, if possible we would like to take the time here and heal him using your advanced medical department."

Miho smiled. "Take me to your leader," she said. She giggled. "I always wanted to say something like that!"

"Uh…yeah," said Zesiro. "This way." He led her towards Mikoto's room.

Ridley smiled at Sage. "See, I'm smart aren't I?"

Sage smiled back. "Yeah, but next time, don't stop me from speaking!" She paused for a second. "I would pound you, but…I think Mikoto's going to be madder at you."

"Why would Mikoto be made at me I saved his life!" said Ridley.

"You said he wasn't a pirate," said Sage. "Let's see if you are still alive after Mikoto wakes up."

Ridley gulped. "I hope so."

Miho came back up. Zesiro followed her. Miho smiled. "Its okay! He can come to the Marine Base E 4. But…we are currently under inspection so our captain is a bit tense and the inspecting Captain…" Miho shivered. "She is even crueler then our captain."

"We can handle him," said Ridley.

"You're going to be surprised then," said Miho. She struck the crew another smile.

Miho went ahead to the island, while their ship slowly dawdled behind her. When they docked Zesiro picked Mikoto up in one hand and carried him to the infirmary. Sage and Ridley followed behind him.

They dropped Mikoto off in the infirmary. The nurse took several pictures of him. She followed up by giving him plenty of medicine. Mikoto laid in the bed. Ridley paced around him. Sage sat next to his bed, inspecting the numerous injuries and medicine given to him. Zesiro left to go back to the ship.

The door flung open. Ridley spun around and threw his guitar over his body. Sage shot up and put her arms in front of her body ready to fight. In walked both a man and a woman. The man wore a brown jacket over his uniform. His brown hair was perfectly clean. His blue eyes were hidden beneath his black sunglasses. The woman was almost supermodel material she was 5' 5. She wore an official Marine Captain uniform. The only thing on her that wasn't regulation was her silver earrings and the silver threaded ribbon keeping her hair in a ponytail. Her sea blue eyes were basically in full view instead of the few strands of her hair in front of left eye. In the backpack she had with her the head of a teddy bear with a zipper for mouth was obviously seen.

"Kin, is it a necessity you wear those spectacles on the inside of the Marine Base its not even that sunny outside," said the woman.

Kin pulled the glasses down where his eyes shown just above them. "No, Valerie, I don't have to." He pushed them back where they covered his eyes again. "I guess you guys are the team of explorers that we are going to be hosting for the next few days. It is nice to meet you, what are your guy's ambitions?"

"KIN!" shouted the woman. "That's none of your business!"

"Come on, Valerie, it is a completely innocent question," said Kin. "So, what are they?"

Ridley smiled. "I want to be a famous musician whose music is played all over the world!"

Sage looked a bit more uneasy then Ridley did. "I want to find out how to grow Devil Fruits and to figure out what the meaning of life is."

Kin's look became one of disgust. "That's it? You don't even want to be the best…people who don't want to be the best are a waste of my time. As soon as your captain is fully healed, I want you out of here."

"KIN!" shouted Valerie again. "Why did you say something like that! I am honestly appalled at your actions over the last couple of days I've been stationed here."

"Deal with it," said Kin. "We are the same rank…anyways, people who don't want to be the best are nothing in the grand scheme of the world, it's the same reason why I am a better fighter then you." With that as his final word he left the room.

Valerie appeared to be steamed. "Fine, then!" She looked at Sage and Ridley. She regained her composure. "I'll be right back…" She walked out of the room. Sage and Ridley winced as they listened to the loud yelling come from outside. A third voice intervened every now and then.

(-On the other side of the door-)

"You chauvinistic eccentric blindly brutish fool! Why can't you show even the smallest attempt at making acquaintances with the explorers in that room!" shouted Valerie.

"Because they are boring," said Kin. "Only the best live and only the best need to have their lives recorded all others should simply remain as dust in history books, like you."

"Like Valerie," said a third voice. The teddy bear in Valerie's bag sprung to life and jumped onto the floor. "She is a better person then you are, she can swim! You put one foot in the water and you stand a chance at drowning!"

"Calm down, Orso," said Valerie, "He doesn't know what he is doing…besides in a fight you'd beat him hands down." She bent down and pinched his cheek. "You are also cuter!"

"Stop that!" shouted Orso, "or I'll tell everyone in this entire Marine Base about what you have in your room!"

"Do that and I'll show everyone in this Marine Base the picture I took of you the last time we played dress up," said Valerie.

"…which one…" said Orso nervously. "The light green or the blue?"

"Why not both!" said Valerie.

Orso looked shocked. "Fiend," he said in a defeated voice. He turned his rage back to Kin. "And you who are you to treat people this base is actually treating with such disrespect!" He pulled a toothpick out of his mouth. "And for another thing…"

Kin reached over and zipped the zipper used as his mouth shut. "Zip it." Said Kin. "Anyways, if you were smart enough you'll realize that they aren't as good of explorers as you think they are…" Kin started to walk away.

"Let me rip his eyes out!" shouted Orso. He made dozens of fake clawing attempts at Kin. But he was being held back by one of Valerie's heels.

"He does things his way and we do things our way," said Valerie, "And as much as I hate to admit it, his way is much more cost efficient. Now get back into the bag."

"I am a man and a man doesn't need to get to back into a woman's bag when asked!" said Orso.

"Get in the bag or I'll take the photos out of my bag," said Valerie. Orso looked defeated. He walked over into the bag and stumbled in. He went all the way down and zipped it up to hide himself completely from sight.

(-In Prisoner's Cell Block-)

Kin glanced around the corner. _"Phew, I gave them the slip…"_ thought Kin. "Who am I kidding, they weren't chasing after me!"

Kin walked down the cells. The prisoners immediately quieted down from their normal chit-chat to nothing more than mere whispers. Kin smiled. He liked it this way, pure and utter command over everyone here. Except for Valerie. But in another day or two, she'd be gone.

A plate of food flew through the air smashing into his face. A prisoner sat at the end of his jail cell snickering. The entire jail burst into laughter. Kin turned to the man who threw the plate. He was a long and lanky man. He was dressed in the normal prisoner's attire. His hair was matted and partway destroyed. His long nose stuck out from even behind the bars. The other man in the cell remained quiet. He was 6' 2 and had a large stocky build. His black messy hair hung around his face. His black eye and rusted brown eye shared an equally bored look.

Kin walked over to the cell containing the two prisoners. A smile jumped onto his face. "You the one that threw food onto me?"

The tall lanky man smiled and said "Yeah, so what of it! I am a man with a bounty of 24 million belies! Your cronies didn't even catch me! It was an Admiral I'd only been positioned here until they can transfer me to Impel Down."

The entire jail remained in laughter. Kin's body turned into a lumpy brown statue. Millions of spheres shot out from his body landing perfectly over the mouth and nose of the other prisoners. The two in the cell are the only two that remained unharmed. The jail fell silent.

"The name is Captain Kin," said Kin turning around to face the rest of the cell. "Remember this! I have both the power and authority to kill you all!" Kin turned back to the two prisoners. "I like people of your type those that either aren't afraid to do something and then laugh about it at the end" his eyes shifted to the man in the back of the of cell. "Or those that don't take pleasure in things that they didn't do." He looked back at the rest of the jail. "People like them who are too afraid to do anything about it, but will laugh and take pleasure in things when other people do something are pure scum."

"Hey…you remind of that man…what was his name…he ate a Devil Fruit," said the lanky prisoner. "It was a Zoan-Type. JUGO! That's his name. You are a lot like him…do you know him?"

Kin's eyes turned into eye of a ferocious beast. His brown lumpy earth-like clay slipped through the bars and picked the man up by the throat. "What do you know about Jugo?"

The man gasped for air. "Jugo *gasp* and I used to be *gasp* gambling partners. He disappeared *gasp* four years ago! Let me breathe!" The clay around his neck hardened.

"Jugo and I are nothing alike…you mention his name in front of me to tell me useless information about him…you die…" said Kin. "That's my promise." He tossed the man towards the wall with the utmost ease. The hardened ring of clay around his neck stayed on him. The big man in the back of the cage caught him before he hit the wall. He sat him down.

The big man looked at Kin. "Hey, Kin." He looked at the clay around his fellow prisoner's neck. The prisoner's right hand became encased in iron. He brought his hand straight up and down onto the clay around the prisoner's neck. The clay shattered upon impact.

Kin smiled. "Hiro-Shu…the golem. Arrested due to beliefs that he was a drug dealer and a thief. Found with vials of poison, gold, and a couple of Rumble Balls…someone really went out of their way to frame you."

"You know I've been framed?" said Hiro-Shu.

"I believe you have been framed," said Kin. "But frankly my beliefs don't matter much to the Fleet Admiral."

"Aren't you supposed to be under inspection by the captains of the other three Marine Base?" asked Hiro-Shu.

"You've heard the announcements," said Kin. "Yeah…I am. I probably just scored badly with Valerie Steel. But there's always Gumm S. Hoe and Crasho Marx." Hiro-Shu remained quiet. Kin continued speaking. "I met Crasho Marx before…not my number one pick, but Gumm S. Hoe is supposedly a new face around here, so I can probably hit if off well with him." Kin looked at Hiro-Shu. Kin waved his hand behind him. The clay attached to the other prisoner's face jumped off and attached themselves to his hand.

"Valerie Steel?" said Hiro-Shu as if pondering the name over and over again in his head.

"You know her?" said Kin. Hiro-Shu remained quiet. "Leave it to you to be quiet about a subject you bring up." Kin waved good-bye to the prisoners and exited.

Hiro-Shu looked at the lanky prisoner who was gasping for air. "What…does…he have against…Jugo?"

"I've heard rumors," said Hiro-Shu. "Valerie Steel is here…who would've known."

* * *

Okay, to start off with all of the new characters. Kin is my own creation, Orso Mcgee is the creation of DthehalfDragon, and both Hiro-Shu and Valerie Steel are the creation of FanFicAA! I figured the first thing about all Arcs is that the villains get a little more information and emphasis on them then before and also it usually starts with a view away from the crew and on the villains. (Also the reason why I focused so heavily on Kin is because Kin is the third One Piece character I ever made. Mikoto was the fourth.)


	11. MB Arc Part 2 Marines and Mikoto Awakens

Okay, bad news guys. Mikoto is still knocked out, covered in bullet holes and lying in a hospital bed in the middle of a Marine Base! Will our hero ever wake up? And if he does how long will it be before he blows his cover? Find out the answer to one of those problems in this exciting addition!

* * *

(-Back in Mikoto's room-)

"So two Marines walk into a sick person's room," stated one man as he walked into Mikoto's room. He had a long black mustache on his lips. He was wearing a tuxedo instead of the ordinary Marine uniform. He was wearing small clear circular glasses. Behind him was another man this one was dressed in brown business suit-like attire. From brown pants to brown shoes. His black tie hung loosely from his neck. Despite his business-like clothing he wore a trench coat, a cowboy hat, and small black circular glasses. The first man started laughing at his punch line that no one paid attention to.

The first one just now seemed to notice the thoroughly beat-up man lying in the bed. "What's happened to him?" he asked taking note of the bullet wounds in his chest.

"He's been shot," said the second one.

"Ooohh…another one liner from Gumm. S Hoe!" shouted the first man. He looked at Sage and Ridley. "My name is Crasho Marx." His eyes traveled straight to the nurse's far more then sufficient bosom. "I'll be back in a second…or more if I am lucky." He winked at them and crept after the nurse.

"The name is Ridley, what's up?" said Ridley to Gumm.

Gumm looked upwards. "I believe that would be the ceiling…which appears to be pretty filthy." He took out a piece of paper and wrote 'Dirty Ceiling' on it.

"Why are you taking notes about the ceiling," asked Sage.

"I'm one of the visiting captains," said Gumm. "I am supposed to be inspecting this place for any kind of malpractice."

Sage shook her head. "The name is Sage by the way."

"Sage…Sage…I assume by the meaning of Sage you are either the crew's wise man or botanist…judging from your appearance I'd be more willing to say cook or entertainer," said Gumm. "Are any of these right?"

"Two. I am both a botanist and a cook," said Sage. The door sung open. Kin walked in and took a seat near the bed.

"To what do we owe this honor to," said Ridley, "Are you so nice that you decided to grace us with your presence?"

"No, but I've been told by my superiors that I better make amends…you may come in handy later on. With all your exploring," said Kin.

"Were you supposed to tell us that you are only making friends with us where you could use our information?" asked Ridley.

"They didn't say not to," said Kin. "My informant, Miho, told me that they were 4 of you. The nearly dead captain, a girl, a weirdo with a green Mohawk, and a Fishman. I haven't seen the Fishman, yet. What's he supposed to be doing right now?"

"Zesiro?" said Sage. "I saw him training earlier on the training grounds. You don't mind, do you?"

"You are our guests," said Kin, "so, if he feels the need to train, let him train…as long as he doesn't get stronger then my men."

"A mouse is stronger then your men," said Marx returning into the room.

"Did you get lucky?" asked Ridley with a chuckle.

"I am the infamous Crasho Marx!" said Marx. "Women cannot help but succumb to my masterful style of impression. Women throw themselves at my feet just to spend one minute in my presence! This is why I am the ultimate dater! This is why I am…"

"He failed," said Gumm in a plain voice. He stood up and fixed his jacket. "I'm going to go check on your Fishman friend. He should be easy to spot." He walked out of the door.

"…my head…" said Mikoto as his hand slowly went to his head. "I feel like my head's been pounded by a crane."

"Just your head hurts?" asked Sage. "I find that hard to believe."

"My stomach hurts, too," said Mikoto, "But I think that's just because I haven't eaten in an hour or so!"

"That's our captain!" shouted Ridley.

"Mikoto, I think you should know, that you've been out of it for over two days now," said Sage.

"We'll leave you guys alone, you know get reacquainted," said Kin standing up from his seat. He patted some dirt off of his pants. Kin walked out of the door. Marx stayed in the room.

"This is going to be such a tear-jerker! A reunion between a man and his girlfriend after the man has been out of it for over two days!" said Marx, "this is what Soaps are made of." Kin grabbed onto his shoulder and threw him out of the door.

"You can catch the rerun!" said Kin. He waved at them as he exited the door again.

"Were those Marines?" said Mikoto.

"Yeah, about that…while we are here we are not pirates, we are an exploration team," said Ridley.

"How can we not be pirates!" said Mikoto, "I am supposed to be the King of Pirates! That's hard to be when you are not supposed to be a pirate!"

"Hey, its either be an exploration crew or be dead!" shouted Ridley. "And I prefer being exploration crew." Mikoto looked sad. "Besides its only until we leave, which should be in a day or two once you get fully recuperated."

"Fine," said Mikoto. He looked at Sage. "Are you cool with that?"

"Did he just call me your girlfriend!" shouted Sage.

(-On the training ground-)

Zesiro struck the wooden dummy several times with his two katanas. He look at it. The wooden dummy was scorched with marks going all over it. He tried again. His right sword made a clear mark in it. He spun around bringing his left sword into it. He then reversed the swing bringing his right sword back into it. He spun his left sword around in circles and drove it into the wooden dummy. He brought his next sword down chopping a large sliver off of the dummy's right side.

A long whip-like sword split the dummy in two with one swift motion. Behind him Gumm landed. His long belt-sword returned to him, he laid at his feet stretched out at a total of 8 feet. "Strong display, but weak execution." Gumm retracted his sword to its more compact form.

Zesiro huffed and glanced at the split dummy. "I wasn't even using half my real strength…" said Zesiro. "I was just trying to get more hits in."

"I could've avoided everyone of those blows you dealt and then I could've killed you," said Gumm. He smiled. "The name is Gumm S. Hoe."

"Zesiro," said Zesiro. His eyes remained focused at the destroyed training dummy. "Nice sword. 8 foot long whip-lie body…I'm more of an old school fighter. Two katanas."

"Nitoryu," said Gumm. "Understood, but if you can't split that wooden dummy and still keep it intact that's a pretty useless fighting style."

The announcements sounded throughout the base. They even reached the training grounds. "The captain of the Exploration crew is no awake. So, tonight we are hosting a feast to help him feel both welcomed and recovered! The feast begins in exactly three hours, so get ready to eat!"

"Looks like even the Marines have fun," said Zesiro, "Who would've guessed?"

"No one," said Gumm. He turned his attention back to Zesiro's swordsmanship. It was obviously self-taught unlike his style which was taught to him by a few monks.

"That wasn't a question," said Zesiro. "It was rhetorical…you know made for fun…are you dense?"

"No, actually I'm quite intelligent," said Gumm pushing the sunglasses back up with his pinky finger. He spit his gum out and wrapped it in a small ball of tin foil. He then produced another stick of gum and started chewing it.

"You like gum, don't you," said Zesiro. He started walking over to the next training closest dummy.

"Yes, I find it relaxing," said Gumm. The training dummy was sliced in several places and then cut straight into thirds. Zesiro turned around startled to see that Gumm had already whipped out his sword and sliced the dummy. The sword was now lying on the ground fully extended. The sword looked marvelous. It had a gold and brown hilt. Even though it had gotten some dirt on it, it looked awe-inspiring.

Gumm walked over to a rock and sat down. He produced a small sword polishing kit and started polishing his blade slowly.

Zesiro smiled uneasily. _"And the freak show continues…"_

(-Mikoto's room-)

"…and that's how we got here," explained Ridley. "For some reason Kin doesn't like us, but the other ones seem to be fairly decent around us."

A knock on the door. "May I come in," said a female's voice.

"Yeah, sure just wipe your feet," said Mikoto.

Valerie Steel sauntered into the room. Her bag still on her side. "Good day, uh…I am so sorry, I never learned your name."

"The name is Mikoto," said Mikoto. "I am the captain of this…exploration crew." He mumbled those last few words with remorse.

"Are you okay?" asked Valerie Steel, "You kind of mumbled those last few words."

"He's just hungry!" shouted Ridley jumping to his defense. "Its been a while since he ate and he's having a hard time making it the three hours!"

"Oh, right, the feast in your honor!" she said. She got up closer to Mikoto and looked him in the eyes. "There's something weird about you…I can't figure it out though." Ridley, Mikoto, and Sage all shared the same worried look.

The door flew off of its hinges and in walked Crasho Marx. He had large metal boxing gloves on him. The door was badly bent. "I saw her! A vision of utter beauty if I could get her, I would be the happiest man on the earth!" In lower more sinister and more prevented voice. "Until someone better looking came along. Woohoohoohooo!" His eyes fell upon Valerie Steel. "And there that babe is! So hot and yet with a glance of bone-chilling powers!"

Valerie looked annoyed. She spun around and rammed her right heel into Crasho Marx's chest. Crasho Marx skidded back a few feet.

"Not only beautiful, but powerful too!" said Crasho. "I will devise a plan to see her…naked!" He flashed a wink at Sage before he left. He ran out of the room laughing manically. Sage shivered with disgust.

"…Sage? Do you like him?" asked Mikoto.

"NO!" shouted Sage. "No, no, no, no. NO! I would rather date Ridley!"

"Hey! Why did you say that?" said Ridley. "Its my Mohawk, isn't it! People always judge me by the Mohawk!"

"Sorry, Ridley, you were just the most disgusting person I could think of…that didn't come out right," said Sage.

"I'd say," said Ridley. He sat down with a huff.

"You'd rather date me then Ridley, right Sage?" asked Mikoto.

Sage chuckled nervously. "Of course, Mikoto, you win hands down."

"That's only one person's opinion," said Ridley. "We need someone else. Valerie! Which one of us would you rather date me or Mikoto?"

Valerie had a scared out look on her face. "I'd rather not develop a relationship with either of you."

"Getting away from this subject, before I get in trouble," muttered Sage. In her regular voice she asked " So, Valerie why did you come here?"

"I can't seem to find Kin anywhere," said Valerie. "Its as if he disappeared off the face of the planet. Its my job to do a review on his performance and its hard to do if I can't talk to him."

"I say let him stew in his own juices!" shouted a voice from her backpack. The crew glared intently at her backpack.

"You got someone in there?" asked Mikoto.

"Ooooh…you are not alone, are you?" asked the backpack.

"No…no I am not," said Valerie. She sat the backpack down and pulled out a two-foot tall teddy bear. "This is Orso McGee I bought him at a doll shop."

"That Doll Shop was the worse three week of my life," said Orso McGee. "Constant stream of kids running in to hug me and cuddle with me calling me cute…it was a land of pure torture. It was like Impel Down Level 8!"

"Why are you a Teddy Bear?" asked Ridley.

"Its an automated Teddy Bear 9000 X," said Mikoto. "Wait…does that even exist?"

"NO! I am a human being trapped in this doll…" said Orso. "In my days as a human I was a famous researcher! Then one day…one infernal day! My laboratory came under attack…thankfully due to the powers of the Kitsunetsuki-Kitsunetsuki no mi I was able to transfer my soul out of my body that was trapped underneath all that burning rubble into this body…this pathetically cute and lovable body!"

"Hey, but at least now you can fight again," said Valerie.

"Yeah, on my days of my journey I ran into another Devil Fruit, the Hokan-Hokan no mi," said Orso. "I can carry anything within my own body, but I also was smart enough to stow an Impact Dial in my right paw and two Jet Dials in my feet! Now I can both fly and repel damage! I am not your ordinary teddy bear!"

"Wait so you ate two Devil Fruits. The Kitsunetsuki-Kitsunetsuki no mi and the Hokan-Hokan no mi," said Ridley, "Isn't that impossible?"

"Technically the body that ate the Kitsunetsuki-Kitsunetsuki is now dead," said Orso, "and this body which was Devil Fruit free ate the Hokan-Hokan no mi."

"But you are still a cute little bear that I can snuggle with and play dress-up with and…I'm talking too much about my own life," said Valerie.

"Dress-up…" Ridley was stifling a laugh. "You wouldn't happen to have a picture of his latest dress-up game would you?"

"Actually I do," said Valerie. She reached into her backpack but was stopped short due to the fact that Orso cleared his throat loud enough to stop her. "Right, we have a deal, those photos don't come out unless he says so."

"And your secrets don't come out until you say its okay," said Orso.

* * *

Please everyone give a warm welcome to Crasho Marx (A. Fox's creations) and Gum S. Hoe (M Rated Writer's). And please leave manly (or cute if you prefer) Orso's dress-up problems alone…or start a forum wide idea about them!


	12. MB Arc Part 3 The Secret's Out

This is probably one of my favorite chapters while I was writing it. While no action takes place plenty of hilarity ensues as Mikoto has just woken up from his sleep, Marx reveals his true perverseness, and the Marines just keep getting weirder!

"Please everyone report to the main feasting hall," said the announcements. "The feast in honor of the exploration crew's captain is about to commence. Everyone hurry down to the main feasting hall."

"Crap…leave it to Mikoto to go for a walk one hour before the feast in his honor and get lost," said Ridley. "We are leaving quite an impression."

"Calm down, Ridley," said Zesiro. He looked around the room. "Mikoto is Mikoto. He'll show up sooner or later."

"The sad thing is you are probably right," said Ridley. "But still we need someone to explain to them why he's gone missing…the idea of a captain getting lost in a building is a bit of disconcerting when he's going to be sailing the seas."

"Don't worry about it," smiled Sage, "I've got it all covered."

"That worries me," said Ridley.

"What! It could help if you gave me a vote of confidence!" shouted Sage.

"I would, but I am still trying to get back some of that half a million belies you spent for no reason on stupid stuff," shouted Ridley.

"How long are you going to hold that over my head," said Sage.

"As long as it takes for us to make half a million belies!" replied Ridley.

"Stop fighting," said Gumm as he walked by in the opposite direction, "It is impolite to fight at a celebration."

"…Thanks for telling us that," said Sage kind of freaked out. She leaned over and whispered in Zesiro ears, "Isn't that kind of obvious?"

"He's a freak," replied Zesiro not even attempting to hide his voice. Gumm ignored his comments or rather he didn't even seem to hear them. "Hey, Gumm, where are you going? The feast is this way."

"I'm taking the long way," said Gumm. He pushed his glasses back over his eyes using his pinky. He continued on his predetermined path.

Zesiro glanced at the nearby sign over the door. It was written in clear plain letters 'Main Feasting Hall'. "It's going to be a long walk for him."

(-In Prisoner's Cell Block-)

"Crap!" said Mikoto glancing around. "I think I lost my way. Let's see I took two lefts then a right, went up some stairs…and then trying to find my way back to the place I took seven lefts, three rights, and up some more stairs, wait! I'm only on the second floor…going up two stairs should put me on the third floor, shouldn't it?

"There's a map on the desk over there," said one of prisoners from behind the bars.

Mikoto ran over to the desk and pulled out a map of the base. He looked it over. He ran over to the prisoner that said it. "Thanks, my name is Mikoto!" Mikoto stuck his hand through the prison bars.

"Hiro-Shu," said the prisoner. His large hand took hold of Mikoto's hand. "Why are you down here?"

"I got lost," said Mikoto. "That's quite a grip you've got. Why are you behind bars?"

"I got framed for stealing," said Hiro-Shu. "Why did you join the marines?"

"I didn't join the marines!" shouted Mikoto. "I am a pirate!"

"Are you sure you should be saying that here?" said Hiro-Shu, "This is a Marine base."

"Yeah…I probably shouldn't have said that…" said Mikoto. "Uh…do you mind not telling anyone about this?"

"Don't worry about it," said Hiro-Shu, "Your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks," said Mikoto. "You've got framed for stealing? I thought you had to be super powerful to get locked up."

"I am a vessel," said Hiro-Shu. "I am the vessel of 'Igoku the Iron Golem'. When someone becomes a famed treasure hunter and also possess a very powerful spirit they are numerous people who want them out of the picture."

"A treasure hunter?" said Mikoto, "too bad you are behind bars. We could use someone with your expertise while we are out on the seas."

"What makes you think I'd join you?" said Hiro-Shu, "I've been sailing on my own for as long as I can remember drifting from island to island and you think I'd join your pirate crew?"

"Well, weren't you captured while you were sailing all by yourself?" asked Mikoto. A cackling laughter came from inside the cell from behind Hiro-Shu.

"He got you good," said the lanky prisoner. "You are stupid!" He continued to laugh in his high pitched laugh. He walked over to Mikoto. He stuck his hand out, but it didn't exit the cell.

Mikoto smiled and reached his hand in to shake the prisoner's hand. After a couple of good shakes the prisoner's grip tightened. "I've tricked you! Now I'll just pull you in and take you as a hostage. My freedom for your life, the Marines will easily accept such a trade! I, '24 million belie' Kabe, will be free once more!" He tried to pull Mikoto closer to the bars, but Mikoto remained in place.

Mikoto yanked his hand in his direction trying to free himself from the prisoner's grip. He pulled and took another step back. The prisoner's body was actually being nearly pulled through the prison cell's bars. His face twisted against the bar. Mikoto kept pulling his attention completely on his hand, rather then on the prisoner. The prisoner's grip loosen up and Mikoto stumbled backwards. The prisoner fell backwards right on top of his butt.

"Your lucky I'm not out there!" shouted the prisoner, Kabe. "Cause if I were I'd kick your butt using my unique boxing style! I don't have a 24 million belie bounty for just having a pretty face! I am the strongest, the best, the funniest, the most world renowned pirate in all of the world!"

"I thought good pirates had a bounty of 300 million or higher," said Mikoto. "Why is yours so low? And how did you get captured?"

"He's just a liar," said Valerie as she walked into the prison cell. Many of male prisoners started swooning and giving her cat calls or wolf whistles. Inappropriate chattering soon followed.

Kabe slicked back what little hair he had left and went up to the bars. "Hey, sweet little lady, what do you say you come in here and serve your better man?" His hands on the bars. A tick formed on both Hiro-Shu's and Valerie's forehead.

Valerie jabbed her high-heel's heel into the prisoner's hand and against the bar. Kabe screamed in pain falling to the floor clutching his hand and crying. "You witch!" Hiro-Shu's oversized foot slammed into the gut of the man on the ground. He stood on top of him ignoring his efforts to get up.

"Hey, Mikoto, you remember me, don't you?" said Valerie with a sweet smile.

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "you are that one girl that Marx said he wanted to see naked."

"Thanks for reminding me," said Valerie, "the feast is about to start. Go wait outside this room and we can walk there together."

"Thanks, uh…Valerie!" shouted Mikoto, "by the way can we keep the fact that I got lost just between us?"

"No problem," said Valerie. Mikoto flashed another happy smile and charged out the door.

Valerie turned her attention to Hiro-Shu. "I'm surprised I'd meet you here. Since the day you saved me and my men from those pirates in the town, I've been looking for you. Little did I imagine that I'd see you again in prison."

"Not my ideal reunion spot either," said Hiro-Shu, "why did you come down here?"

"Because of you," said Valerie, "Kin told me he couldn't put off your execution date another a month and that you were going to get executed soon. Ooops, sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

"I'm not scared," said Hiro-Shu, "I've been in worse situations."

"Yeah, and you are going to get out of this one just like all of the other ones," said Valerie. "Orso."

The small teddy bear appeared from the bag. He turned back around and started digging around in the bag. He soon reemerged carrying a small silver key. "Here you go, big man," he said cheerfully. "Any friend of Valerie's is a friend of mine!"

"Nice to know," said Hiro-Shu, "I suppose I'm supposed to make a break with this little key."

"That's right," said Valerie, "there's a huge feast tonight, there's going to be a lot of drinking…make your escape after we all go to bed. The sake is going to knock so many people out and disorientate the guards that do manage to stay up."

"Lucky me," said Hiro-Shu, "how I am supposed to get a ship and escape?"

"You could steal the ship from the exploration crew that is staying here," said Valerie. "I'm sure the Marines would approve of giving them a ship."

"I wonder if the captain would let me join him," said Hiro-Shu, "He seems like a swell guy and we hit it off well." Kabe started to complain again, but Hiro-Shu simply twisted his heavy iron foot causing a quick scream and that made him shut up.

Valerie laughed. "Sure, you guys probably would. Remember now I don't want you to die and I would like to see you again some day. There are some things I want to ask you, but now isn't the time or the place." She got up and left the room.

Hiro-Shu's attention went back to the halfway unconscious man under his foot. "Now be a good little brat and apologize for what you said to Valerie." His left fist became encased in a heavy iron gauntlet.

(-In the main feasting hall-)

The party had already began, many of the marines were already scattered eating to their heart's delight of the food. Only problem was the captain of the exploration crew hadn't shown up yet.

Sage scowled at Marx. The perv! Refusing to accept Ridley as the captain's right hand man during the party and insisted that she sat with him, Kin, and Mikoto. Normally that wouldn't have upset her that much, but Mikoto was nowhere to be seen and Kin seemed to ignore Marx's beyond numerous 'advances' on her. She guessed Zesiro probably hated Gumm the same amount right now. Pulling him away and engaging him a talk about politics, puzzles, and 'what is up'. (Namely the ceiling, the sky, and the clouds.)

Marx smiled devastatingly at Sage. "Hey, so, since your boyfriend had recently flown the coop, what do you say me and you get together later on tonight and have nice little chat?" Marx moved his chair over closer to Sage.

"Thanks, but I am only seventeen and you are in your mid-twenties or somewhere around there," said Sage trying not to upset the entire marine base. "It would be indecent."

"As long as your boyfriend doesn't care, who else would?" said Marx. His hand went straight for Sage's chest and more specifically her breasts. Sage swatted his hands away quickly.

"I care," said Sage. "I don't want to date you, you are such a pervert!…And Mikoto is not my boyfriend."

"Great," said Marx not caring about her pervert comment, "So no one will mind if I…do what I want to do."

"I take that back," said Sage. "Mikoto is my boyfriend! Mikoto's my boyfriend!"

Kin seemed to reenter the conversation at that point. "Hey, here comes your boyfriend." Kin said with a wicked and somewhat cruel smile sensing she was lying.

Mikoto was escorted to the seat by Valerie, who upon realizing the table was full shrugged it off and walked over to the same table as Gumm. Kin raised his eyebrow at Valerie. She didn't say anything to him, despite the last time he talked to her it was about him trying to save a prisoner's life who she knew. "_Oh, well, back to the table and the hopefully hilarious development," _thought Kin.

Marx had his eye trained on Sage. Waiting for some reason or some way to prove that Sage was lying and give him an opening for his next move.

"Um…hate to come and go," started Mikoto, "but I've got to go get some grub. I haven't eaten in days." Mikoto started to get up, but Sage's sturdy hand stopped him.

"Don't worry about it honey, I'll go get you your food," said Sage, "and how about some punch and you favorite food, some seafood?" Mikoto smiled and nodded. Sage nodded and hurriedly walked away towards the buffet table and away from Marx.

Marx dumped his full plate of food straight onto the floor. He put it down onto his table and looked at it with a fake astonished look on his face. "Darn it! It looks like my food is all gone, too! I guess I'll just have to go get some more!" He started to get up, but he slipped on his own pile wet, gross, trash pile of food. He stood up with both of his hand raised. "ANYBODY WHO LAUGHS GETS SOME FREE PUNCH!" His iron boxing gloves slid onto his hands. The back of his pants were soiled with the green, brown, and yellow of his food. He sat back down in his chair.

"I'm having that chair burned when you leave," said Kin. "I don't want my subordinates to sit in your food."

"Next time, I'll keep it on the table," said Marx.

Sage sighed. She had filled Mikoto's plate up with as much seafood as humanly possible. She got his punch, spilled it several times, cleaned it up, and gotten more as much as she could without attracting any real attention. Now it was time to go back and face the music. At least Mikoto was here now…someone to sit between her and…the pervert!

Sage returned to the table balancing the food and set the plate down on the table. Marx sat with his arms crossed expecting more to make him believe. Sage swallowed her spit (along with most of her pride) and resigned herself to most embarrassing two seconds of her life. She kissed Mikoto. Marx, while shocked, still seemed to want more. Mikoto was stunned by what had happened and seemed to have forgotten about the large amount of food on his plate and stared bewildered at Sage. Kin excused himself from the table. He had urgent business to attend to and laughing in front of his guests wasn't a good idea either.

Kin stepped out, his face red from his overwhelming urge to laugh. the blaring music from inside would certainly block his laughs. He let himself laugh. If that wasn't everybody's ideal way to spend the afternoon with mountains of food, good people, and even a comedy it should be! He walked into his office. He needed a few minutes to regain his composure. He saw a piece of paper laying next to his mailbox. Must've been urgent to send it to him this late! He picked it up and opened the folder. The new bounties! Always a good way to ruin the day! See what scumbags are ruling the seas nowadays. He flipped through the first couple of them and stopped when he saw a familiar face.

'Shark Bite' Zesiro Wanted –Dead or Alive- 20 Million Belies. 'Kid Coyote' Mikoto Wanted –Dead or Alive- 25 million belies! He had been tricked! That's it! The best way to end the day…beating the crap out of some no-good, lying, traitorous pirate scum!

Valerie and Hiro-Shu are old friends! Marx is a pervert! Sage and Mikoto kissed! Mikoto's first Bounty Poster and it came at the worst time possible! Please stay tuned as more action (and hilarity) is bound to come at us during the next chapter! P.S. I am sorry for the torturing of Sage during this chapter.


	13. MB Arc Part 4 Noise Maker Vs Demon

With both Zesiro's and Mikoto's Bounty Posters spoiling their peaceful visit to the Marine Base the days are going to become chaotic.

Zesiro was staring down at the ground. Gumm's constant babbling was driving him insane. Valerie and Ridley were apparently just tuning him out. Ridley was playing a few notes on his guitar. Valerie seemed distracted by a different type of thought. She kept looking at the time and at the amount of saké ready to be drunk. Gumm had apparently noticed this, too, as his glance will sometimes shift to one of those two things as well. But he simply kept talking to Zesiro about his 'lack-luster' swordplay.

Zesiro snapped. "SHUT UP!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. The rest of the party went quiet. Some of the men from Gumm's platoon shivered in fright. They knew their captain and they feared him when he was angry.

Gumm's entire body shook with rage. That was one of the three things he hated. Being told to shut up ranked up there with anything preventing him from chewing gum and being woken up in the middle of the night! It might have been his normal one biggest dislikes! He dropped the crossword puzzles he was trying to complete while having the conversation to the floor. He stood up. His hand already creeping towards his sword. He felt a firm, but sturdy hand shove him back into his sit. It was Kin.

Kin had walked back in as the last two words were uttered. Kin shared a look with Gumm. A look of utter rage and torment. He looked at both Ridley and Zesiro. He didn't seem to be himself. Before he was cruel and acted out towards them, but now his eyes seemed to have been taken over completely with nothing but rage!

He walked past his table. Marx distracted his gaze from him and was looking at Valerie's bosom. His eyes fell upon Sage. Sage felt a cold air snake its way up her spine. She shivered. She nudged Mikoto and asked him for his 'Honorary Marine' jacket. Mikoto handed it over. Marx grumbled. Sage put it on. She didn't do it to bug Marx (though it was a bonus) she strictly did it cause she was cold. Kin's gaze rested upon Mikoto and didn't leave him until he was up on the stadium. Mikoto was the only one whose eyes weren't on the young Marine captain. He was still focused on the food in front of him.

Kin grabbed the microphone that was going to be used for Mikoto's big warm speech. He cleared his throat. Mikoto finally noticed it and looked up at him. "I would like to remind everyone of our sacred duty during this time of festivity," said Kin, "of our jobs. We each signed up to rid the world of treacherous Pirate scum bags and in these happy times it is hard to even think that there is such down-right dirty people harming our friends, harassing our girlfriends, and stealing our gold, but there are."

Mikoto tightened his grip on his spoon and fork. Sage noticed this and wrapped her arm around him to comfort him (and to annoy Marx even more). Ridley tapped his foot waiting for this boring speech to be over with. Zesiro glanced about. He felt awkward for some reason. It was one of those 'Something Bad Is About To Happen' feelings.

Kin resumed his speech after a long pause. "And as such I would like to direct your attention to two new pirates. Two disastrous and terrible pirates. I have the 'Wanted Posters' if you are interested in seeing them, but I'd rather you see them in person. Mikoto, Zesiro please stand up."

Mikoto stood up immediately. His grip still strong on his spoon and fork. Zesiro stood up more slowly. His glance quickened. He was surprised at how quickly they had found out. He hadn't given anything away, Sage and Ridley were probably too smart to let things go out, and Mikoto had been knocked out for so long…they couldn't have found out.

"Please everyone give a big round of bullets to 'Kid Coyote' Mikoto and 'Shark Bite' Zesiro," said Kin to the large hall. Loud gasps filled the room. "A bounty of 25 million and 20 million respectively. Have a free for all with the Fishman, the mutt is mine." He jumped off of the platform. "**Clay-Ground."** Clay started to expand from Kin's feet overtaking the floor. Clay spikes exploded from the ground aimed right at Mikoto. Mikoto expertly dodged to the side. He got up.

"_Drat, if we fight in here Kin's attacks would probably hit Sage, Ridley, and Zesiro," _thought Mikoto. "Come and get me! The Kid Coyote doesn't care about how many of you follow me!" Mikoto rushed out of the room. Kin's legs disappeared into a clay mound.

"The swordsman can die," said Kin, "There is no bounty on either the girl or the green haired weirdo, they might be innocent. Detain them and don't kill them if possible." Kin's clay body extended flying out of the room at high speeds.

Zesiro's hand wasn't even on his sword when a fist was slammed into his face. Gumm was standing up with his sword at his side. He unleashed a mad assault of slices that all disappeared into a frenzy. Zesiro dodged most of them. A few cuts landed, but there were nothing serious. Zesiro looked around. The numerous tables and the numerous marines weren't in his favor. He turned around and dashed towards the training grounds.

Gumm spat his gum out straight onto the floor. "Leave it to a pirate to insult someone then run away." Gumm walked casually after Zesiro. Any marine that offered to help him was shot down.

Ridley was the first 'innocent' one to act. He got up and threw a chair at the marines and ran out in the same direction as Mikoto. He felt something plushy ram into the back of his forehead. A teddy bear peered over his shoulder.

"I am Orso McGee!" said the teddy bear. "Remember me? I hope so, it's a nuisance to introduce myself to pirates once a second time is even more annoying."

Ridley's hand clamped around the bear's neck. His grip started to tighten. "Dumb move coming after me! I ain't exactly a fair fighter, see?" He kept running out of the room. Valerie and other marines got up and chased after him. Soon the only two people left in the room were Marx and Sage.

"_RIDLEY! ZESIRO! MIKOTO!" _yelled Sage in her head, _"YOU ARE ALL GOING TO PAY FOR LEAVING ME ALONE WITH THIS PERVERT!"_

Marx walked over to her. He put his iron gloves on. "So, I am going to have to detain you for being a pirate and falling in love with a pirate captain."

An idea flashed into Sage's head and as much as it was going to make her suffer it might be her best option. She took Mikoto's jacket off and fell to the floor. "I'm so sorry!" she sobbed onto Marx's shoes.

(-In the Base's gymnasium-)

"Crap," said Ridley, "I lost Mikoto!" He peered across the room he had ran into when trying to find Mikoto. He was still strangling the poor bear in his hands. "At least I lost those marines that were on my tail." He felt something dig into his hand. He peered down. The teddy bear's zipper of a mouth bit his hand. He threw it across the room. The bear zipped to the side as a large amount of air was released from his feet.

"As I was saying I am Orso McGee!" said Orso. "Co-Captain of Marine Base East 2, the most feared Marine Base in all of the Eastern Blue! I have been given many nicknames throughout my long line of destruction and utter torment of enemies! But none more fitting then 'DEMON'S TEDDY' ORSO!"

"Name's 'Noise Maker' Ridley," said Ridley, "make sure they get that on my wanted Poster." He looked around. "Do you know which way Mikoto ran off in?"

"…Mikoto is going to do fine," said Orso, "it is you who will die!" He reached back to the backpack on his back, but he couldn't reach it. He tried again, but he still couldn't reach it. "Just you wait! I got a chainsaw back here! I'm going to get it out and you'll be mincemeat!" He tried again, but this time failed miserably and fell down onto his back. He started to get back up. "I am the Co-Captain of the most feared Marine Base in all of the East Blue!"

"Valerie is ten times better then you are," said Ridley, "she's got pictures of you in dresses and having tea parties and all other sort of embarrassing things! She's a much tougher person then you are."

Orso looked embarrassed and angry at the same time. "YOU WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO FIND OUT ABOUT THOSE DRESSES!" He pulled a large hammer out of body. "I told you I partook in the Hokan-Hokan no mi! My entire body is now similar to hammer space. I can store anything in it."

Ridley pulled his guitar out and plugged it into the speakers on his shoulders. "I have no need for silly hammers! But if you insist on fighting, I'll beat into you some manners!"

"Nice try tough guy, but watch this," said Orso. He charged at Ridley. He jumped off of the ground. "**Kumo ****Hochou!" **Just like before air guzzled out from his feet propelling him forward at tremendous speed. He slammed his hammer into Ridley's knee. The increased speed and hardness of the hammer delivered a devastating blow causing Ridley to go down right then and there. Orso swung his hammer back into his body. "Weak!"

Ridley stumbled back to his feet. "Cheap shot you got in there Mr. Bear! Swinging that hammer while flying through the air! Time for me to make my music blare! And put you straight into intensive care! **100 Decibel!" **Ridley strummed a loud obnoxious note on his guitar. The room echoed with the note, the increasingly loud sound forcing Orso down. Ridley continued to play notes on the same frequency. The notes soon started to crush Orso's eardrums.

Orso reached into his body and pulled out two earplugs and plugged them into his ears. "Heck! I use heavy construction tools sometimes! I need someway to plug out the noise! And your noise is even worse then the noise my tools make!" Ridley couldn't hear him and kept playing away. "I SAID YOUR NOISE IS TERRIBLE COMPARED TO THE NOISE OF MY TOOLS!" Ridley still couldn't hear him. Orso frowned. He tried again to get his chainsaw and again he failed. He picked his hammer back up. This will have to do. He charged at Ridley. He swung his hammer into Ridley's leg. Ridley looked down at Orso. Ridley glared at the bear and slammed his guitar into the side of the bear's head.

"I forgot to tell you," shouted Ridley over his guitar, "this guitar is made out of reinforced steel! It could break a hole in bedrock! Time to amp it up! **150 Decibels**!" Ridley continued to strum on his guitar but this time he turned his speaker up. "Did you know that at 130 Decibels most people start bleeding? Its awesome I wish you could see it!"

Orso froze. If his earplugs came out at this point he'd die!…Who was he kidding? This guy's a pirate. He's lying to intimidate him! Orso put his hammer down. It was useless apparently. He searched through his body until he came across a small hand drill. It was strong enough were it would still tear human flesh up. Orso charged at Ridley the nail in the drill spinning.

"**Skillet Strike!" **said Ridley. He strummed a few more notes on his guitar forcing the bear to slow down. The sheer force from the notes were starting to slam him at his point.

Wait! Force! He had his trusty Impact Dial in his right paw! He charged at Ridley the drill in his left hand and his right hand outstretched. "**Kumo Tekken!" **shouted Orso. The Impact Dial absorbed the force of the sound wave giving him a momentary lapse in both the damage and the noise. He rammed his drill into Ridley leg. The drill tore up both flesh and bone as it buried itself deep in Ridley's leg. Ridley screamed out in pain, his guitar playing stopped. The nail was drilled straight into his leg burying itself deep into his flesh.

Orso smiled and popped the earplugs out of his head. Another pirate had come down due to his superior knowledge and power. Whoever mocked Orso McGee had to go down. Especially those that said he wore dresses. He turned around and decided to go get Valerie. He could carry Ridley to the jail cells by himself, its just that…he wanted help…yeah. Besides Valerie should take some credit in the capture of this pirate. Yeah, that's it he was being generous! He could carry Ridley back…he could! He really could!

"Hey, Okama," said Ridley standing back up, "got a dress at the tailor you want to get to? Or are you giving up?"

"You got a nail in your leg!" shouted Orso. "You shouldn't be able to stand!"

"My dad would disown me if I let a nail stop me," said Ridley, "So STEP ASIDE!"

"You actually care about what your dad thinks of you?" said Orso, "You! You are a vigilante! Look at your hairstyle! Listen to your music! LOOK AT THE PEOPLE YOU HANG OUT WITH!"

"My dad wanted me to be this way," said Ridley, "he liked the cruel people of the world, they make his business flourish. And as to the 'who I hang out' with remark, look at who you hang out with! A pervert! A freak! And an insensitive jerk!"

"…The pervert is Marx, the freak is Gumm, and the insensitive jerk is Kin…what did you say about Valerie?" asked Orso.

"I couldn't think of anything bad to say about Valerie," said Ridley, "You on the other hand are just someone who tries to act big, cool, and macho! If you were really macho you wouldn't be afraid of someone mocking your coolness! You can parade in dresses for all I care! You could wear your hair in a Mohawk and no one would care as long as you believe in your own coolness."

"_Cool…" _thought Orso. He shook his head and regained his composure. "So, what with that nail driven into your leg, you can barely stand! Let's try another one!" Orso put another nail onto his drill and charged.

"Heh…Orso, you forgot you took those earplugs out," said Ridley.

Orso's eyes widened. He was so confident he won he did take them out! Then he was so taken back by Ridley's drive he forgot to put them back in! He was screwed, Ridley's music was going to blow his eardrums out!

"**Trapping Tune!"** shouted Ridley he slammed his guitar. The noise slammed into Orso freezing him where he stood, Orso's body became incapable of movements, "and **The Fray!"** He slammed his guitar once more! The sound covered the entire room! However, a louder noise was the explosion that came from the center of the room where Orso was standing.

Ridley smiled at the little bear. He had saved himself. When Ridley launched the second attack he activated the Impact Dial in his right hand. The force and noise from it blew him out and allowed him to ignore the loud noise. More impressive then that was the fact that it landed him next to his earplugs. If the force from Impact Dial hadn't knocked him out Orso might've won this battle. Too bad for Orso. Meanwhile, Ridley had to go find where Mikoto was.

Well, there it is the first major battle. This chapter taught me something. It is really hard to write a fighting sequence and even harder to write a fighting sequence for a guitarist with a green Mohawk. Be prepared as I promise to bring you better chapters and better fights!


	14. MB Arc Part 5 True Perverseness

First fight between Ridley and Orso: Ridley wins! Now as things heat up in the Marine Base Arc say hello as Sage and Marx duke it out for all glory! Honor! And…breasts? Okay, not really the action packed fight many people want to see…but what did you expect? Marx is a PERVERT!

"…Its just that he seemed so nice," cried Sage openly in front of Marx. "He was so kind to me when we first met, he treated me so well." Marx's hardened look had disappeared and was replaced with a kind soft look. _"That's right you huge pervert…drop your guard so I can blow your head off," _thought Sage.

"Its okay," said Marx, "its all okay. The big bad wolf is gone now. But its going to take a long time to convince other people…I may be able to persuade them…if you sweetened the deal."

Sage's tears dried up in an instant. Her face was a mixture of horror and disgust. "PERVERT!" Sage shouted in the loudest possible voice. She slammed her fist straight into his gut. He backed up a couple of feet.

"Resisting arrest, huh?" said Marx. "Fine! I'll just start with a STRIP SEARCH!" Marx lunged at Sage. Sage rammed her fist into his face.

"PERVERT!" Sage shouted.

Marx chuckled. "You think what I have done to you before has been perverted? You haven't seen nothing yet! Time for signature move! **SUPER PERVERTED FIST!" **Marx threw both of his fists at Sage. Sage flinched and covered her face with her arms.

Several seconds passed. Sage's hands remained at her face waiting for Marx's fist. A few more seconds passed and still nothing. Her breasts felt a little funny…they didn't hurt, they just felt funny. She slowly brought her arms down. She opened her eyes and looked down to see what made her breasts funny. She saw it…or more specifically him. Marx's hands were wrapped around her breasts. "PERVERT!" screamed Sage in an even louder voice then last time. She slammed her fist into Marx's face. "POP GOES THE…" before Sage even finished her sentence Marx disappeared into a blur.

Marx was behind her in an instant. "Too slow and too weak! Just my type." Marx grabbed onto Sage's breasts for an instant before jumping backwards to avoid her blow. "I have been hit and chased by so many women! I have been conditioned to near perfect body status! My legs have been perfectly trained to near superhuman speed measures! I am one of the fastest people in the East Blue!"

"You are also the biggest pervert!" said Sage getting ready to blow up Marx's head again. Marx blurred out of sight again. He grasped Sage's breasts for a third time. He avoided another blow.

"You think I am the biggest pervert?" asked Marx. "I am nothing more then a mere pawn in the great world of perverts! The king is known by only one name…the lord of LUST! Women cower in his name! Women run and hide when they see him! And he still catches them all! His strategies and low-life actions make even my most well-thought out strategies seems like mere child's play…he is truly the ultimate pervert. He is something for all perverts to live up to!"

"_Why did I get stuck with the freak?" _though Sage.

"Up until now you have lost against just me and my wit," said Marx. "I have touched your breasts, groped you, and watched you sleep! Beware now I use my ultimate weapon…" Marx dashed towards Sage and held a gun to her face, "**SLEEP!" **Marx pulled the gun on the trigger. A large puff of blue powder covered Sage's face. Sage's eyelids shut in an instant. Sage fell limp to the ground asleep.

Marx's expression changed to a terrifying one. Marx bent down over Sage's body. He grabbed onto Sage's breasts. "My little sleeping beauty…so cute…so innocent…SO HELPLESS!" Sage's fist flew up slamming Marx's nose back into his face. Marx reeled back.

Sage stumbled back up to her feet. "Let me guess one hundred percent environmentally friendly made from herbs…I'm used to dealing with herbs everyday in my garden," said Sage. "I built up an immunity to almost every kind of herb out there. So bring on both you and your perverted powers!"

Marx froze he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small two-way mushi caller. He held up a finger for silence. "Yeah, Marx here…you caught the captain! Nice! So, that's how he fights! Hold him, I'll deal with him later." Marx put his caller back into his pocket. "Hear that we caught your boyfriend…tell you what since I am a nice guy I'll let you room with him and then I'll end both of your lives as quickly and as painlessly as possible."

"You…caught Mikoto…" said Sage. She stumbled towards Marx. Marx smiled. His little trick worked. They hadn't caught Mikoto, yet. He knew Kin would be able to do it. He once saw Kin go crazy on twenty Marines just for mentioning Jugo in his presence. He'd defeated all twenty of them so quickly…it scared him. One pirate would be nothing to him. Sage collapsed. "You caught Mikoto?"

"That's right," said Marx. "Kin disabled every weapon that guy had. Guns, swords, armor, your poor captain had nothing, not even his martial arts could save him…after all Kin is a demon and Mikoto is just a plain human."

A plain human…Mikoto wasn't a plain human. Marx had tried to trick her! And she fell for it! Sage stood up. She glared at Marx. "Ready to get your butt handed to you by a cute, innocent, helpless girl?"

"Hah! Make one wrong move and Mikoto gets tortured then killed! I can torture him, you know?" said Marx bluffing.

"You are not getting that chance!" shouted Sage. She held her hand out. Marx may be too fast for her head exploding trick to work on him, but its funny how rapid changes in air pressure can affect someone.

Marx started to run again but he quickly lost his balance and stumbled. His head was pounding. What is this girl's game anyways? Her punches really were nothing. She wasn't fast…she wasn't that quick witted…she has no weapons…what is this girl fighting with? Nothing. Then why did she choose to fight? She could've fooled him. "Why are you fighting me?" asked Marx. "You've got no weapons, no skills, you've got nothing!"

Sage smiled. "I ate the Osu-Osu no mi. I can control pressure. Did you know that rapid increase in pressure can result in some seriously deadly result…loss of balance, exploding heads, or amnesia. Watch!" She waved her hands manipulating the pressure in Marx's head.

Marx stumbled again. The last few minutes blurred together. He had to know how she was fighting and why. "Why are you fighting me?" asked Marx. "You've got no weapons, no skills, you've got nothing!"

Sage smiled. She loved this trick. "I ate the Osu-Osu no mi. I can control pressure. Major changes in pressure can result in some seriously deadly result…serious leg pain, stomach pains, or amnesia. Watch!" Again she waved her hands at Marx.

Marx dodged to the side fearing the worse. He didn't know what she just did, but she had to have some trick up her sleeve or else why would she fight him. "Why are you fighting me?" asked Marx. "You've got no weapons, no skills, you've got nothing!"

Sage sighed. It was funny, but if she kept doing it would be boring…maybe just one more time. "I ate the Osu-Osu no mi. I can control pressure. These changes in pressure have been shown to have some very serious results…serious leg pain, stomach pains, or amnesia. Watch!" Again she waved her hands at Marx.

Marx dodged to the side fearing the worse. He didn't know what she just did, but she had to have some trick up her sleeve or else why would she fight him. "Why are you fighting me?" asked Marx. "You've got no weapons, no skills, you've got nothing!"

That was the last time. "I ate the Osu-Osu no mi. I can control pressure, with this I can create changes in the air pressure and this can have some serious results …serious leg pain, stomach pains, or amnesia. Watch!" Sage swiped her hand through Marx's midsection.

Marx felt a lot of pain surging into his stomach. She wasn't kidding about the stomach pains. "FINE!" shouted Marx. He ignored the pain. "**Maximum Perverseness!" **Marx dove at Sage. His fists swinging rapidly. His left hand gripped Sage's neck. His right hand grasped Sage's breasts. **"Infamous Uppercut!"** He brought his right fist straight through the middle of Sage's breasts and into her chin sending her flying into the air.

Sage landed into a table. The table was crushed from her fall. Marx smiled. He didn't kill her just knocked her out. She might reconsider his offer when she sees how outmatched she is. His smile vanished when she stood back up from the table. He mouth had blood leaking from it. He was astonished at her. "How are you still standing?"

"That sleeping powder you sprayed on me," said Sage, "my entire body has been asleep and numb for quite some time now. I barely even felt that last punch." Sage wiped some of the blood from her chin.

Marx smiled. "You are a _sleeper_. I thought you'd be the weakest person on the team, but to be able to survive a dynamic punch to the jaw…its impressive." Marx charged at her again. He swung his fist through the air. Sage ducked beneath his fist. She waved her hands again. Another immense bolt of pain shot up through Marx's leg.

Sage stood up. She pointed her finger at Marx's head. "Pop goes the weasel!" she squealed with joy. Marx dodged at the last second and slammed into the table due to his lack of balance. He stood back up slightly weakened. He glanced over at Sage. Sage was holding the microphone stand in her hands. "Told you you'd never get the chance to hurt Mikoto." She swung the microphone stand straight into Marx's head. She continuously slammed the stand into Marx's head.

"I guess I lost," said Marx, "Then again…in a fight between my fists and a stunning beauty with a good body…there was only one outcome…breasts beat fists any day."

Sage wandered back over to him and stood above him. She picked the microphone stand back up. "SHUT UP, YOU PERVERT!" She slammed the bottom of the stand into Marx's head. She bent down to Marx's face. "By the way…Mikoto is not my boyfriend!" She slammed the microphone stand into the side of his one last time. She got up and walked out.

(-In a prisoner's holding cell-)

Hiro-Shu fumbled with the key. He put it into the latch and twisted. The door came loose. The little bear was a good guy after all. He closed the door behind him and locked it. He crushed the key in his iron covered hand to dust. "You can keep the cage, Kabe." Kabe was in the corner of the cell badly beaten.

Hiro-Shu rushed over to the desk and pulled out the map Mikoto was looking at earlier. He looked at it and stuffed it into his pocket. He was going to be executed soon, being kind to the person responsible for it wasn't high on his list of 'Things-to-do'. With that he ran off to where the map said the shipping dock should be.

(-on the training grounds-)

"Duck," shouted Gumm as his sword cleaved through the air. Zesiro ducked underneath the blade. "Dodge to your left," shouted Gumm next as he brought his sword down. Zesiro jumped out of the way to his left. "Left. Left. Dodge. Jump. Right." Zesiro did every action that Gumm said in the same order he said.

"Stop announcing my movements!" shouted Zesiro. Zesiro wished that were true, but it wasn't. Gumm wasn't saying his movements, he was predicting them. Every movement he said, he said it seconds before Zesiro moved. He knew where and when he would be committing the movements.

"As soon as you do something that surprises me," said Gumm. He brought his sword towards Gumm in another flurry of attacks.

"How's about this?" shouted Zesiro as he unsheathed one of his swords. The word 'Block' left Gumm's lips seconds before the two swords collided. Gumm's belt-like sword kept going. The end whipped around Zesiro's blade and dug into his far shoulder. Zesiro pushed the sword away.

"Can't you do better?" said Gumm, "I should've fought the other two…Ridley and Sage…actually they are probably weaker then you are." Gumm brought his sword back around and started spinning around above his head.

Zesiro grabbed his two swords. "**Barracuda Surf n' Slash!"** Zesiro charged at Gumm. His two swords cutting up the ground at his feet.

"Back," said Gumm. Gumm brought the sword down in flash. Zesiro jumped back avoiding the blade. Gum shoved the blade forward. The blade coiled up and the mid-tip section of the blade slammed itself into Zesiro's chest leaving a deep gnash.

"Do you honestly believe that I, a 34 year-old man, is at the same power level as these 21 year olds running the marine base?" asked Gumm. He moved another foot forward. "We may all be captains, but I am a captain by choice. Kin, Valerie, Marx are all captains because they never got the offer to become a Fleet Commander. I did and I declined it."

"I have a lot more free range as a Captain and there is someone who I need to find…and I need a lot of free range to find him. As a Fleet Commander someone will always be breathing down my neck!" continued Gumm, "Asking me 'where are you', 'can you come back', or they will be yelling orders at me! 'Get your butt back here', 'Don't leave the base', 'Save my ass!' I refuse to accept such kindergarten grade orders! As a captain, I am almost invisible…no one asks for my help… I am free!"

"I'd actually feel sorry for you," said Zesiro, "if I liked you that is! **Devilfish Finisher!" **Zesiro crossed his blades over one another forming an X. He charged at Gumm again.

"Child's play," said Gumm. He flipped his sword. He missed! His sword went to the left of Zesiro. Far to the left at that! Then it happened. The sword whipped back around and slammed Zesiro in the back cutting another deep wound in Zesiro's back. Zesiro flew towards Gumm without any kind of balance. Gumm smiled as he rammed the hilt of the blade into Zesiro's forehead forcing him back. Zesiro fell to the ground on his back.

"Crap," said Zesiro standing up. "I was hoping to be one of those kinds of warriors…kind of pirate. The ones with a completely unscarred back. After all 'wounds on the back are a swordsman's shame.'"

Yes, yes I did have to use that quote. It is my favorite quote from all of One Piece. Also I've been asked one question several times so far (At least three times). "Are you pairing up Mikoto and Sage?" No…I may pair them up later on, but right now it is just comedic. Sage's only option is be with Mikoto or be with Marx. (Ask any of our female readers who they would rather be with). The choice is obvious. Also if you have questions about this fic, don't be afraid to ask.


	15. MB Arc Part 6 Fish, Swords, and Gum

"Crap," said Zesiro standing up. "I was hoping to be one of those kinds of warriors…kind of pirate…the ones with a completely unscarred back…after all 'wounds on the back are a swordsman's shame.'"

"That they are," said Gumm acknowledging Zesiro. He retracted his eight-foot long sword back to his hands. He started spinning it above his head again.

Zesiro brought his two swords around as well. He charged at Gumm. He had both of his two swords at the ready. Gumm flicked his sword out. The sword shot out and cut Zesiro deep into his shoulder. Zesiro didn't stop his charge. He kept coming at Gumm with the sword wound deep in his shoulder. Gumm smiled. He jumped into the air and then jumped off of Zesiro's shoulder. He brought his sword down again into Zesiro. Another deep nasty wound was left into Zesiro's shoulder.

"Try as much as you like," said Gumm calmly, "I have nowhere to be today."

"Of course you don't," mocked Zesiro. Zesiro gripped his blades tighter. This guy was an expert with the sword. Zesiro's skills were the best anyone on any of his previous islands have ever seen, but Gumm is beating his butt and mocking him at the same time. But even still he wasn't going to go down and beg for mercy! He'd just have to push and keep on pushing! Zesiro charged at Gumm. His two swords flashing remarkably in the sunlight.

Gumm chuckled. "To keep on fighting despite the knowledge that you are hopelessly outmatched…" Gumm blocked one of Zesiro's blows using his blade, "is an interesting trait isn't it…" Gumm blocked several more of Zesiro's dance-like slices, "however it is ultimately futile unless one hits his target." Gumm sliced his sword through Zesiro's stomach cutting another deep slice into his body. Gumm jumped back a few feet to a safer distance.

Zesiro clumsily rose to his feet again. The pure adrenaline in his veins now rushing him forward. The annoying thing was he never actually officially joined Mikoto's crew. They just assumed he did. He probably never would have either. He was happy living on his small island with the familiar faces of Fishmen surrounding him. He was perfectly content on his island…until Dominic Renvont showed up. Zesiro's eyes grew cold. They turned into something close to the eyes of a complete berserk man. Adrenaline had stopped fueling him, now a mixture of rage and hatred flowed through his veins.

Gumm glanced at Zesiro's eyes. "I've seen those eyes before…they are the eyes of an enraged Fishman. I've heard that a Fishman's strength is boosted somewhat terribly during the time that he is enraged. I wonder if those rumors are true."

Zesiro just mumbled his response. His mind flooded with thoughts of the man in the blood red shirt. He griped his two swords and charged. Gumm brought his sword around and towards Zesiro. Zesiro slashed it away from his face and sent it into the ground. Zesiro continued to charge. Gumm pulled his sword out of the ground but by then it was too late. Zesiro was right in front of him. Zesiro brought both of his swords into and through Gumm. Gumm stood there for a second bleeding. Gumm yelled and struck out with his foot kicking Zesiro away.

"You cut me!" shouted Gumm. "How dare you cut me?"

"Now you know how I felt," said Zesiro. He stood back up and spun his two swords around. "Where were we?"

"We were in the Feasting Hall and now we are on the Training Ground," said Gumm. Gumm brought his sword up and through the air and back down. Zesiro dodged to the side barely avoiding a blow that would have easily split him in two. The dirt where the sword landed exploded into the air. Zesiro charged at Gumm again. Gumm dodged to the left avoiding another series of slices from Zesiro. Gumm's sword came loose and sliced through the Fishman's legs.

Zesiro spun around and brought his blade straight into the ground between Gumm's legs. Gumm quickly recovered and was up and running before Zesiro brought the second sword into the ground.

Gumm stood about eight feet away from Zesiro. Considering his blade was about 8 feet long and his arms around two feet. He had the upper hand now. "It is said that in battle of blades the one with the longest reach wins," said Gumm, "Mine has the longest reach so I guess I have the upper hand!" He just started spinning it above his head again. The sword started to pick up speed and the wind created by this spin started to pick up small stones and dust.

Zesiro stood there in amazement of the little tornado Gumm was creating. The small stones were going to make it hard to get in close to his opponent. As if he already didn't have his work cut out for him with the eight-foot long sword!

Zesiro charged Gumm, still in his enraged state of thought. Numerous stones dug into his shark-like flesh. Gumm brought his sword down towards Zesiro. Zesiro blocked the sword using his two swords. He continued to charge at Gumm. In one instant he brought his swords away from Gumm's sword and rammed them into Gumm slicing him as he ran to the other side.

Gumm turned around. He had blocked Zesiro's slice at the last second using the hilt of his own blade. Zesiro was a formidable opponent while he was angry but at the same time the only real change was his attack pattern became more vicious. A few changes in his perception and he would be able to easily predicate Zesiro's next moves again.

Zesiro charged at Gumm again. Charge. Check. Zesiro started to do another dance with his blades sending several thousands of whizzing blades nearing Gumm's face and body. Gumm dodged several of the blades watching them whiz around his body. Gumm spun out with his sword the sharp edge nearing Zesiro's side. Another block using Zesiro's swords.

Zesiro launched a barrage of swords one after the other. Gumm expertly dodged and blocked every single one of the enraged flurry of swords. Gumm was slowing piecing together every single one of Zesiro's sword dances. The completely unobvious tells were becoming open books to him. He memorized where to look and when then the rest of it was strictly memorization of marks. Now it was time to memorize his defensive moves.

Gumm lashed out with his long blade it sliced through the air. Zesiro brought both of his swords and pushed off, deflecting the slice in a completely different direction. Gumm brought his sword back around in enough time to block Zesiro's next slice. Gumm jumped back and retreated to a safe distance.

Gumm brought his sword straight down. Zesiro blocked. Gumm struck again. Zesiro blocked. Gumm was committing every one of Zesiro's rage fueled attacks to memory. Once Gumm memorized all of Zesiro's attacks and all of his blocks Zesiro would be a fish out of water.

Zesiro darted towards Gumm. His swords spinning in the air. His white teeth gleaming with rage. Gumm flicked out with his sword. Zesiro brought his swords up in the same old blocking pattern. Gumm's sword whipped around Zesiro's swords and dug deep into Zesiro's cheek.

Gumm blocked Zesiro's oncoming attack. Gumm then struck out with his shoe. He pushed Zesiro away. Gumm then brought his sword back around. It wrapped itself firmly around Zesiro. Gumm pulled. The sword's entire eight-foot long sharp body dragged itself around Zesiro. It left a spiral imprinted cutting pattern all the way around Zesiro.

Zesiro fell down to the ground in pain. His entire body hurt. His eyes snapped out of their previously berserk state. He started gasping for air. The blood spilled from his body and onto the ground. He looked around for some kind of help. He saw nothing. His two swords were all he had. They were the only thing he had left of his parents though…

(-Flashback-)

A young Zesiro ran through the village. In his arms he carried chunks of raw meat. Stones, ashes, chunks of bones were hurled at him. He continued to run. More items were thrown at him several of them met their mark but Zesiro continued to run. A crew of angry villagers with arms full of rocks and bones continued the chase. Zesiro saw a long stream. He threw the meat into his mouth. He dove into the water. He hid underneath there. Waiting for the villagers. He could make out a muffled conversation.

"Where did the demon go?" shouted a voice.

"Who knows he probably became a bat and flew away!" shouted another one, "he is already put shark he might be part bat too!"

"Can you believe him, he actually wanted us to believe he bought that meat!" shouted a third voice.

The second voice spoke again, "Its probably one of our fellow villagers! We got to do a head count. We'd be lucky if he didn't eat a little kid."

"_I didn't eat a little kid!"_ screamed Zesiro in his head. _"I did pay for this meat, too!"_ He waited underwater for a few more minutes after the long time of interrupted silence he swam up top to see if he could see the villagers. No one was around.

He stepped on the ground. He spat the meat out. He took a chunk out of it with his sharp teeth. Bloody…he preferred cooked meat…oh well he can't cook it…he can't buy cooked meat…bloody will have to do. He continued to eat it with much vigor. This island had very little animals on it…he couldn't hunt. He'd just have to go with the slim pickings at the stores. This meat would have to last him a week. Just like the last one did. Although the last one was a bit bigger. He licked his lips. Another bite? No! It had to last one week! He shoved it into his backpack and walked towards the beach.

He looked out over the extraordinarily long ocean. How he wished he could sail out there and be free. Eat cooked meat without being called a demon. Be a free man. He has tried before. He tried swimming once. Ran into a sea king. Nearly died. He tried making a boat and sailing out. It was destroyed by a sea king. Nearly died. He is trapped on this island. He had to get going. Staying on the beach is a bad idea. The villagers will sometimes go fishing. He got up and turned back to the path.

He noticed out of the corner of his eyes several large boulders. Of course this in itself isn't that interesting but what behind it was. A cabin! Maybe it was abandoned! Maybe he could hide out there for a few days! He ran towards the cabin. His pace slowed as he got closer. What if it was a human? A dirty pain in the butt jerk! Humans! Who needed them! He didn't want to meet another human as long as he lived. But the house was tempting. It was worth it! He charged towards the house. He peered in through the window. No human in sight. Yes! Wait. What's that over the fireplace? He opened the door and walked in.

He walked over to the fireplace. Over it were two neat swords. Well kept. One had a light blue hilt with a black blade. The other had a red blade and a light gray hilt. He grabbed them one in each hand. They felt natural in his hands. They were lightweight. Each sword seemed to radiate energy. Perfectly natural energy.

An old man burst into the door. He looked shocked at Zesiro. Zesiro spun around the two swords in his hands still. The old man laughed at him. He pulled a seat over and sat in it. His voice was cracked and weak. "The name is Garneth. I assume you are Zesiro."

"Yeah," said Zesiro. He dropped both of his swords to his sides. "How did you know?"

"I knew your mom," said Garneth. "She came to my doorstep and asked me to hand those swords off to you. She was half dead. The villagers overreacted to her and your dad. Your dad was killed on the spot. She was able to get away badly damaged near death carrying a child in her arms. I took the child and let it get old enough to fend for itself. Then I set it free with its name, Zesiro."

"My parents were killed?" said Zesiro. He gulped. "These swords were meant for me?"

"Your mother's dying wish," said Garneth. "Take them."

Tears welled up in Zesiro's eyes. His mother was killed. His father killed. By humans! He should've hated all humans from that day out, but Garneth showed genuine kindness. Taking him to a different island. Giving him food. Passing onto him his swords. His sword!

(-To current times-)

Zesiro stood up. He felt physically drained. He had next to nothing left in him. But for some reason he couldn't turn back. His driving willpower wouldn't let him. This must be the same thing that all of the great swordsman felt. The feeling that you had to keep fighting even if it meant death!

"You can still stand?" said Gumm. "That's a rare occurrence. Are you going to keep fighting or are you going to go quietly?"

"What do you think," said Zesiro. He stood behind his two swords ready to attack or defend whichever he saw an opening for first.

"I think you are going to keep fighting," said Gumm.

Zesiro chuckled. Even in the heat of battle Gumm was still Gumm. Specific, literal Gumm. Zesiro took off.

Gumm spun his sword around and brought towards Zesiro's neck. Zesiro ducked beneath and to the side. Gumm tried to bring his sword back around and cut through Zesiro. But Zesiro jumped over it and continued to come at Gumm. No matter which way Gumm swung his sword Zesiro dodged it. Soon Zesiro was straight up in Gumm's face. Zesiro unleashed a salvo of slices after salvo of slice. Gumm was having trouble guessing his next move, must less being able to bring his sword up in time to block.

Zesiro attacked every opening he got and with this close of range every second presented several openings. The sound of metal clashing with metal filled the air. The continuous noise clashing swords. Zesiro dug his swords into Gumm's body over and over again. Zesiro's blade caught onto Gumm's blade and knocked it straight from his hands. Gumm brought his hands up in a futile effort to block. Zesiro pointed his sword straight at Gumm's face and stood there.

Gumm looked up at Zesiro. Zesiro didn't even budge. "Aren't you going to finish me off? I lost my sword, I can't fight, you win." Each word was brought out heavily. Gumm was exhausted. For Zesiro to have rebounded from such a near-death exhaustion and hit with all that energy was amazing.

"And that's good enough for me," said Zesiro. He put both of his swords back and walked away. "I would never strike an unarmed man nor would I strike a man who has lost the spirit to fight."

* * *

Victor: Zesiro! The fight between Zesiro and Gumm is now over. I apologize to those who were expecting a three chapter epic fight! Also it is harder then you think to write a battle between Swordsmen. I just kept wanting to say slice! CUT! Slash!


	16. MB Arc Part 7 Iron versus Steel!

Hiro-Shu stopped at a wall. The map said there should be a room here. He looked up at the wall again. He put his hand to it and tired pushing. Nope. The wall is as solid as a rock. Maybe there was something on the other side, but it was covered up. His fist became coated in a hard iron glove. He punched the wall. The entire wall crackled with his fist at the center. The wall collapsed before him. He looked down at the mess and then on the other side of the wall. It was an old room? He walked into it and looked around. His natural curiosity urged him to do so. On the table he found a nameplate that read 'Vice Admiral' Jugo.

"I heard something this way," someone shouted. A female shouted. Hiro-Shu turned his attention to voice. He got ready to punch whoever turned the corner first.

Valerie turned the corner and looked into the room. Hiro-Shu stood there arms in hardened iron. He looked stunned to have ran into Valerie again. Valerie looked back. More marines were surrounding the duo.

"Who is that?" said a first voice, "Is he one of the pirates?"

"Look at what he is wearing! It's a prisoner's uniform!" shouted a second one.

"Its Hiro-Shu the Golem!" shouted a third. "I remember when he arrested."

"Get him captain Valerie," chimed in the first voice again.

"_Crap," _though Hiro-Shu, _"so close. Oh well, I might as well get ready to run."_ Hiro-Shu braced himself for a run.

"He's going to tackle you!" shouted another Marine.

Valerie fell to the floor in pain. She grabbed her knee and screamed. "My leg," she said in a faking voice, "I think I twisted it…or maybe its broken! It must have happened with all that running we were doing…"

Hiro-Shu smiled. Valerie was faking leg trauma to let him get out of here. He was about to take off when another Marine voiced his opinion.

"Valerie! You can't be serious! You are about to loose your job!" shouted a Marine. "You keep getting marked down! If you let a prisoner escape you'd definitely be demoted, fired, or worse they could think you've joined forces and you could get executed in his stead!" Valerie looked sternly at the Marine. She knew she was going to lose her job.

Hiro-Shu stopped in his tracks and straightened back up. His freedom was going to cost Valerie her job maybe even her life. He had saved her life before another time wasn't going to make a difference to him.

"Give the girl a break," said Hiro-Shu donning a more serious voice, "She couldn't have beaten me even if she tried." He walked up to Valerie. He slugged her once with his plain fist to her cheek. She toppled over.

Valerie glared at Hiro-Shu. She was trying to help him! She was trying to let him escape! She looked at his fist. It was still human. He could've broken her entire body if he would've made it iron. He was trying to save her! Why couldn't he just let her repay him? She was trying to repay her debt to him! He saved her and know she was saving him! It would've been that simply. But Hiro-Shu decided to end with even more gusto and make himself seem like a hero again! Valerie stood up bracing herself.

"Looks like all my leg needed was a good punch to the face," said Valerie. She smiled. "I am a fair lady so I figure I should warn you," her knees to her toes all became incased in pure steel, "I am the vessel to the almighty spirit, Kjósa the Valkyrie of Steel. My entire body (and any clothing touching it) is capable of becoming solid steel. Any swords you have are basically useless against me."

"As you probably already know I am the vessel to Iguko, the Golem of Iron," said Hiro-Shu. "Get out of my way before I have to hurt your pretty face."

One of the younger marines looked at the eldest marines there, "What is a vessel?"

The eldest marine scoffed, "A vessel is a human that houses two spirits. His own and an ancient spirit. The spirit lends its power to the human in an equal trade for a body to inhabit. Spirits would natural deteriorate if they weren't in a human body or an animal body. So it's basically an even trade."

"So, they are like Devil Fruit users, huh," said the younger one.

"Close to. Devil Fruits have a much wider range of powers and the two spirits inside a human body will sometimes have conflicting ideals and will refuse to lend the human their power. Of course Devil Fruit users are hated by the sea and will drown. The same isn't true for vessels."

"Wow," said the younger marine. "I hope Valerie can win."

Valerie jumped towards Hiro-Shu. She brought her steel encased leg down through the air aimed at Hiro-Shu. "**Heel of Steel! Valkyrie's Ax!" **She brought her heel straight into Hiro-Shu's shoulder. Hiro-Shu simply responded with a smile as his iron encased shoulder wasn't even dented.

"**Fist of Iron! Golem's Fury!" **shouted Hiro-Shu. He encased his fist in iron and then he punched Valerie hard in the gut. Valerie skidded back some, fortunately though she was unharmed.

Valerie prepared herself for the next attack. "Let's get going, I have no problem with a little bruise here and there." Valerie flipped over into a handstand and encased her legs in even more steel. **"Heels of Steel! ****Kjósa's Windmill!"**She spun around launched several kicks from her handstand position.

Hiro-Shu brought his iron encased hands up to protect him from most of the sharp kicks she was delivering. Her attacks eventually stopped and she jumped back onto her feet. She was ready to fight the iron golem that saved her life a few years ago. More then that it almost appeared as if she was winning.

Hiro-Shu brought his arms down and examined them. Despite the earlier fights that left him completely unscathed, this fight had already left several scratches on his iron arms. A prolonged fight might not be to his advantage. He'd have to step it up a notch.

"**First Stage! Golem Brawler!" **Hiro-Shu slammed his knuckles together as they became encased in metal. His legs underwent a similar reaction. Soon both of his arms and both of his legs were iron.

"That's seriously it," said Valerie, "I'll show you a real first stage! **First Stage! Valkyrie Scout!" **She gained pure steel shoulder pads, forearms bands, a tiara, and a small breast plate. Her heels became flat regular boots with wheels embedded in the bottom.

The two equal iron and steel clad warriors grinned at each other. The fight was winding down into something more and more interesting with each and every passing attack. Before this was just a somewhat trivial battle, but now neither warrior wanted to back away and lose. Both of them wanted to prove their strength to the other.

"**Heel of Steel! Valkyrie Axe!" **Valerie brought her leg straight up and down upon the iron warrior once more. Hiro-Shu blocked with his simple iron fist.

Before Hiro-Shu got his turn to launch a blow, the ground beneath started to crack and crumble underneath their combined nearly colossal 1200 pounds! The ground split up and swallowed them whole. Hiro-Shu landed painfully on his rear end, Valerie was much more fortunate and graceful and was able to land on her two feet. However the increased strain with her kicks and now the fall were apparently starting to take a toll on her steel legs. The new battle field they were in was coated with slime, dirt, and grime. It was some kind of garbage room. It was filled with trash like banana peels, tissues, and even a few traces of used toilet paper. Ew.

Valerie dusted off a little dirt. Hiro-Shu calmly and slowly got up after her. Valerie chuckled at the poor iron warrior. The applause and commotion from above was still able to be heard and none of it was very kind towards Hiro-Shu. Valerie motioned for Hiro-Shu to make the first move. He didn't budge.

"Come on, Hiro-Shu," taunted Valerie, "I know you want to fight me as much as I want to fight you, but sometimes you got to do something you don't want to do. So attack me!"

"Can't," replied Hiro-Shu. He brought his arms up to a blocking posture.

"Can't? You can't what? Can't hit me?" said Valerie, "Just because I am a girl and you saved my life once doesn't mean you should take it easy on me."

"No, I'm not taking it easy on you," said Hiro-Shu, "I just can't move…the increased weight from my arms and legs makes it difficult."

"You're kidding me, right?" laughed Valerie, "you are not attacking me because you are too heavy? Don't you have any far distance attacks."

"None that works too well in the grime," said Hiro-Shu as he moved his heavy hand to his shoulder and threw a banana peel off of him.

"Fine," said Valerie. "I'll just take you out then!" Valerie darted towards Hiro-Shu. She was rapidly speeding towards Hiro-Shu on the hidden wheels in her boots.

"**Fists of Iron! Iguko's Hammer!" **shouted Hiro-Shu. He locked his two fists together and brought them down in a hammer like fashion at Valerie. Valerie tried to dart away but the grimy residue on the floor made her wheels lousy at moving and she quickly lost her balance and slammed onto the floor. Hiro-Shu brought his iron fists straight down upon her.

The marines up top started yelling and screaming something fierce. Valerie got up and darted away. With this sight they started to cheer once again for their beloved captain. Valerie jumped back down and did another handstand. "You could barely block it last time so let's see it again! **Heels of Steel! Kjósa's Windmill!" **Her spinning legs repeatedly slammed into Hiro-Shu's arms. She then stopped spinning jumped to her feet and launched another kick. "**Heel of Steel! Valkyrie's Lance!" **This kick decimated Hiro-Shu's defense blasting his arms away from his face and causing him to fall back into the grime.

Valerie stood above him. She brought her leg straight up preparing for her next attack, but Hiro-Shu still had a trick left. "**Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame!"** Hiro-Shu blew a large amount of fire from his mouth towards Valerie. Valerie's entire body was soon wrapped up in scorching flames. She stumbled back giving Hiro-Shu a brief opening. Hiro-Shu jumped to his feet and punched Valerie with his hard as iron fist. Valerie was thrown back from the near devastating punch. If she wasn't being protected by a thin suit of steel that punch would've devastated her body.

Valerie was quickly getting back on her feet. Bad news was with that last punch she was thrown into the dirty garbage water. Good news was the dirt garbage water extinguished her previously burning body.

"Ew," squeaked Valerie as she pulled dirty pieces of trash off of her body, "ew, ew, ew! You are going to pay for that Hiro-Shu! **Heels of Steel! Valkyrie's Lance!" **Valerie slammed her hardened steel heel into Hiro-Shu's gut forcing him to stumble backwards. "**Heel of Steel! Valkyrie's Axe!" **Valerie brought he heel straight up from that position and brought it back down slamming it into Hiro-Shu's body.

Hiro-Shu remained where he was his iron body not flinching for even one moment due Valerie's attacks vicious and continuous -Shu breathed flames onto both of his hands. **"Forger's Fire! Shiba's Knuckle!" **Hiro-Shu unleashed a devastating flaming punch at Valerie. Valerie tried dodging it by jumping back but it was to little avail. Despite it only barely nicking her chin the fire spread over her garbage littered body catching each individual trash molecule on fire, lighting her up.

Valerie fell straight into the trash and started splashing herself with water trying to cool her off. The fire was barely doing its job, but slowly the fire to become extinguished. The heavy iron around Hiro-Shu's legs disappeared. He charged towards her.

Under his breath, low enough were the marines above them were incapable of hearing anything that he could possibly say, he said "I'm sorry, Valerie." Then in a more uproarious tone of voice he shouted, "**Fist of Iron! Golem's Fury!" **He sent one straight punch into Valerie's nearly unguarded face and sent her flying into the walls behind her. "Maybe next time we meet we can just grab something to eat instead of fighting." He quickly ran out of the room to find his way out of the labyrinth that is the Marine Base.

(-The Harbor-)

"Crap," said Ridley, "I can't find Mikoto…I've been to the gym, locker rooms, bedrooms, ship working shops, I've been everywhere…" he looked around and saw the large ship. "Maybe he beat Kin already and decided to get to work on setting off." Ridley jumped onto the ship. He noticed no one else was on the ship yet. "Crap! Still no sight of Mikoto." Ridley was about to go out and look for Mikoto, but something stopped him. Zesiro was throwing cannonballs into the sea.

Ridley jumped down from the boat. "What are you doing!" he shouted. "Do you want the Marines to kill us!"

"No, that is why I am getting rid of their ammunition!" Zesiro shouted back, "no cannonballs means no getting fired at when we set sail!" Zesiro shoved another cannonball off of the dock. The ball made a large splash in the water.

"Wow, that is actually pretty smart," said Ridley, "I guess you aren't just two swords and muscle." Ridley ran over to a cannon ball and started pushing it towards the sea. "Two men are better then one."

* * *

So with that the epic fight between Valerie and Hiro-Shu draws to a close. The only ones remaining are Mikoto and Kin. But other real questions remains what is Hiro-Shu going to do? Where is Mikoto? Is Mikoto going to win? And where is Sage right now? What is the deal with this 'Jugo' fellow? Are you guys going to keep reading and reviewing? I hope so!


	17. MB Arc Part 8 Kin's Clay Armor

Mikoto was running down a hall. Clay shot straight out of the wall closing off Mikoto's escape way. Mikoto swerved to the side and tried running down the next hall. Balls of clay whizzed past his head. Kin was not far behind him. He was almost skating across the clay on the ground in front of him as he hunted Mikoto down.

"Stop running away," commanded Kin.

"Stop trying to kill me!" replied Mikoto as he took another turn into a door. He stopped as he noticed he was back in the infirmary. He looked around desperate to find a way out. The infirmary had no windows, no skylight, and only one door. He was in here for three days without getting killed? It reminded him more of a slaughterhouse then an infirmary. The flowers his crew had gotten him were dead…except for Sage's…she didn't put hers into a vase and gave them to him, she took pictures of them. She took excellent care of them on the ship.

Kin busted through the door. His hand covered in thick clay. "I didn't fill you in on my powers yet have I?" said Kin. The clay around his hand shrunk back into his body. "I ate the Nendo-Nendo no mi (Clay-Clay Fruit). It's a Logia-Type Devil Fruit. I can become, control, and create clay."

"Become clay?" said Mikoto, "Hah ha! Becoming clay! Well, I can become a coyote or a coyote and human hybrid! So let's face it! You are at a disadvantage here!"

Kin looked amazed at Mikoto's stupidity. "It's a Logia-Type Devil Fruit," said Kin, "I can't be harmed by normal means. Anytime you attack me I'll just become clay and your attack will end in failure? Any of this ringing a bell or are you seriously this new to the game?"

"Hey, I've been a pirate for at least a month, maybe two or three…" said Mikoto. He pulled his hand out and started counting on his fingers.

"And you plan to make it as a pirate?" asked Kin, "The talent nowadays."

"I'm not going to become any old pirate…I'm going to become King of the Pirate!" shouted Mikoto.

"You? King of the Pirates?" said Kin. "You'll have to get through me first."

"Fine," said Mikoto, "Have things your way!" Mikoto morphed into his half-beast form and dove at Kin. He claws cleaving straight through his body waist. Mikoto stumbled onto the other side. He turned around to see Kin's body cut in half. "I didn't mean to literally go through your body! You were just doing your job! And I cut you in half I am so sorry! I'll tell everyone that you were a brave marine!"

Kin's body turned into clay. The two halves reattached and formed Kin's original body. "I am not dead! I turned my body into clay the instant you hit your attack didn't even faze me see?"

"No fair! I cut you in half! You should've died," complained Mikoto.

"Thanks for your compassion," said Kin, "but if you actually had any idea about my Logia-class Devil Fruit powers you may have a chance, but you don't. Out of respect for the good job you did at tricking us…I'll end this quick! **Clay Shuriken!**" Kin lobbed three clay balls towards Mikoto. The balls slowly flattened out and became flat discs with four razor sharps blades sticking out.

"**Coyote!"** shouted Mikoto as he was running towards Kin. His hybrid form shrunk till it was the normal coyote mode. The three clay discs whizzed over his head. Mikoto jumped up and onto Kin forcing the Marine to the ground. Mikoto opened his mouth and took a large chunk of skin from Kin's side. Mikoto reeled back spitting up molecules of clay. "Phbbt! You taste like clay!"

The wound in Kin's side morphed into clay and expanded until it was fully healed. "Any wound you inflict on me can be healed with my clay," said Kin, "Of course my clay isn't just handy for healing and defending with. Its attack options are also pretty neat. **Claymore." **Clay dripped from his hand as it formed a long three-foot blade. "Granted swordplay isn't my forte, but I find it best to be well versed in several different weapons."

"You can use as many weapons as you need to," said Mikoto, "Its just going to make you feel silly when you lose to just me and my claws."

Kin's look hardened. "You remind me a lot of my old superior Jugo," said Kin, "looks like I finally get to discharge some aggression!" Kin ran towards Mikoto unleashing one barrage of slices after another. Each swipe sent Mikoto jumping in a different direction or spiraling down to the ground in pain. Kin saw an opening and jabbed his blade straight into Mikoto's gut. Kin brought the blade straight up, ripping through Mikoto's old bandages. As the bandages hit the ground Mikoto's bullet ridden chest came into full view.

The bullet holes in Mikoto's chest were frequent but they had been expertly placed. None of the bullets would've gone near a vital organ. But there were so many bullet holes there. It appeared as if someone had emptied his gun numerous times on this one kid. It was amazing that the kid was still standing much less alive.

"I'm really going to get yelled at by Sage for this," said Mikoto peering down on his body. "Ridley probably won't be happy about it either. It would be different if we had doctor…I need to get a doctor onto my crew."

The clay sword cleaved into the wall inches above his head. "You'll need to get out of here in order to have a crew."

"Right, right, save thoughts of doctors and medicine for a time I am not getting cleaved open!" laughed Mikoto.

"Fool," replied Kin as he drove his sword straight into the wall. Mikoto was fortunate enough to have rolled to the side avoiding the dangerous and devastating blow, "Instead of focusing on getting a crew, focus on getting better," the sword in Kin's melted away the clay then straightened out into a long spear, "In the Grand Line a captain matters more then rest of the crew following him."

"Grand Line? Is that where the One Piece is?" asked Mikoto.

"You really don't know anything do you," asked Kin, "The Grand Line is supposedly filled to the brim with pirates each one capable of swatting a hundred of my men! There are thousands of islands there and even more about to be discovered! The last island, Raftel, is where the first Pirate King assumedly left the One Piece the first time! The second Pirate King was apparently a little nuts so no one really knows where he hid it. But it's a safe bet that it is in the Grand Line…HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW ANY OF THIS! THIS IS BASIC PIRATE INFORMATION!"

"I learned everything about pirates from my father," said Mikoto, "if you thought I was terrible pirate you should've seen him."

"I feel sorry for the man that raised you," said Kin. He jabbed his spear at Mikoto. Mikoto dodged it and grabbed onto it with both of his hands.

"My dad died when I was four years old," said Mikoto, "my memories of him are a bit foggy, but I remember what he told me!"

Kin tried to pull the spear out of Mikoto's grip but it was to no avail. Mikoto was holding hard on to the spear. "Your dad must've been fool. Go out onto the sea with no information is the same as signing your death warrant. Why don't you join him in hell!" Kin broke the spear in two and raised his remaining half of the stick above his head. The end of the stick grew and inflated itself. The spear was now a hammer. Kin brought it straight down, Mikoto jumped back avoiding the blow.

"No thanks!" said Mikoto he ran towards Kin delivering one wicked fast punch to his jaw throwing clay all over the room. "I said I was going to become King of the Pirates and that's my word!" Mikoto morphed into his hybrid form and flipped onto his hands bringing his rear legs up and bringing his claws into Kin's face scratching his eye. The place where his eye was just lumpy clay.

"I told you I am invulnerable!" said Kin, "wherever you hit is clay! You can't beat me if you can't even hurt me!" The body was reshaping into its normal form, "give up now, they have nice places in Impel Down for wannabe pirates like you."

Mikoto dove in and unleashed several strikes onto Kin's body, but all of them just went through the clay. "I'm not a wannabe pirate!" Kin lashed out with another swing from his hammer. The blow sent Mikoto flying into the wall.

"I shouldn't be surprised," said Kin as he walked over to the defeated pirate, "hardened clay makes for a good weapon and you are a lousy pirate. You should've just have given up and learned a trade, opened up a pet store, married a pretty girl, and lived. But you just had to throw your life away!"

Mikoto stood up. Small rocks from the chipped wall fell off of him. "I did not become a pirate to throw my life away! I'm going to finish my father's dream!" Mikoto ran towards Kin and slugged him as hard as he could in the stomach. Kin flew backwards and into the wall. "I will become the next Pirate King!"

"_Drat,"_ thought Kin, _"That brat's stamina is amazing. Not to mention his sheer punching force! He blew my body away with one punch! Only other person who has ever done that was Jugo…"_ Kin glared at Mikoto. "You really are like another Jugo." Clay started to ooze from Kin's body. It soon covered his entire body in a clay-like armor. His fingers were replaced with hardened clay claws. His entire face was hidden from view other holes for his eyes and mouth. He stood up coated in this armor with little effort. "I was hoping to save this armor for the next time I faced Jugo! Oh, well, looks like I get to have some practice with it!" Kin delivered one punch at Mikoto. Mikoto jumped away from the direction. The force from the punch blew a large hole in the wall.

"Holy crap!" said Mikoto landing on his feet, "that wall could've been me!"

"Next time it will be," said Kin, "this armor is designed for battle. I rigged it up myself. Modeling it after the strongest armor and best weapons. It is as hard as steel, small spikes riddle the fists to increase its punching force, and as it's made of clay I can change its shape on a whim!"

"No fair!" shouted Mikoto, "There's got to be a rule against something like that! I don't got any clay armor! It doesn't even have any weak points!"

Kin shook his head. This armor of his was actually riddled with weak points. It was super heavy it took three times his normal amount of energy just to move. Not only that the armor actually takes his mind away from turning himself to clay any attacks that get through will actually hurt him. If that wasn't bad enough before he was barely slower then Mikoto, but now he probably couldn't even dodge a single punch he throws. The benefits however outweigh the problems.

"I know I can just runaway again!" said Mikoto, he turned to the door. His face fell when he noticed a wall of clay had blocked him in. "You just aren't going to let me have a good plan are you?"

Kin charged at Mikoto, Mikoto ran off to the side avoiding another punch from Kin's heavily armored clad body. Mikoto ran behind Kin. He started to rapidly punch the backside of Kin's armor. The armor barely even cracked under the assault. Kin spun around backslapping Mikoto and sending him flying through the hole he made earlier.

Mikoto got up. His face was bleeding, not to mention he felt like a bus had just hit him. The stood up and placed his hand on a glass case. He looked around. There were many glass cases all on top of pedestals. Each one had another piece of weaponry or an item in it.

"This is my trophy room," said Kin walking in, "whenever I defeat a pirate I take one of his belongings and place it in this room. I think a claw from you would make a magnificent trophy."

Mikoto looked down at the case he was leaning on. Inside was a small yellow ball. Mikoto brought his arm straight into it busting the glass open. "Ah ha! I know what this is! It's a military rations pellet! By eating it I'll have the strength to fight for three days and nights without the need of sleep or eating!" Mikoto threw it straight into his mouth. "Yuck, it tastes terrible."

"It wasn't a military rations pellet," shouted Kin, "it was Chopper's famous Rumble Ball! A recently apprehended thief was accused of stealing that! With that Chopper was capable of additional transformations for three whole minutes!"

"Great," said Mikoto, "I can't wait to see how it affects me!"

* * *

The Marine Base Arc is winding down this arc is finally coming to an end. The Rumble Ball was just something I decided to throw in there. Anyways, to end this section I would like to say this: You guys are allowed to submit story ideas for this story (just PM me) and also with the newly added Rumble Ball you guys can also suggest new forms for Mikoto.


	18. MB Arc Finale Mikoto's 4th and 5th Forms

Kin stood there. "I'm waiting to see these new transformations."

"Yeah, I am kind of too," said Mikoto as he shrunk back to his human form, "I don't really know how to use the Rumble Ball…I normally think of my powers as a lever. Dog is down, hybrid is the middle, and human is all the way up. The Rumble Ball I thought was going to give me an option of pressing a button or something to morph, but that idea isn't happening."

"Of course," said Kin as he drove his claws into the glass case besides him, "power is nothing if you have no idea how to control it. I have honed my skills for months on end without a break, and you expect to be able to eat one Rumble Ball and be at my level already."

"Right, the world just isn't that easy," said Mikoto, "Well, fine then, I'll just have to make do with what I got!" Mikoto entered his hybrid form again rushing towards Kin his claws outstretched.

Kin caught Mikoto's claw with his heavily armored fist. Kin then immediately brought his knee up and into Mikoto's gut. Mikoto fell immediately to the floor. He felt drained. His ribs felt smashed. Not to mention he still had that horrible taste in his mouth. Kin however wasn't being nice and giving him a break. Kin bent down and grabbed Mikoto by his ears. He yanked Mikoto off of the ground. Mikoto yelped at the tugging of his ears.

"This armor isn't even perfected yet," said Kin, "I was hoping as a Zoan-Type user you would give me a little insight to the power of my old superior Jugo. I guess I was hoping for nothing. Jugo was a pain in my butt. He sent me on errands to get his coffee and then he would lock me out of his room," Kin delivered a quick punch to Mikoto gut, "He would tell me to meet him in the gymnasium and he would go in the complete and opposite direction," Kin threw another punch into Mikoto, "he would get me and him onto a boat for 'training' then he would throw me, a Devil Fruit user into the water 20 miles from the shore!" Kin yanked Mikoto even higher. His mind was being completely consumed with thoughts that his old mentor Jugo did to him.

"Shut up," said Mikoto. Kin's glance returned to the half-dead coyote he held in hand. "I'm your opponent, not this Jugo guy you demented sculpture!" Mikoto brought his legs up and wrapped them around Kin's neck. **"Claw Corkscrew!" **Mikoto twisted with all of his might sending both of them into the floor beneath them. Mikoto got back up and quickly jumped back avoiding a swipe Kin made with his claw enhanced armor.

"Pest," said Kin getting up. Some of his clay armor had been knocked off in the impact. "You actually broke off some of my armor." The clay soon started creeping all the way around his body again until he was fully cloaked. "But still you do deserve some respect, I was being an idiot, how could you ever live up to be a man like Jugo. You can't even hit me or avoid my attacks! **Goliath's Fist!"** Kin's right hand expanded till it was the size of a small deck. Kin swung his heavy fist at Mikoto. Large lumps of clay started to fall onto the floor. Kin's hand was revealed underneath all that clay it was obvious he was bleeding heavily with a long wound buried in it. He saw an altered Mikoto smirking at him.

Mikoto was no longer in his hybrid form. This form was more slender. And the coyote ears Kin had been pulling on moments ago were lost in a hairy head. But the most astonishing change hadn't occurred on his head or chest but his hands and feet. The claws that were probably only two inches long last time had expanded to that of a foot on his hand and probably half of a one his claws.

"Hey, looks like our wait is over," said Mikoto glancing at his claws, "its just like before just with a little bit more of an effort to place the lever in the right place. Instead of just up and down there is also apparently a left and a right." Mikoto saw blood dripping from Kin's hand. "I thought you couldn't be harmed because of your Logia Devil Fruit powers!"

Kin's face twitched, _"Is he mocking me?" _The clay on his body covered his hand again. _"I guess it was to be expected I got carried away with this tough armor. I didn't think he could've harmed me…crap, I got to stay on my guard haven't gotten my defenses down to a reflex, yet."_

"Cool," said Mikoto, he ignoring Kin at the moment and was more obsessed with his foot long claws. He made a couple of feint hits in the air and then he spun around slicing a nearby pedestal into two. "Say hello to my new mode, Claw!"

"If you survive long enough to use it again," said Kin jumping towards him forming another claymore, "I might just have to!" Kin brought his sword straight down but it was cut into several chunks with a simple swift of Mikoto's claw. Kin jumped back avoiding another swipe from Mikoto's claw that would've nearly decapitated him.

"Here I come! **Claw Bombardier!"** Mikoto tried to run towards Kin, but do to his new and lengthy claws on his feet he couldn't. He tripped over his own claws and smashed into the floor. "No fair you tripped me!"

"I didn't do anything," shouted Kin. Why does he always get the stupid ones! His view returned to his arm. Slicing his clay armor up and then his claymore up were no small feats. He'd have to take a far more cautious method with this idiot. Kin jumped back another couple of feet. His armor loosened up until it just covered his torso and legs. The clay that was on his hands transformed into a small gun. He took careful aim at Mikoto. "I'll have you know I am quite the animal lover at heart, and seeing you ridden with bullets makes me believe you aren't the best at long distance fighting. Good luck in hell!" The gun fired three small balls of clay at Mikoto at high speeds.

Mikoto dodged each one with barely an inch to spare. "Wow, you got gunpowder in your body! Awesome! Where do you keep it?"

"Its not gunpowder," shouted Kin becoming increasingly annoyed, "its more like an air cannon then a gun. I create a small area filled with air with my clay and then I slowly compress it building up the air pressure. Then by opening it up I can fire numerous bullets at once, like SO! More bullets exploded from the gun.

Mikoto ducked and dodged behind each and pedestal. He was catching his breath behind one that contained a long spear with two large golden shoulder pads attached to the top. "Crap, this form is too slow," said Mikoto, "I got to have another form…think! Hybrid is too big, Coyote isn't strong enough, and human is too slow. Think! He said that Chopper made multiples forms available. I've got to have another one!" The pedestal he was hiding behind exploded into plaster chips. Kin stood back watching him. Waiting for the smoke to clear to make another shot. A shadowy outline was all he could see. A big one…too big for any of Mikoto's previous transformations.

The smoke soon dissipated. Mikoto was now standing there. His hair was much shorter in this form. His legs were also longer. His claws were now nearly gone just mere stubs rested on the ends of his fingers. His coyote like ears were back, but his snout had almost vanished into his face. "Ready to have your butt handed to you in point 8 seconds!"

"Point 8?" said Kin stifling a laughter, "do you know how dumb you sound?"

"Not as dumb as you are about to look, **Beast Hammer**," replied Mikoto his body vanished instantly into a black blur. Before Kin could even fire one shot the black blur was right up underneath him. Mikoto launched several punches at high speeds into Kin's body. Mikoto then did a back flip to jump back.

The armor that was previously clinging to Kin's chest was now shattered. Kin didn't even have time to turn to clay before that attack hit. His chest was completely bruised and probably swollen now. The armor stopped recuperating from the wound. The armor slowly started to just crack open and fall off of his Kin's body.

"You've proven your strength," said Kin, "I'll now give you 100%! **CLAYGROUND!" **Clay started to spread out from Kin's feet overwhelming the room's floor. Mikoto was about to run to get away from it, but he found himself stuck in place. He looked down at his feet. Kin's clay had firmly wrapped around his legs and was holding him in place. Kin's hand morphed into a dagger. "Die here!" Kin drove his dagger deep into Mikoto's chest opening up another wound. Mikoto regressed to his full human form.

"Die?" Mikoto grasped the dagger. "If I die here my dream and my father's dreams die, too. That isn't going to happen! Not here or now!" Mikoto broke his legs out of the hardened clay and slammed his foot into Kin's groin. Kin smirked as his groin area was pure clay.

"You can't beat me! I am composed of clay!" shouted Kin, "Any attacks you hit me with will just be useless I'll just grow from the smallest piece of clay!"

"Fine! I'll just squash you whole! **Mikoto's Five-Form Melee! Human!" **Mikoto jumped back another few feet. **"Beast!" **Mikoto morphed into his beast form and ran at Kin. He bit and tore a chunk of clay off of Kin's leg and kept going until he was on the other side. **"Hybrid!"** Mikoto morphed into his hybrid form and tackled Kin throwing him drastically off balance. Mikoto jumped into the air towards. "**Claw!" **Mikoto morphed into claw form in midair and started spinning. He gained enough momentum where he ripped straight through Kin's clay-like body. **"Speed!" **Mikoto changed into his latest form. He started punching Kin's body driving it backwards closer to the wall with every single blow that landed. Finally Kin was driven straight into a wall. Every single blow Mikoto landed plastered Kin's clay straight onto the wall. Mikoto stopped and stood back to see his work.

Nothing was left that even resembled Kin. Just a clay pulp lying there. Lumps, mashed clay, and the shattered cement floor. Absolutely nothing that would've made someone believe that a man had been there before. Mikoto was upset that he had to do it, but there was time for remorse later. Mikoto looked around and saw the door and ran straight out of it, towards the harbor and his ship.

If he would've waited a few more seconds till he left he would've seen the clay slowly rebuild itself to the form of a man.

(-At the Harbor-)

Sage jumped onto the ship. Ridley and Zesiro were already there prepping the ship for launch. Zesiro nodded in her direction. Ridley however was the one that actually talked to her, "so how did it go with Marx? Did you have to do something 'special' for him?"

Sage delivered a quick punch to Ridley's face forcing him to the ground. "I never did anything 'special' for any man in my entire life!"

"So you say," said Ridley with an all too intelligible smirk on his face.

"Stop arguing and prep the ship!" shouted Zesiro. "As soon as Mikoto gets on the boat we are leaving!"

"Aye-Aye!" shouted Sage she started to dash towards the helm but Hiro-Shu was already standing there ready to set sail. "Uh…who is he?"

Ridley and Zesiro turned around and looked up and saw Hiro-Shu. They both shrugged. "Never seen him before," said Ridley before continuing with his work.

"Come to think of it neither have I," said Zesiro, "he wasn't at the party, he wasn't in the infirmary, and he hasn't said a word to us since he's gotten on this boat whenever that was."

"How do you know he wasn't at the party!" shouted Ridley, "there were a million marine officers there! Did you remember every single of their faces?"

"Close enough," said Zesiro.

"Close enough! Stop your lying!" shouted Ridley, "You are a…." The sound of Mikoto screaming drowned Ridley's voice out. The crew gathered at the edge of ship to see Mikoto and the gang of Marines chasing him down.

"Get ready to sail!" screamed Mikoto, "raise the bridge!" He morphed into his faster Beast Mode as his rumble ball had run out only seconds after beating Kin.

Zesiro nodded. Ridley was struggling to lift the heavy drawbridge. Zesiro shook his head at the pathetic effort put forth by his nakama and he walked over there and lifted the bridge effortlessly with one hand. Ridley continued to shout insults at the half-fish that ignored them. Mikoto focused all of his strength into his legs and leapt into the air and onto the boat. Hiro-Shu twisted the boat and the sails caught the wind.

"Onward to the Grand Line," shouted Mikoto.

Cannon shots could be heard from the harbor. A few cannonballs whizzed past. "Crud," said Ridley realizing that they must of missed a few cannonballs. A few more cannonballs whizzed past one of them caught the sail and tore right through it. The ship was slowing down.

Another cannonball zoomed towards the ship this one effectively locked onto the helm. Hiro-Shu twisted around, his arm already covered in its heavy iron armor. He aimed one powerful punch at the cannonball and shattered it before the crew's eyes.

"Wow, I am glad we have him!" said Sage.

A few more cannonballs whizzed past, one of them wrecking the cabins and another one smashing into the side of the ship.

Back on the harbor Valerie was biting her lip as she watched the ship that Hiro-Shu was on nearly get destroyed. She approached one of the cannons pushing the officer down. She took aim with cannon and fired. The options were her job or her friend.

The cannonball smashed into the water right behind the ship forming a wave. The wave propelled the ship forward sending it drifting further away from the base and just out of the line of fire.

Kin scowled watching the newest pirates of the East Blue get away. "Whoever fired that last shot is going to be sleeping with fishes!"

* * *

Finally the Marine Base Arc is over with. And I must say I was kind of disappointed in it. I think I should've worked on the non-fight scenes a little more. My bad. The next couple of chapters are going to be stand alones; I have no idea when I am going to get to the next arc, but until then enjoy Mikoto and his crew's silly antics!


	19. Chapter 19 Alan Fox, Unknown Shichibukai

A thick fog covered the ship. Ridley and Sage sat opposite of Hiro-Shu, still in his prisoner's uniform lacking a choice, and were still barely able to see him. This strange iron golem had recently boarded their ship. He was strong enough to smash cannonballs and he smart enough to know how to sail. But other then the fact that he could kick their butts they knew nothing about him. Zesiro had gone under to make sure Mikoto didn't open up his wounds.

"Did you eat a Devil Fruit," asked Sage.

"No," replied Hiro-Shu. He was getting tired of this. They had been asking him questions for three hours now.

"Do you like music?" asked Ridley.

"Yes," replied Hiro-Shu.

"Then how did you get this power," asked Sage.

"I am a vessel to Iguko, the Iron Golem," replied Hiro-Shu.

"What kinds of music?" asked Ridley.

"Quiet music," said Hiro-Shu.

"Vessel?" asked Sage.

"A vessel is a being with two souls his own and another generally ancient being's power," said Hiro-Shu, "they live in our body and give us strength."

"What do you think about the actually good music? You know the loud, rambunctious, interesting music," said Ridley.

"Stop asking him about his music preferences!" shouted Sage, she returned her attention to Hiro-Shu smiling nicely, "so, is there anything we should know about you?"

"I prefer peace and quiet to an interview," said Hiro-Shu still with a calm and almost regal voice.

Sage chuckled nervously. Ridley twisted his head around refusing to make eye contact with him. "Please feel free to move around on this ship," said Sage still nervous.

Hiro-Shu did a polite bow getting up and started walking towards the helm.

"I don't like him," pouted Ridley. His face lit up with an idea. "I say at night time we toss him over board!"

"How you became friends with someone like Mikoto, I'll never know," said Sage.

"Hey, I lived a tough life," said Ridley, "my father was a brute." He pointed at his green Mohawk, "you don't think I didn't get teased for this, do you? Yup, my life is the tragic life of woe." He said those last words with an almost bragging tone of voice.

"I don't think so," said Sage.

"Oh, yeah, miss flora girl!" said Ridley.

"Lying punk rocker!"

"I am not lying!"

"Yes, you…" Sage would've continued this argument if it wasn't for a specific black fur ball that ran past them and straight into the kitchen. "Get out of the kitchen Mikoto!" She chased after him.

A few moments later Zesiro came up from below the deck nearly out of breath. "What happened to restraining him?"

Zesiro walked over and plopped some chewed up leather restraints onto the table. "Mikoto ate them."

"That can't be good for a growing boy," said Ridley. Mikoto was sent flying from the kitchen with a well aimed kick on Sage's part.

"Enter MY kitchen without my permission again," shouted Sage, "and a sore rear end will be the least of your worries!" She slammed the door behind her.

"I think she digs you," said Ridley jokingly.

Mikoto's stomach responded with a loud audible grumble. "No fair! I was knocked out for three days, I didn't get my fill at the marine base and then Kin fights me and makes me burn it all up! I am hungry!" His cries stopped as he started sniffing the air. "Do you smell that?" He peered out over the water still sniffing the air.

"Smell what, demi-dog?" asked Ridley.

"Food," said Mikoto. He ran back a couple of feet Ridley's and Zesiro's eyes trained on him waiting for something stupid. Mikoto then took off for the rim of the ship. He jumped off using the edge of the ship as a jumping board. Ridley's jaw dropped. Zesiro simply looked down in disbelief, not wanting to watch this show of stupidity. Hiro-Shu also watched from his position on the helm. The three cringed together waiting for the inevitable splash in the water. Only problem was they heard nothing. No splash, no Mikoto crying for help, no one yelling at them to jump into the water to save Mikoto.

It was too quiet. Zesiro and Ridley twisted around and looked down towards the sea to scan for Mikoto. They saw nothing. Then a ship's loud foghorn blew. The crew looked up to see a ship. A large ship. It was huge compared to theirs, about ten times its size. Ridley and Zesiro exchanged glances.

"I wonder if he," started Zesiro.

"He probably did," said Ridley.

"But how?" continued Zesiro.

"He has the luck of ten devils," said Ridley, "Come on we better board it in order to look for him. You get the gang plank and I'll get the crew." Zesiro nodded in agreement.

Zesiro walked over to the gangplank and picked it up with one hand. He heaved the gang plank across the two ships. It stayed sturdily. Zesiro twisted it to make sure he got a good latch. It stayed in place. He called over to Ridley. Ridley, Sage, and Hiro-Shu came over.

The crew got up one at a time. First Zesiro, then Ridley, then Sage. When Hiro-Shu lifted his foot up onto the gang plank it shook and it sounded like it was going to splinter. Hiro-Shu backed off and looked at it.

"I don't think this board can hold my weight," he said. "I'll just keep steering the ship!" Hiro-Shu shook his head. He wanted to go over with them, but breaking the plank wasn't really an option was it? That's what happens when you weigh in at nearly 1,000 pounds. He'd just have to resign himself to staying on the ship and watch it.

Zesiro and Ridley were the first two to put their feet onto the ship. Zesiro looked around. The boat was covered in women! Not just normal women like Sage and the other girls they might. But pretty women that were barely dressed. They were wearing short skirts, small shirts, if you could call them shirts, they were more like bras! That was it! Zesiro just had to get his lunatic of a captain and get off. He was so hungry he probably barely paid attention to the women and went straight to the kitchen.

Ridley had blanked out. He was staring at the women his jaw dropped to nearly the floor. He was staring at each and every woman that walked by. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth. He cared very little for anyone who saw this abhorring act.

Sage was the next one on the ship. She stepped gingerly onto the ship and looked around. She was disgusted. These women were walking around degrading themselves like this in front of men! She turned around and looked the other way. Like a good girl should. She waited for this sense of morality to be shared by her crew members but neither joined her. A tick formed on her forehead. She slapped Ridley and Zesiro on the back of the head hard.

"Excuse me," shouted Zesiro jumping up to his feet immediately. "I was looking for Mikoto!" Ridley didn't even respond. He just continued his drooling on the floor. Zesiro was snapped out of his rage when a long spear was nearly thrust into his abdomen.

A slender young man stood at the other end of the spear. He had neat black hair and a small toothbrush mustache. He was wearing heavy armor and he glared disdainfully at Zesiro. "How dare thou insult a woman? Doest thou hath no shame?"

"I wasn't attacking her!" shouted Zesiro, "she attacked me!" He turned and growled at her to which she simply responded with an innocently enough pout. He growled in frustration and turned to the man. "Look we are trying to find our captain! He jumped off of our ship and landed somewhere. We think he might have landed on this ship."

"This captain of yours is he short of tall," Zesiro nodded, "black hair," Zesiro nodded again, "capable of becoming a dog," Zesiro nodded a third time, "wearing a black shirt with a red question mark on it?" Zesiro nodded a final time. "I will nought tell thou for thou is a woman hater!"

"SHE HIT ME!"

"Can you please tell us where our captain is," asked Sage sweetly, "I really would like to see him, Mr. Um…I never did get your name."

"My name is Zoey La Rue!" said the man, "I am the swordsman of this fine vessel! However I fight with a pike and I hate men who pick on ladies." He glared at Zesiro. Zesiro responded with a loud huff. He returned to Sage, "right this way elegant lady." He offered Sage a hand which she took. Zesiro shook his head in disbelief picked up the knocked out Ridley and followed them.

The walk to the dining room was nearly 15 minutes long. Zesiro was biting his lip since he was stuck listening to Zoey La Rue talk for fifteen minutes nonstop about ladies. When they finally got to the kitchen, Zoey La Rue held up a finger for silence. He knocked tenderly.

"My liege we have visitors," said Zoey, "including a marvelous young lady, an annoying shark, and a knocked out rapscallion with some weird hair."

"Mohawk!" shouted Ridley despite his dazed state.

"But bem bin!" shouted a muffled voice. (*Let them in*)

Zoey grunted uncomfortably, "I apologize but our captain is kind of…" he was interrupted by the same voice.

"Bi bad bet bim bin!" (*I said let them in*)

Zoey sighed as he opened the door. In the room was a long table filled mostly with scantily dressed women, but at one end was Mikoto and another male, both eating like animals. The other man was dressed quite nicely and his skin was tan. His hair style was dread locks. He looked at the group. He stopped his vicious eating streak and stood up.

"A MOST FLAMBOYANT WELCOME!" he shouted in his loudest voice. Many of the women chimed in. He stopped and stared at Sage. "Well, HELLO gorgeous." He stopped in front of her and smiled. "Are you here to join my crew? If you are your attire is terribly off. I can get a dresser for you however."

"No, no I am with the pig over there," she said smiling nervously pointing at Mikoto.

"Ah, Mikoto," he said smiling, "Such a nice fellow…anyways you simply must join me in today's feast. Randy prepare…3 more meals!"

"For who?" said another man as he emerged from the kitchen. He was a tall blond haired man who wore a slouch hat, a tuxedo, and a red scarf. He was continuously wiping his hand with a towel. He looked at the group and went back into the kitchen without another word.

"No, we really must go," said Sage, "we need to get our ship fixed it has taken a beating. We don't want to impose."

The man with dreadlocks face fell, "oh well…wait a second, I still haven't introduced myself have I? My name is Alan Fox. A most flamboyant goodbye." He returned to his seat and resumed eating.

Randy reentered the room carrying three meals in one hand. He placed them on the table and searched the room. "Excuse me sir, isn't Dahlia supposed to be eating now?"

"She's around somewhere," said Alan, "there's a hundred girls in this room, I am sure she is around."

"No, no, no," said Randy stretching his neck scouring the room, "I don't see her."

"Trust me she is here," said Alan.

Mikoto finished eating his stomach was slightly bloated, for the first time he seemed to notice his crew. "Hey guys you here to eat, too?"

"No we are here to get you!" said Sage.

"So, how was you meal," said Randy getting ready to get most welcomed compliments.

"Not as good as meals Sage makes," said Mikoto, "But still a good job!"

Randy dropped the towel to the floor. "What? Not as good…OH COME ON NOW!" he shouted. "Maybe you just need a bit more of a push! I know desert! What shall it be? How about pie! Everyone loves pie! How about apple, blueberry, blackberry, cherry, chocolate," he continued to ramble out a list of pie flavors.

"Nah, I'll just have some Sage's desert! They are the best!" said Mikoto. Randy fell to the ground twitching. The crew stared at him.

"He is very sensitive about his cooking," said Alan watching with a smile on his face. "Are you sure you must go? I would love to travel with you to your next destination, but I have some urgent business to take care of."

"Its okay we can take care of ourselves," said Mikoto. Zesiro and Sage nodded. Spending a day with this crew is bad enough. For Zesiro he'd be happy to be away from Zoey La Rue. Sage just wanted to be away from these embarrassing women.

"I know!" shouted Alan, "change course we shall follow our friends. The marines can wait for me."

"I doest nought think it is a good idea to leave the Marines waiting, sire," said Zoey.

"Who cares!" said Alan, "I'll see the Marines soon enough, besides," he coughed, "I am already three days late!"

"Nah!" said Mikoto, "you go to the Marines and settle any business you have with them! We'll just have to meet again!" Zesiro and Sage's face fell in distress.

"Yes!" said Alan, "to meeting again!"

(That night on Alan's ship)

"I do hope we see Mikoto again," said Alan, he was looking over a group of Wanted Posters. First was 'Kid Coyote' Mikoto 25 million, then there was 'Gladiator' Goro 20 million, Jack Sparrow 35 million, Bloodbeard 45 million, 'Acid Touch' Calico 24 million, and Jacob Gunther 33 million.

The loud sound of gun bursts interrupted his thoughts. Soon the door to Alan's room exploded open. First came Zoey La Rue his armor shattered in several places. Then several girls followed all beat up bleeding severely. Then in walked a man with a blood red T-Shirt. The bulls-eye in the middle of it still somehow stood out. He had a fur collared all black trench coat. His blue jeans completed the look. At his waist two obscenely large handguns were holstered. He looked amazingly unscathed for just slaughtering half a ship.

"Renvont?" said Alan, his hand went to a large mallet on the wall, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"A shichibukai is always prepared isn't he?" said Renvont, "and never scared." He looked down at the helpless pile of crewmembers.

Alan wanted to slaughter him. Take out his hammer and slam in the head repeatedly for attacking his ship and killing his comrades, but could he do it?

"I didn't come here for your head nor to kill your friends," said Renvont, "I was in town and figured you'd want to share a drink with me, like you did with my friend, Mikoto?"

"I'm going to Marine Base East 4," said Alan, "this ship will dock there in two hours. When we land you are as good as dead!" He swung his hammer out towards Renvont with amazing speed and power.

Renvont put his left handgun to the hammer's end. He pulled the trigger. The hammer was instantly incinerated with one shot. "The Grand Line isn't a disappoint maybe someone capable of killing me lies there…I'll just have to get a ship and a crew. Then I can go there and find the person I am looking for." He left the ship. Alan fingered the hammer in his hands. He was angry, but his crew came first. He rushed to their side to try and heal them the best he could.

* * *

Whoo, that is one long chapter! (For me, anyways). First off some new characters appeared so welcome Alan Fox, Randy Grant, and Zoey La Rue (all created by A. Fox). Alan Fox is a Shichibukai. Also I would like to re-welcome Dominic Renvont and his insane killing prowess. Also the Wanted Posters featured Goro Machulu (by Nezumimaru), Jack Sparrow (a play on Pirates of the Caribbean), Bloodbeard (I was bored), Calico Slash (snakeboy33), and Jacob D. Gunther (Pirateprophet44). These were randomly selected pirates that I hope will get to show up in this fic. Fingers crossed.


	20. Chapter 20 The Next Island, Four Tales

The ship pulled up next to a bustling city. Mikoto jumped down in his usual feverish and overenthusiastic way. The rest of the crew waited until Zesiro lowered the gang plank. Ridley soon descended along with Sage. Hiro-Shu was the next one off. Zesiro remained on the ship. "I'm going to check the damage done," said Zesiro, so far he was the only one showing a lick of knowledge, it was his job to be responsible and fix the ship to get to the next island…or a decent repair shop.

Mikoto nodded and started to wander off but Ridley grabbed his collar and yanked him close to him. "No," said Ridley, "if you wander off we are going to be stuck docked in this city for who knows how long till you show your sorry butt again! So, this time you are staying with me!"

"NO!" cried Mikoto, "why you! Why do I have to stick around with a man with a Mohawk!"

"Its makes sense Mikoto," said Sage, "now I am off to buy some food and some seeds for my garden," she was about to leave before Ridley's other hand grabbed her belt and yanked her down to the ground.

"No," said Ridley, "don't you dare leave. Last time you were off by yourself you spent half a million belies! You are sticking close to Hiro-Shu!" Ridley turned to Hiro-Shu, "make sure she doesn't buy anything stupid!" He walked off dragging Mikoto by his collar towards the city.

Hiro-Shu looked down at his attire. "Meet you in the town square in half an hour," said Hiro-Shu, "I'm going to buy some clothing." Sage looked at him, it was odd, but until now she had been almost oblivious to his prison wear. She shrugged and wandered off into town carrying a purse full of money.

(-With Ridley and Mikoto-)

"Ah, here we are," said Ridley stopped in front of a bar. "With a pirate crew of five its time we celebrate, don't you think?" He picked Mikoto up. Mikoto still looked sullen. "Come on now, I didn't want to have Sage breathing down our backs or Hiro-Shu around us. Its just me and you, two best friends, and all the alcohol you stomach can handle!"

Mikoto murmured something under his breath. "What was that?" asked Ridley.

Mikoto sighed, "I never drunk before…"

"You got to drink if you are a pirate!" shouted Ridley leading him into the bar. He slapped some Beli onto the counter, "two mugs please." The bartender nodded and went into the back. The people around them were cheerfully and happily clanging their mugs together.

Ridley smiled. "I love places like these," said Ridley, "stories are abound, tales are being told, and everyone is happy!" The bartender returned with two glasses. Ridley passed one down to Mikoto, "drink up, our lives only get worse from here! Instead of sailing, adventures, and people smiling at us wherever we go, we will be outlaws with Marines on our tails and Bounty Hunter's swords at our throats! But, hey, we are pirates!" Ridley un-strapped his guitar from his back. " Yohohoho! We are off to deliver Bink's Sake! "

Mikoto started clapping and singing along with the rest of the bar. Mikoto was drinking like he had never drunk before.

(-Hiro-Shu-)

Hiro-Shu was walking down the streets. Many kids were pointing fingers and their moms hushed them and pushed them back into their houses. Hiro-Shu's face fell. He was framed for stealing, sent to jail, became a pirate, and was now walking in the middle of the streets and people were running from him. He hadn't done anything wrong, oh well, maybe changing out of these clothes would help.

He stopped outside a clothing store. He was going to walk in, but before he was even capable of putting his foot into the door something distracted him. An old man (probably 70 or so) was currently being squished beneath the boot of a much larger man. Both in height and weight. This man was probably 8 feet high (2.4 meters) and weighed probably 300 pounds. He had a big bushy beard covering his face. He wore a small black beret, an open biker vice and some all-too small pants that revealed his fat chubby short legs. He had an obscenely large mace strapped to his back.

He brought his club up resembling the stance of a professional golfer. He brought the mace down with stupendous force and speed. It collided with the man's shoulder, breaking several bones. The man laughed loudly, "Next time youz see any member of da' Black Gorilla Mountain Bandit Gang youz better bow your head in me direction and if I want your freakin' watch youz better give me your freakin' watch." He brought the mace back up to his previous stance.

Right when he was about to bring it back down this time aimed the man's face a big steel encased fist slammed into his face. He was sent back at tremendous speed towards the wall. Hiro-Shu bent down and picked up the poor man. He carried him over to the nearby bench.

The man he had sent flying got back up. He cupped his mace in his hands. "Youz pickin' a fight wit me? Cuz' if youz be youz better think twice! I am from da Black Gorilla Mountain Bandit Gang! We do not take crap from anybody!" He charged at Hiro-Shu his mace high in the air. He swung his mace, it made clean contact with Hiro-Shu's face. The fat man started to laugh, "Dat's what youz git for messing wit Kurobu!" His overconfident laugh soon stopped when a second look at his mace revealed that it was cracked and breaking apart. Hiro-Shu looked up his iron face had several small cracks in it and blood was pouring from the cracks, but he was still better off then Kurobu's mace.

Hiro-Shu reeled back readying for a devastating punch. Kurobu didn't stick around and wait for it and took off running at the highest possible speeds a man his size could. Hiro-Shu looked at the old man.

"Thank you, kind sir," said the old man, he was shaky and sounded almost ill, "My name is Alfred…I was just going to do some shopping, but that man attacked me *cough*, I can't thank you enough."

(-Zesiro-)

Zesiro dropped the boards onto the boat. The ship was in bad ship and drastically needed some repairs. He was no shipwright, but he knew how to use a hammer and nail. That should be enough…shouldn't it? He went to work busying himself with the task at hand starting down beneath the deck at the hull of the ship.

He was no more then half way into it when some loud clattering could be heard from upstairs. He hoped it was Hiro-Shu he had to have better work ethics then the other two. Ridley was lazy, unmotivated, and not to strong, Mikoto was just a complete goofball, and Sage just wasn't strong in the physical sense. He went up to see if he could enlist their help.

He stopped where he stood when he saw one incredibly skinny and unknown person wearing a Marine's cap, a short skirt that revealed her lengthy legs (which desperately needed to be shaved), and a tight-fitting halter top. She had small and delicate features, smooth and slender chest/shoulders and a less then modest figure. It must be a girl…crap. Could he just burst out and slice a girl up who didn't even know he was there? No. He shouldn't kill anyone who didn't at least have their guard up. He sighed, here he is being chivalrous and slightly stupid.

"Get off of our ship," he said. He pulled one of his swords out and prepared to fight the girl.

The girl turned around and in complete and total contrast to her back she had a very mannish face. A triple butt chin, thick eyebrows, stuff like that. But her lips were painted a brilliant red and she had long made-up eyelashes…Zesiro was conflicted with 'What is up with her face' thoughts until 'she' spoke.

It was not a girl's voice, not by far. It was an incredibly deep voice, past baritone. "This ship is under arrest by the order of the Marine Captain of this town, Commodore Samantha Jones!"

"Are you a man or a girl?" asked Zesiro in a lost, puzzling tone.

"How very rude!" 'she' shouted, "I am a woman without a doubt!" She reached into her pockets, pulled out a tube of lipstick and applied it expertly. "Now do you have any doubts?"

"You know what," said Zesiro, "I don't care." Zesiro ran towards the 'woman' (he still wasn't sure about that) and twisted his sword around. He slammed the back of the blade into her chest, Zesiro noted the surprising lack of breasts for a 30-something year-old woman. He pushed the blade with a tremendous amount of inherited Fishman strength and sent the woman flying off of the ship.

"Did I just send a woman flying?" said Zesiro. He shrugged it off, figuring it was something he'd have to get used at some point, and went back down to finish fixing the ship.

(-Sage-)

Sage was wandering through the streets trying her best to ignore the great deals going on around her. The 100,000 Beli watering can going for just 5,000 Beli, the mystical golden apple that can grow a solid gold tree for just 10,000 Beli, the numerous exotic fashions, several being the new trend in the Grand Line, for less then 1,000 Belie a shirt! She had to conserve money…she walked by an 'Find Your True Love' Amulet for 500 Beli…who needed their true love, anyways…next was an anti-drowning suit for Devil Fruit users…when was she ever going to drown…a shirt capable of withstanding a cannon shot…"WHO NEEDS A SHIRT ANYWAYS! NOT ME!" She clutched her mouth realizing she had just said that aloud in a street filled with numerous people.

Most of the people turned away allowing Sage her fantasy that no one heard her, but then a weird thing happened. Several men and a couple of women started throwing their shirts off. Some of them even offered to help her out of hers! She brushed past all of them and made a mad dash for the ship.

Sage was halfway there when the ship came into sight. She started to panic! Not only did she disobey Ridley and leave Hiro-Shu, but she is also going to bring a whole group of shirtless people onto their ship! Who wanted her to take her shirt off! How well was that going to go with the rest of the crew? Surely Ridley would like to see her with her shirt off, but she hoped that Hiro-Shu and Zesiro would have higher class then that…Mikoto probably wouldn't care, she could cook with her shirt on or off. That in itself qualified her freedom from Mikoto.

Sage saw a bar and heard some singing going on the inside of it. She dashed into it hoping to get away from her new crazed fans. She panted heavily. That was the worst time in a town she ever had experienced…maybe a drink or two could help calm her nerves. She was about to go to the bar when she found out who was singing.

It was a drunken, wild Ridley with no shirt on dancing on a table. Why was she doomed to see so many men without their shirts on today? She looked up at Ridley his back had numerous small scorch marks on them, she never noticed them before…she wondered where he got them from. Wait! If Ridley is drunk and dancing on a table…where is Mikoto?

She ran over to Ridley grabbed him by his pant leg and yanked him off of the table with so much force he fell flat onto the ground on his face. Ridley turned around at first angry until he saw who did it, then it turned into more of a face of fear.

"Uh, hiya Sage," said Ridley getting up, "Can someone get me my shirt, I don't want my friend to see me like this!" Someone random threw him his shirt. Some men started making cat calls and smooching noises. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

He sounded so much like a little kid! What was she their cook or their mother? She shook off any thoughts like that and returned her mind to the actual business at hand, "Where is Mikoto?" she asked sweetly.

"Somewhere around here," said Ridley, "and just so you know I am not drunk. I can drink a lot more then what I did today and still remain sober. I've been drinking beer all of my life."

"Uh-huh," said Sage, "Where is Mikoto?"

"UH, give me a second," said Ridley. He whistled loudly, "Here Mikoto, here boy!"

"Yea, Riddle," said Mikoto he was walking drunkenly definitely, he kept almost tripping over his own two feet.

"YOU GOT MIKOTO DRUNK!" shouted Sage in Ridley's face.

"Yeah, I guess I did," said Ridley with an almost boastful tone.

This chapter and the next one, too, were just me being bored and I needed a small chuckle. You can look forward to a drunken Mikoto during the next chapter. Until then you can wonder about the important things in life. What is the meaning of life? What is the One Piece (I put my money on a slip of paper that says 'Friendship')? Was that person on the ship really a girl? Ponder these questions until next time!


	21. Chapter 21 Brawl in a Bar

**A Drunken Bar Brawl, The Crew's Grand Line Plan**

Sage walloped Ridley straight across the back of the head knocking him down. "YOU GOT MIKOTO DRUNK!" she shouted in disbelief.

"Yeah, and you hit me!" said Ridley getting back up, "Mikoto's not going to be to happy about that, right Mikoto!"

"Yeah!" said Mikoto he staggered for a second and nearly fell over, "Yuh don' go hitting me crewmate Zesiro! He 's me navigatur."

"Uh, I'm Ridley," said Ridley.

"Sur, whateber yuh say, Heero-Shu," said Mikoto. This time he completely lost his balance and fell straight to the ground. His butt was still in the air however.

"I think I should leave this crew and try to retain some of my sanity," said Sage putting her face into her palms.

"Oh, come on now," said Ridley, "we may not be the best of members, but hey we all get along in the end don't we?"

Sage glared at Ridley. At this point it seemed as if she wanted to kill him, which wouldn't be too surprising considering all of things he had done up to this point.

Ridley smiled nervously. "Hey, I was just trying to be nice," said Ridley, "after all just think about Mikoto and how sad he would be if you left."

"Yea, I don' wunt Zage to leave rigt nuw," said Mikoto who was still laying on the floor.

"You think just because of Mikoto I'd stay!" shouted Sage, "I didn't join because of him! I got two dreams to finish! Mine and my mother's!" said Sage she turned away from Ridley to ignore him.

"Yeah, right, you are on a ship with four males," said Ridley, "you are the only female, you could've waited for another ship to come along. But no you wanted to be on a basic boys-only ship. Pervert!"

"Shut up," shouted Sage blushing, "I'm not a pervert!" She launched one punch straight into his jaw knocking him to the floor. "I just got unlucky that's all! Especially unlucky since I am stuck with you!"

Ridley didn't even bother to get back up this time. He just remained sitting where he was. "Hah, unlucky! You consider this to be bad! Your problems are nothing! Its just like a girl to overreact!"

Sage was about to punch him again when a big meaty fist clenched around her arm. "Hold it right there, girly," said the man who was in control of the arm, "that right there is 'Noise Maker' Blackwell Ridley. He has a bounty of 15 million on his head. And being a part of the Black Gorilla Mountain Bandit Gang! Its my job to personally capture him and turn him into the authorities!"

"Hah, 15 million belies, baby!" shouted Ridley, "I finally got a name for myself!"

A good look at the man proved that he wasn't an ordinary person. He stood at least three times taller then Sage. He was wearing a black leather biker vest and black leather pants. He had a tattoo of a skull imprinted onto the left side of his chest. His hair was a mess with long dreadlocks some falling around his shoulders. Behind him stood two slightly smaller men. One was similar in build about 2.4 meters (around 8 feet) tall. He was more fat then muscle. He had a big bushy beard covering his face. He wore a small black beret, an open biker vice and some all-too small pants that revealed his fat chubby short legs. The third one was small a little bit shorter then Sage. He was wearing a business suit, but in his hand was a small hand gun.

The small one spoke up, "Rally, I think you better take another look at the girl in your hand. Its 'The Plant' Sage. She has a bounty of over 18 million on her head."

"Why does she have a higher bounty then me!" shouted Ridley, "I took out a teddy bear! Only person she fought was a pervert!" Sage shuddered at the memories.

The first man spoke up, "Kurobu," the fat man looked at him, "Klaus," the smaller one looked up, "Handle the 'Noise Maker', I'll take on the little girl!" He put onto his hands two pairs of brass knuckles. He cracked his knuckles loudly. He leaned forward and smashed his fist into the ground causing debris and cement shards to burst from the ground. Sage was barely capable of jumping back in time.

The other two immediately ran towards Ridley. The smaller man, Klaus, started firing his handgun at full speed sending several bullets over Ridley's head and into the glass bottles above him. In that small time span Kurobu was already above him. He brought his club straight down and into Ridley's stomach. Ridley leaned back in pain.

"Yeouch!" shouted Klaus reeling back in pain grabbing his leg. He looked down and saw Mikoto with his teeth dug fiercely into his leg. "Why you!" Klaus swung his gun down and pointed it in Mikoto's face. "This'll teach ya to get in my way!" Mikoto brought his head straight up, knocking the gun out of his hand and bringing his forehead straight into Klaus' chin sending him reeling back.

Mikoto staggered as he stood up. "Don' yus dar to be hurtin' Zage."

"He shot me, Ridley!" shouted Ridley.

Kurobu was next Mikoto in a flash. His fatty appearance seriously belied his undeniable speed. He was about to bring the club down, but Mikoto twisted around, transform into his hybrid form, grabbed hold of his huge stomach and dug his claws into his body. Kurobu yelped in pain. Mikoto stuck his face into the stomach and hurled. The gallons of saké he had just drunk was now covering Kurobu's stomach. Mikoto backed off a couple of feet and breathed heavily.

"Nigt gus," slurred Mikoto as he fell back down onto the ground sleeping once more.

"That's…that's 'Kid Coyote' Mikoto, boss, he currently has the third highest bounty in all of the East Blue it staggers in at an amazing 25 million belies!" shouted Klaus.

Rally looked up. He walked over to the sleeping man/dog thing. He smiled. "I'll bust his legs and arms, he won't give us any trouble after that now will he?" He pulled his arms straight up and aimed for Mikoto's legs. Ridley's guitar swung through the air and right into Rally's skull knocking him back a few feet.

"Guess you guys never head the old saying, 'let sleeping dogs lie' or something like that," said Ridley.

Kurobu's stomach churned as he bent over and vomited. Sage stood up, "a rapid change to a certain part of the body can cause nausea, and with my Osu-Osu no mi (Press-Press Fruit) I can change it freely."

Ridley plugged his guitar into the two huge amps on his shoulders. He played a quick string of music. The song started gradually getting louder and louder. The entire bar was clutching their ears in a desperate attempt to protect their eardrums. Ridley was smiling noticing the extreme effect it was taking on Black Gorillas. Then something hard and furry smashed into his cheek knocking him over. He stared up to notice Mikoto standing up looking angry!

"Sum people are tryin' ta sleep here, Dosu!" shouted Mikoto he fell back down asleep.

"Why you I oughta!" said Ridley as he brought his guitar up threatening to beat up Mikoto.

"Ridley! He's on our side!" shouted Sage.

"You weren't the one he hit! I WAS!" shouted Ridley.

Another shot was made drilling the bullet straight into Ridley's arm. Klaus blew off his handgun apparently proud of his shot. Ridley twisted around towards him. "Why you brat!" Ridley charged at him guitar swinging. Rally grabbed onto Ridley's guitar and crushed it with one hand.

"Hah ha ha ha ha!" shouted Rally, "no guitar, no earsplitting music!" Rally grabbed onto Ridley's head and started to squeeze. "Squirm like the little worm you are!"

Sage started to run to help him, but in her distress she forgot about the third member Kurobu. Kurobu slammed his club into her knees sending her sprawling towards the floor.

"Three pirates and a total of 48 million belies!" shouted Klaus, "not bad for a day's work!"

"**Fist of Iron! Golem's Fury!"** shouted a voice. A punch was sent spiraling into Rally's body. He lost his grip and was sent flying out of the wall. Hiro-Shu stood there with his fists cocked and ready for a fight. He apparently got new clothing as he was in a plain white shirt, a weather brown jacket, and plain dark blue jeans.

Klaus brought his gun around and fired a shot at him. To his dismay the shot ricocheted off of Hiro-Shu's body. Hiro-Shu decided not to let him get another shot in. Hiro-Shu slammed his outstretched iron arm into Klaus' neck. Klaus was cut off and fell straight to the ground body limp.

Kurobu stepped on Sage and brought his mace back up into his signature golf-like stance. "Make one move and the girl's head rolls! You are strong but heck you aren't as fast as you should be! Leave now!"

Hiro-Shu stayed where he was glaring down the man who probably an hour earlier was running away in fear of him. Hiro-Shu was about to back up when he noticed a friendly face behind Kurobu.

"**Shark Sword Shredder!" **shouted the person. His two swords swished in the air slicing the club into six pieces. The person was actually part shark. It was Zesiro. He spun around and put his sword straight to Kurobu's neck, poking it ever so slightly that a little blood dribbled out. "I'll give you a three second head start."

Kurobu dropped what was left of his shredded weapon. He slowly backed away towards the door. He twisted around and dashed out as fast as his little legs would let him. He tripped on the way out, but quickly got back up, glanced over his shoulder, and continued to run.

"Today has just been a non-ending parade of freaks," said Zesiro, "first an Okama, then some shirtless people, and now some guys who think they can get away with attacking my nakamas." He twirled his swords around and put them back into their sheaths.

Hiro-Shu bent down until he was face level with Mikoto. He eyed him carefully. He shrugged and threw him over his shoulder.

"Ridley got Mikoto drunk," said Sage quickly to defend herself, she struggled to move her damaged legs around and sit up and even that small action brought her great pain.

"Sage is on an all male ship, I think she's a pervert," said Ridley countering. He looked over at his crushed guitar. He'd just have to make another one.

"Yeah, I'll keep those two things in mind," said Zesiro.

The old man, Alfred, ran in and up to Hiro-Shu. "You were amazing *gasp* I know you already have done so *gasp* much for me, but if I can *gasp* just ask one more favor," he said, he was still breathing heavily.

"Sorry," said Zesiro, "we got our own problems to deal with. We can't go around and do charity for old men."

"Let's hear him out," said Hiro-Shu.

"Thank you," said Alfred, "Those Black Mountain Bandit guys were hired to kill me after I ran away from my last boss…I drastically need your help! Please with your guys' strength, you might just stand a chance."

"Might?" said Zesiro irritated that someone else was mocking his skill.

"The man is Blackwell Karasu," said Alfred, "he has been feared as the kingpin of the black-market! He has a 58 million belie bounty on his head. He was originally in the Grand Line, were he originally got his bounty, but then he retired and came down here to the East Blue. The local marines don't stand a chance against him and he moves too frequently for them to call in reinforcements! I'm begging you end his reign of terror!"

"We'll have to wait for the captain to wake up before any formal decisions are made, but I just don't think…"started Zesiro.

"We'll do it," interrupted Ridley, "I know that man. We go way back…I have some business to settle with him."

Hiro-Shu nodded. "I don't see why not…we could make a bigger name for ourselves before we enter the Grand Line and testing our mettle against someone who's been there would be great exercise."

Sage contemplated for awhile. "Blackwell?" She turned that name around in her hand she knew she heard it before, but she couldn't put her finger on it. The crew looked at her wanting her opinion. "I would rather not go, but Mikoto's our captain, and there is no way we are going to talk him out of it."

"Then its settled," said Ridley, "time to go beat the crap out of Karasu. Come on let's get ready to leave this island. We can't waste too much time, the old man is probably right. If we leave him alone for too long he probably will leave and go to a new land. So we have no time to lose." He walked out and started heading for the ship, Alfred followed soon after.

"The ship's been fixed, it should last an island or two," said Zesiro. "But after we beat him up we'll need a new ship. This one looks to be twenty years old, a new ship would probably do us good."

"Well, we did get it from some no name pirate," said Sage, "its suiting that it would be in ruin so soon since its been docked on my island with plants overrunning it."

"If there is anything you want on the new ship, I guess now would be a good time to suggest it," said Hiro-Shu.

"Right, beat up Karasu, get a new ship, head for the Grand Line," said Zesiro. "I guess that is the plan."

"I wish," said Hiro-Shu, "first we got to get Mikoto woken up."

"A bigger crew would be nice too," said Sage, "I hate being the only girl surrounded by all males. A doctor and shipwright would be nice."

"Okay then, wake up Mikoto, beat up Karasu, get a doctor and shipwright," started Zesiro.

"Preferably female," interjected Sage.

"Right, preferably female and then head for the Grand Line," finished Zesiro.

**Ridley and the Unsettled Score: The Man Behind the Mohawk **

And, yes, I do want more female members for the crew…I am starting to feel worried for Sage. Also, 100 CSpacian Points to whoever can tell me why the name Blackwell sounds familiar! Remember she reads newspapers it could be a real-life villain, a man on a bounty poster in this story, or I can just be pulling all of your legs and it will be someone I never mentioned before. (CSpacian Points are not valid in North America, South America, Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, Antarctica, or the Moon. Feel free to redeem wherever possible.)


	22. Chapter 22 The Man Behind the Mohawk

WARNING: The following scenes may be considered cruel, evil, and graphic by some audiences. Reader discretion is advised.

* * *

**Ridley's Unsettled Score: The Man Behind the Mohawk**

"Don't you guys want to know what you are up against!" shouted Alfred, "you are going up against a man who refused an offer to become a Shichibukai!"

"Cool," said Mikoto, "we are basically going up against a Shichibukai!"

"Its not a good thing that a five member crew is going to go against one!" shouted Alfred.

"Eh," said Zesiro sounding unimpressed, "A Shichibukai is just a pirate with government authorization and I've fought pirates before."

"Exactly there are millions of pirates out there and the government hates every single one of them," said Alfred, "for the government to approve one of them this means that they are extremely tough and bring enough revenue in defeated pirates to make it sensible."

"Hey, I'm extremely tough and no one has offered me a Shichibukai position," said Mikoto whining.

"That's because there is only seven Shichibukai at a time," said Hiro-Shu, "if there were any more it would be leading to an anarchy." Sage came in and put a plate of rolls onto the table.

"Oh," said Mikoto. He started absent mindedly chewing on one of the rolls.

"Shichibukai, pirate, marine you never know how strong one is till you fight him!" said Ridley.

"Please," said Alfred, "do you know how rare it is for a non-Devil Fruit user to be added to the list of Shichibukai! You are lucky if there is three in every seven! If you take out Fishmen, modified humans, Longarms, and the new Shandian Shichibukai. That's only one normal human in every seven! If that! But Karasu is a normal human no modifications! No secret powers! He became a Shichibukai through intensive training and weaponry! Rumor is he has a weapon that could destroy Pluton!"

"What's Pluton?" asked Mikoto. "And what's a Shandian?"

"Ultimate weapon believed to be a ship," said Hiro-Shu, "and a near extinct race from Skypiea."

"I want to go to Skypiea so bad now!" shouted Mikoto.

"Cool it, the World Government is still working on a way to get there, right now the only way there is the highly unreliable Knock Up Stream," said Sage, "and with that there is a 50% chance a normal ship would get crushed and a 95% chance this ship would."

"I'm assuming that's out of 100," said Mikoto. "Fine we get a new ship and then we go to Skypiea!"

"We got to beat Karasu first!" shouted Ridley.

"Why are you so determined to beat this guy, Ridley?" asked Zesiro.

Ridley shook his head. "I've got my reasons and I got the right to remain silence!" Ridley stood up and pushed his chair in. "I'm going to go to my room now. Get me when we get there."

"Wow, Ridley actually pushed his chair in," said Sage, "I guess he finally got some manners."

"Ridley, huh," said Alfred, "do you happen to know that fella's surname?"

"If anyone would have the slightest idea it would be Mikoto?" said Zesiro.

"Beats the heck out of me," said Mikoto.

"You recruited him and you don't even know his last name!" shouted Alfred, Zesiro, and Hiro-Shu all at Mikoto.

"Yeesh, what's so wrong about that, I barely know your guy's," said Mikoto.

"Its Blackwell," said Sage.

"I thought yours was Bardroy?" asked Mikoto.

"Not my! Ridley's! His name is Blackwell Ridley!" said Sage.

"Blackwell…" the imaginary gears and cogs started spinning in the majority of the crew members heads.

"He can't be…" said Zesiro looked at the door Ridley left out of.

"He never mentioned anything about his family, its possible," said Sage her view following Zesiro's.

"I thought so," said Alfred, "he certainly seems to be better off since Karasu dropped him off on the island."

"Karasu's Ridley's dad!" shouted Mikoto just now putting the pieces together.

"That's right," said Alfred.

"I wonder why he wants to go back…does he want to live with his dad again?" said Sage, "is Ridley going to leave us?" Sage couldn't tell if that sounded like a good idea or a bad idea. She had gotten used to his music playing late at night and it was hard for to get to sleep without, but he was still such an obnoxious slob!

"NO!" said Mikoto, "Ridley isn't going to leave us." He said it with such a matter-of-fact and determined voice that made it sound like Ridley didn't even have the choice.

"I think Mikoto's right," said Alfred. "Ridley always had a strained relation with his father. And that's assuming that Ridley even considered him his father."

"What? What could Ridley's father ever have done to him to make him even think that?" said Zesiro.

"What didn't Ridley's father do…" said Alfred, "I'll guess I'll start with when Ridley was 5, it's the most vibrant thing in my head right now…"

(-12 Years ago in the Grand Line-)

"Mwa hah ha ha ha!" shouted a large man. He was shirtless which made his obscenely large muscles even more obvious. It was apparent that he believed that strength was everything. He wore business suit like pants and sunglasses. He slammed his muscular fist into the armrest of his throne, shattering it. Next to him stood two people. One was a five year-old kid with a clean crew cut. He was wearing a business suit as well. The other person was a woman she was wearing an extremely revealing dress. The top was cut down to much revealing her insanely large breasts and the bottom of the dress was cut so low that even the slightest action would show under it. She was looking away from the spectacle in front of them eyes shut.

In front of the three was a lone man. He was torn and bleeding. His entire body had several deep cuts, spinning around his body and digging themselves deep into every nook and cranny of his body. He was barely dressed just a modest loincloth. He had bullet wounds riddled driving themselves through his body. He looked weak and old, depleted of hunger. Several of his teeth were missing. He looked up at Karasu.

"Please…just end it now…I promised you…you promised me…" He said, each word bringing more pain and suffering to his ragged body.

"Yeah, yeah, I know you allow me to kill you for my own personal enjoyment and I give your family food," said Karasu. He pulled out his gun and took another shot. No bullets came out by the old man fell to the ground coughing up blood.

Ridley (the little boy) looked up at Karasu. "I think he's had enough…I say you should just let him go, you had your fun." The ragged man's face broke out into a half smile.

Karasu spun around his large fist slapping the young boy and knocking him to the ground. "The fun ain't over until I say its over!" He looked physically pissed. He loomed over his own son his gun still in his hand. He twisted around and faced the ragged man he spat onto the ground. "Great and now I am too ticked off to kill you!"

The man's half smile remained on his face. But that was only fleeting because soon Karasu's wicked smile returned. He picked Ridley up by the head he smiled as Ridley yelped. He dropped the gun into his hands. He pushed Ridley towards the old man.

Ridley turned around and looked at Karasu confused. He was lost. Karasu smiled and nodded his head. He made a gun out of his fingers and pointed it at the man. He made a soft bang noise. Ridley brought the gun up slowly and pointed it at the man. He brought the gun back down.

Karasu shook his head. He slapped Ridley hard again. Ridley was knocked onto the ground once again. Ridley scrambled to his feet. He brought the gun up. He aimed at the man. He stood there shivering. Finally he felt his finger wrap around the trigger and pull. The bullet embedded itself deep within the man's skull killing him using only a fraction of instant.

"That's me boy!" shouted Karasu half laughing at the dead man lying before him. He look Ridley in the face at first it was look of sheer and utter pride. But then his face contorted itself into one of anger. He slapped Ridley again knocking him to the ground. Tears were rolling down Ridley's face. "That not my boy!" He picked the gun up from around Ridley. He pointed it straight at Ridley's face. "People who cry are weak! You cannot make it in this world if you even shed one tear!" Karasu spun around and pointed the gun at the woman behind. "I blame you!"

(-Modern times-)

The crew stayed silent for a few more minutes. They were clueless on what to say or even how to react. Mikoto was the first one to speak.

"So, he didn't always have the Mohawk?"

"THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT TO KNOW!" shouted Sage and Zesiro. Hiro-Shu remained quiet for a little bit longer still thinking.

"No, I've worked with Ridley until he abandoned," said Alfred, "and this is the first time I ever saw him with a Mohawk."

"He lied to me!" shouted Mikoto, "he told me he always had a Mohawk!" Mikoto got up and marched away and out of the kitchen towards Ridley room.

"That idiot…he just wanted a reason to go see Ridley," said Sage, "he probably feels just as bad as we all do, he just won't admit it."

"I never thought of Ridley as one to have a horrible terrible past," said Zesiro, "I just thought he was some kind of jerk."

"Shows you to never judge a book by its cover," said Hiro-Shu.

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but he wasn't exactly a model citizen either," said Alfred. "He took after his dad all right, he was just as cruel and unforgiving as he was to people beneath especially from 10 years of age and on."

"So Ridley is just some kind of jerk?" asked Zesiro.

"Basically," said Alfred, "it's a natural human instinct if you are surrounded by a certain kind of person for a long enough time you start to act like them yourselves."

"_Crap, what's going to happen to me, then?" _thought Sage, _"I've been surrounded by perverts, idiots, and maniacs since my first day on this crew…am I seriously going to become like them?"_ Tears started rolling down her face as she realized what kind of predicament she got herself into.

Meanwhile Zesiro was having similar thoughts, _"I've been surrounded by freaks nearly 24/7! Mikoto, Gumm, Ridley! Crap. Crap! CRAP!" _Zesiro hung his head down.

"Well, if Ridley started acting like Karasu why did he get left on the island?" asked Hiro-Shu.

"That's actually a pretty good point," said Zesiro, happy to take his mind off of things. Sage's head was still hung low.

"You've heard opposite attract opposite, right?" asked Alfred, "well, by that logic like repels like. It happened a few weeks before Ridley's birthday…"

(-5 years ago-)

Ridley was a few years older he was still in a business suit and had a crew cut. He sat in a chair smaller then Karasu's. He looked on the at the people in front of him many of them being tortured by some form of machinery or another human. He looked more bored then he did anything else.

Karasu was sitting next to him. He wore his own business shirt and pants. Unlike Ridley however he was grinning from ear to ear, enjoying the pain of the people in front of him. His hand was on a gun next to him. In an instant he brought the gun up and shot a man down. The other humans seemed unfazed by it.

"The ones who do not bore me get to live," said Karasu, "those who bore me are instantly shot down! They are torturing themselves to live! And in the end they are torturing themselves to amuse me! That's the kind of power I command."

"They all bore me," said Ridley. He picked up his nearby guitar and started playing.

Karasu tossed Ridley the gun. "Kill them then."

Ridley pushed the gun away and onto the floor. "That's boring and tedious. Why should I kill them?"

"To install fear!" shouted Karasu jumping to a stand, "fear makes people respect you! Without fear how can you command an army and rule! Without fear you are some sniveling dog! A wolf hunts! A dog is a wolf! But the dog isn't feared so he chases his own tail! Yet, a wolf is feared by all animals…no one crosses the almighty wolf! It is because he is feared that he can hunt."

"Or because he is stupid," said Ridley calmly, "a dog gets to chase its own tail and have no cares in the world, a wolf hunts to live. If you ask me the dog with no cares beats the wolf who lives off of fear." Ridley continued to play the childish song.

Karasu huffed and sat back down. He picked up another gun and shot another man down. He huffed again and shot one by one all of the men down including his servants. Soon it was only him and Ridley. Karasu huffed again and sat down his face contorted into a frown.

"Get out of my sight," said Karasu in barely audible whisper. Ridley continued to play his song. "Get out of my sight!" Karasu turned to Ridley. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Karasu's heavy hand slugged Ridley's gut sending him scrambling across the floor. "Weakling! Poor pathetic pup! Get out of my sight! And never come back!"

Ridley stuck his tongue out at Karasu as a last act of defense. Karasu ran towards him ramming his fist into Ridley's gut again. He called a man in from another room.

"Yes sir," the man was aging he was old and nearly shriveled.

"Alfred, get rid of this piece of trash," said Karasu. Alfred walked over to the corpses lying in the middle of the room and started to move them, but then Karasu shouted, "Not them this piece of crap here!" He kicked his own son.

Alfred bowed, took Ridley away, and shipped Ridley off to a small island.

-Present Time-

"Okay, well, this is all kind of heavy for me," said Sage, not wishing to hear anymore. "I'll go join in on Mikoto's and Ridley's bonding moment."

Zesiro and Hiro-Shu nodded as she left.

Sage stopped outside the door as she heard a loud crash from inside the room. She slowly opened the door. Ridley bust out of there in a full run. "Help, Sage! Mikoto's trying to kill me!"

Mikoto was out in the next half a second chasing him down. "Come back here you liar! You didn't always have that Mohawk! Don't you dare lie to me!"

"MIKOTO!" shouted Sage she joined in the chase after Mikoto, "you no good lying pup! I thought you were going to bond with Ridley! He suffered a horrible childhood! GET BACK HERE!"

Mikoto looked back and saw Sage. "Ridley! Zesiro! Hiro-Shu! SOMEONE HELP ME! Sage is trying to kill me!"

**The Island of Blackwell: First Glances and First Attacks**

* * *

One of these days Mikoto is going to learn to think things through and not upset Sage…maybe. Oh, well, I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter and Ridley's heavy and angst-like back story. Oh, also, special credit to Mavrik Zero who not only knew where I mentioned Blackwell before, but was also the only one who said anything about it. He gets 100 CSpacian Points. (CSpacian points are not redeemably anywhere on planet Earth or the moon. Feel free to redeem wherever possible.)


	23. Chapter 23 First Appearances

**First Appearances and First Attacks**

"So, that's it, huh?" asked Mikoto eyeing a lush green island with a huge metal dome in the center. "It doesn't look evil." The sun was barely peeking over the island it was still extremely early in the morning. A few calls of wild animals could be heard from the island. Birds seemed to be extremely noisy.

"Ah, appearances can be deceiving," said Sage, "but it does look weird for someone like him to be surrounded by so many **living**things." The story from the other day still plagued her memory in the worst kind of way.

"Okay, guys from here on out we are going to have to be careful," said Zesiro, "we are on our enemies' turf…the last thing we need to do is recklessly charge in there and let them know we are here, got it?"

Hiro-Shu nodded in response. Hiro-Shu remained fixated on the island he couldn't dare to look away. Any second now a cannonball or another kind of projectile could come crashing into their already damaged hull.

"Remember how you guys are up against a possible Shichibukai," said Alfred, "he could prove to be just as dangerous. But we don't have a second to lose if he moves away we may never catch him again…" He seemed tenser then usual, but he didn't seem afraid anymore. That was a good thing.

The five members of the crew stood there at the edge of their ship, alone, watching the ship sail on its predestined course around the island. The crew shared a quick look created from a mixture of adventure, tension, and then at the end annoyance.

"We are missing someone," said Zesiro being the first one to take notice of the lack of crew members. The rest of the crew nodded in agreement. Their heads sulking surprised at his stupidity.

A small single boat was being rowed up onto the island by a man with a green Mohawk. On his back was a guitar and a small rectangular box. He had a determined look on his face. He was going to come face to face with the man who had tortured him and made him what he was today. He was ready for anything and everything. The battle was just about to start.

(-In the large metallic dome-)

Two men were in a blatantly empty room with just one table in the middle and one door on both sides. One of the men was in a chair calmly waiting for his other partner to finish whatever it was he was doing. The other man was just coming in from the door. He was shirtless and shimmering in sweat. He had just finished off another set of 200 bench presses bringing him up to a little more then 15 sets finished today. The sun had still barely rose.

The first man spoke. He was old and withered probably near the age of 80. He was wearing a pure black business suit. He braced himself on his metal bejeweled cane as he tried to stand up. He was very frail and if it wasn't for the cane there was no doubt that he would fall over and would be helpless and unable to get back up. He wore a large, friendly, and, considering his location, slightly creepy smile.

"Its about time you finished Karasu," said the old man, "I've been waiting for a little bit under half an hour, I expect my future partner to be finished sooner. Time is not something I have plenty of."

The muscle bound man rubbed his hair. "Half an hour? It usually only takes me 20. Old age is a burden, isn't it?"

The old man distracted his gaze for an instant. "I'll have you know that the weapons I promised you have just arrived. You can be free to move to another island when you are ready."

"I'm expecting some visitors today," said Karasu, he seemed to be in a good mood despite the older man riding him about time, "I'm going to have some new skeletons to add to my collection. 5 to be exact."

The old man shook his head, he yelled at Karasu "I can't be here when you are having visitors! You may know the real me, but the rest of the world must know me as Hestas Nero, the multi-billion Beli business man! I am famous the world over for being a peaceful, rich trader!" His voice depicted him as being extremely upset and angry, though he was still smiling on the outside even as he glared at Karasu.

"Yes, you are," said Karasu. He shifted and looked at him his muscles ripping and flexing themselves, "which is why I want to know why. Why are you affiliating yourself with pirates? You could just ignore me, but you still choose to do business with me…why?" Karasu was getting fed up with the old man talking to him, if it wasn't for the immense amount of weaponry and money he possessed he would've dismembered him on the spot. But while Karasu enjoyed seeing men perishing at his own hand, he loved having money and weapons more.

"The why's are none of your concern, I have my reasons and you have yours, what could be a better reason?" said Nero, "I must be going now. I have urgent business to attend to. There is someone I need to have wiped off of the map." Even as Nero left the smile he had at the beginning of the day still never left his face.

(-With Mikoto and co.-)

"Okay, I packed everyone lunches," said Sage, treating this excursion more like a field trip then a life-or-death attack on an enemy's base, "so if you get hungry just eat a little, remember we have no idea if any of the food around us is edible so don't eat anything unless I say its okay!" She glared at Mikoto, knowing the half-coyote too well.

Mikoto tried whistling incoherently and acting like he didn't know what she was talking about and failed at it. He shrugged, "I can't whistle."

"Good. Stay quiet," said Zesiro, "so far we have the element of surprise. So stay quiet." He gritted his teeth trying to emphasize his point.

"We have the element surprise that is if he didn't notice our ship," said Hiro-Shu nudging backwards at the banged up large ship, that sailed around nearly half the island until it found a good place to dock.

Zesiro shook his head. "Remember our two goals to defeat him for our new 'friend' here and since Mikoto, insists on it find Ridley before we leave."

Mikoto nodded he turned to a part of the lush green forest, "RIDLEY! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME GET YER BUTT OVER HERE NOW!" shouted Mikoto at the top of his voice.

"We probably just lost the element of surprise," said Hiro-Shu. Sage and Zesiro hand already jumped up on top of Mikoto covering his mouth up just to make sure that he was going to remain quiet.

(-With Ridley-)

Ridley twisted in place. He heard Mikoto shout for him and thought about the crew and Mikoto's wild antics, he prevented himself from going back he had bigger plans for now. He then cursed at Mikoto quietly as now Karasu was probably expecting an attack and was preparing for one. Ridley thought that if he went separately from the large group Karasu would be so distracted with them and their large ship that he would not see nor hear Ridley until Ridley got close enough to take him on.

Ridley cursed himself for a little while longer. He sat down in the woods and took off both the small box and guitar that he had brought with him. He was planning on getting his weapon ready on the inside so that he would spend less time with it and he would be a smaller target. The weapon was small and didn't hinder him at all while it was packed up in its small box, but after taking it out and assembling it would take up a lot more space, making him a bigger target, and it would probably slow him down in this dense forest.

Ridley sighed. He knew what he was doing though, he had planned out several scenarios on how to take out his old man five years ago. Sure none of them involved joining a pirate crew and getting other people involved, but they shouldn't affect his plan at all. He shook the thoughts out of his head and set to work. He couldn't afford to get distracted now.

(-With Mikoto and Co.-)

Hiro-Shu sighed. He was the biggest and the strongest out of the group, but why did he get stuck doing this annoying and tedious job. He got stuck lugging around a large sack that kept squirming and kicking, whatever was in it was desperate to get out. He knew they had to keep him quiet and prevent him from telling Karasu their exact location, but why did he get stuck pulling him. Why couldn't Zesiro?

Their formation of choice was simple. Zesiro took point. He had to with all these trees in the way, his swords made traveling through them easier and much more efficient he could cut down the branches and weeds in the way to help them hurry along. Sage was close behind him maybe just an arm's length apart. Then Alfred trailed behind those two. He seemed the least distracted and uncomfortable as he roamed and directed with ease he probably knew the layout well enough to navigate, but it seemed like he would be scared with Karasu around. Finally in the back was Hiro-Shu trailing even further behind then Alfred. Oh, and Mikoto was in the sack bound and mute.

"Found them!" shouted a single voice. A multitude of voices joined the choir. All of them chirping some useless refrain that all mixed into one intelligible blob of words. Hiro-Shu looked around and noticed instantly that they were surrounded. A large mass had snuck up behind them, it was if they knew where they were even before the person shouted. He picked up Mikoto and trotted at a quickened pace to get together with the rest of the group.

Zesiro had already drawn his swords and was readying for the incoming attacks. Sage was basically useless at this point against one foe she could generate enough pressure to blow their heads up, but against 100 of them fighting, constantly moving around she couldn't generate and adapt fast enough to create the pressure on too many of them. Hiro-Shu was also wondering how well he would fare, he had to keep Mikoto safe and running around fighting men armed with guns and swords wouldn't make it any easier for him.

Hiro-Shu dropped Mikoto onto the ground with a loud thud. Mikoto groaned loudly and a muffled yell followed. Hiro-Shu prepped himself, he knew they didn't have the time to lose the more noise they made the more people would become alert and come out to fight them. **"First Stage: Golem Brawler!" **Hiro-Shu's arms and legs soon covered themselves in the same heavy iron as usually. He faced the large group of men, he felt the weight dragging him down and preventing movement, but they were close enough that he probably didn't have to move at all.

A group of men quickly fired several bullets at Hiro-Shu, since he was the first to act. Hiro-Shu's heavy iron body deflected most of the reached back with one arm, **"Fist of Iron: Golem's Fury!" **He slammed his heavy fist into the group of men the sheer force, speed, and density of the punch sent the group flying a ways back. He was panting heavily the simplest movement in this form usually took a large toll on his stamina, but with after walking around for such a long time carrying Mikoto, he was already started to feel worse for the wear.

Zesiro was also busy fighting. A group of men had surrounded him and were swinging their cutlasses and claymores around in his face. He blocked one of the men's swords with his own brilliant and high-class swordsmanship. He spun around, and with the other sharpened katana sliced a man deeply leaving him mortally wounded. The string of heavy swordplay and cuts didn't stop there. His movements sent him hurling straight into the midst of the fighters. His continuous streams of cuts and chops left deep gouges in nearly every one of them. They collapsed on their spots, bleeding profusely.

A small group of nearby enemies were currently suffering symptoms of severe nausea and vertigo. They were collapsing, finding it hard to stand up straight, and then emptying their bowels in the most disgusting of ways, puking. Sage's Osu-Osu no mi struck again! The rapid change in air pressure affected a small group of men, which was enough as Hiro-Shu and Zesiro immediately knocked them out using the small time span that the Osu-Osu no mi granted them.

The crew shared their overwhelming feeling of confidence. Even without the help of two members, Ridley and Mikoto, the three members managed to wipe out a large amount of enemies with the minimalist of efforts. This was including the fact that they had walked for nearly an hour or more now!

A small pain surged through the member's bodies, similar to that of a needle prick. The crew collapsed into the dirt. Their energy was drained and they felt exhausted to no end. The walk and the fight was nothing compared to the fatigue they were feeling right now. The last thing they could recall was a group of men coming out from the bushes and throwing them into bags.

**The Start: Pandemonium in the Cells**

* * *

The crew has officially split up for awhile (I am planning to have them come back together in a few chapters, so if you like Ridley don't cry. He is coming back to the crew). Ridley taking his path, the rest taking a different path. Too bad it ended badly for Mikoto and his crew. I guess its all up to Ridley and whatever it is that he is planning…Mikoto is going to need a lot of luck.


	24. BW Arc Pandemonium in the Cells

**The Start: Pandemonium in the Cells**

Sage shrugged off the sleep. She felt so groggy. Zesiro and Hiro-Shu were already up. They were both currently fighting signs of fatigue. Hiro-Shu was slumped over in a corner. He seemed to be far worse then Zesiro. Zesiro was up and looking around taking note of the surroundings.

It was definitely a bleak room. It was plain gray with no real decorations. Only thing that one would notice was one door and one window near the cage. They were in the cage. The iron bars spread up and around them. It was like prison.

Sage laid back. She was so sick. She couldn't focus. She glanced towards the nearby window. Light was blaring in. It gave her a headache just staring at the intense light. She looked away. Ridley was still nowhere to be seen. It was just her, Zesiro, and Hiro-Shu. Wait! Where was Mikoto?

"Where's Mikoto?" shouted Sage. She nearly collapsed, her own voice boomed in volume. She clutched her head. She wished the pain would just go away.

Zesiro responded, "calm down and quiet down. We were all drugged. I still don't know where we are. We need a few more minutes." He glanced towards the window. "Its apparent that we already lost half a day. Maybe even more. Its too sunny out for the morning."

Sage nodded. Her head pounded too much to respond right now. She guessed Zesiro and Hiro-Shu probably already noticed that Mikoto was gone and were taking their owns steps to take care of it.

The doors swung open. In came a tall man hauling behind him a large sack. He had one cigar in his mouth and it bobbed up and down on his pinkish lips. He glanced at the crew, his short blonde hair was modeled in that of a crew cut. He was dressed only in a khaki shorts. He seemed to enjoy looking at the group locked up and in torture.

He walked over to the doors and smiled. He timidly reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. Sage immediately feared the worst. She covered her eyes and looked away. Who was he going to shoot? She heard the gun go off and fell down. The noise it emitted tortured her. It was too loud! She clutched her head and wished the noise away. Another loud thud resounded next to her and then a loud moan. She heard the cage door slam shut, causing another wave of headache inducing pain.

She laid still for a few more moments. Was the blonde man with the gun still here? Was he done shooting? She dared not to look up and tried to attract no attention to herself. She felt something prodding at her side. She dared not move. It was probably the gun of the blonde man. She didn't want to look around. Just let him shoot and get it over with. The prodding continued. Finally after a few minutes she had had enough. She spun around and aimed one punch square for the prodder's eye. She froze for a second as she got a good look at the prodder.

He had black hair, his emerald eyes were barely noticeable as a black eye started to form. His black shirt had a huge red question mark on it. She gasped as she figured out what had happened. She just hit her captain! She picked him up and started fanning him, trying to desperately wake him up. Finally his head shook and he was shocked out of his daze.

He sat up abruptly. He looked around. He didn't quite understand where he was. He had just been dragged around the place in a big brown sack. He wasn't quite up for moving around, yet, either. He yawned and settled back into place. In a few minutes he napping quietly.

Sage was pissed at him. First time seeing her after they got separated and the first thing he does is prod at her until she punches him and then instead of a friendly hello or anything, he falls asleep! If she had the strength to she would punch him again.

The doors swung open again. Now who are they bringing in, maybe they found Ridley and decided to drop him off in here with them. Nope. It was a muscle bound man. He was pretty big. At least the size of her and a half. She would've liked it if he wore a shirt. What is the reason behind no one wearing a shirt, is it the dress code around here! He, too, sported a crew cut. A whole harem of women followed him in, each swooning in a different way. What an embarrassment to women everywhere!

The man spoke up. "I am very pleased to meet you all and would like to thank you for delivering my son to me." So this was Karasu. "I would like to stay around for introductions, but I notice that my son is missing." He snapped his fingers together.

Alfred came in. Two men hauling a box followed in suit. Sage's eyes lit up. She was so happy somehow Alfred had gotten out, but what was he doing. Surely, Karasu would notice him!

Karasu smiled. "I bet you all are wondering what Alfred here is doing out of the cage. Well, see the thing is two weeks ago I saw Ridley's wanted poster. I decided to take action. I want him back as any father wants their son back. So I paid Alfred here among others to go out and find him. Imagine my surprise when he called me not even a week ago that he found him. Not only that but he is bringing me pirates whose combined bounties are 85 million belies!"

Sage shrunk down. Yeah, not so happy to see Alfred out now. The traitor! Hiro-Shu and Zesiro were both up already and watching Karasu. They didn't trust him anymore then Sage did. She looked down to Mikoto, who was currently lying facedown on the floor snoring.

"Anyways," said Karasu, "in this box I have a surprise for you. A Lapahn. These are almighty beasts of the Drum Kingdom and other frosty regions. Around its neck is the key to the door. If you can kill it, you can unlock the door, and run away. Your ship is still in the same place as before. Feel free to leave."

"Thanks," muttered Zesiro. He knew it wasn't as good as it seemed. Only person who could really fight was Hiro-Shu. His sheaths were empty. Karasu was careful enough to steal his swords. Mikoto was on the ground, sleeping. It would pulverize them.

"But since I am a fair man," said Karasu, "I will show you exactly how gruesome a Laphan can be when enraged." He went over to the door and slid it open. He grabbed Alfred's head and tossed him in there. He quickly slid the door back up. The box shook and rattled. Screams could be heard from inside. Once the noise had quieted down. Karasu knocked on the box. "Alfred if you are alive, speak up!" No one responded.

Karasu smiled and waved people off. He opened the box and walked out of the room. The resounding sound of the door locking was heard. Slowly inch by inch. An immense beast crawled out. It was huge. It was big and furry. Its entire body was covered in pure white fur. Several spot of it appeared to be singed and blood covered. Despite its more bear-like body it had a head that resembled a bunny.

Zesiro's head sunk. If he had his swords on him this beast would be mince meat in a matter of seconds. But they took his swords somewhere. Getting killed by a bunny probably would make it on the 'Top five worst days of his life'.

The rabbit didn't share Zesiro's unwillingness to fight. It pounced and slammed straight into the cage shattering the bars and the top of it to pieces in an instant. It emitted a strange low growl-like sound. It was obviously already irritated and the people in front of it were going to help it relieve some of its anger.

The rubble fell straight on top of the crew burying them alive. The Lapahn walked over to the rubble and sniffed the mountain of stones carefully. A heavy iron fist shot out from the mound slamming the beast's nose directly. Hiro-Shu heaved a large chunk of rock off of him. Currently he was almost completely covered in his heavy iron. A few parts like the bottom of his jaw, knees, and elbows were uncovered to allow him better movement.

Zesiro shoved the heavy weight of the rocks off of him and Sage. He had moved over to her at the last second when he noticed the rocks were falling. Someone had to protect her. Hiro-Shu wasn't fast enough and Mikoto was still asleep. He turned to the pile of rocks behind him. Still asleep underneath all the rubble…

Hiro-Shu stared down the large beast. It apparently didn't appreciate getting socked in the nose. He didn't have the time to worry about the destructive beast's feelings however. He charged at the beast. The iron seeming to weigh less during this stage of his. He slammed his entire body into the beast sending it spiraling backwards. Hiro-Shu looked confident. A direct hit to the ribs from an iron covered gladiator. Its got to be hurting.

Zesiro was digging into the rocks trying to remove the stones that had buried Mikoto. He shoved one rock off at a time. He was achieving very little. He had no idea were Mikoto had been thrown in at. He continued to stress himself out as he threw rocks out of the way. Zesiro glanced at Hiro-Shu about to ask for help, but instead shouted, "Behind you!"

The Lapahn was fast and apparently recovered from Hiro-Shu's attack quick. It swatted the iron gladiator away with a single paw knocking him over and away by a few feet. It turned its entire body at Hiro-Shu. Its muscles were ripping away at themselves. The beast had been tortured to such an extent pain seemed nonexistent. It jumped up into the air and landed squarely onto Hiro-Shu. Its huge beastly claws clobbered into Hiro-Shu with immense force and power.

Zesiro wanted to intervene and aid his crewmate, but without his swords he'd be utterly useless. Not only that, but who knew how much time Mikoto had left. Hiro-Shu and Sage would have to take care of the beast.

Unbeknown to Zesiro however Sage had her own problems. While he may have protected her from much of the debris some of it caught her foot crushing it badly. She was stuck where she was unable to turn and face the Lapahn and save Hiro-Shu from the beast's vicious attack. Hiro-Shu was very much on his own against the colossal beast.

Hiro-Shu managed to bring his feet up and shove the beast off of him. The Lapahn jumped up again readying to clobber him. Hiro-Shu easily avoided the falling beast spinning out of the way. The Lapahn slammed into the wall. The wall exploded with force leaving a large crater in the wall. Hiro-Shu stood up and readied himself. It was him versus a beast that felt no pain.

The beast's attacks had very little effect on him. The attacks that demolished the wall had very little effect on the iron around his body. He had some dents in him and no doubt bruises, but the beast had suffered injuries too. Its paws had started bleeding from the impact with hardened iron.

Hiro-Shu didn't want to harm the beast. It wasn't an evil being, it was a being that had no better idea. It was blinded by rage, it was blinded from torture, it would obediently follow whoever inflicted that much pain onto him. Hiro-Shu wished he didn't have to kill the beast, but he was starting to doubt that was even an option.

He blew flames onto his fist. He clanked his fists together to get the fires to spread. **"Forger's Fire! Shiba's Knuckle!"** He fired one scorching and devastating punch into the creature's backside. The Lapahn twisted towards Hiro-Shu it seemed to be unaware that its back was in flames.

Hiro-Shu cursed himself. Now he had a giant flaming bear rabbit thing trying to tear him to shreds. The beast lunged swatting with its huge paws trying to bat Hiro-Shu around. The beast made contact. Its huge paw slammed into Hiro-Shu sending him flying backwards. His iron body collided with the wall. The room was getting more banged up as the fight continued.

The Lapahn was panting more heavily. The heat was dragging it down. It may have been immune to the pain, but the scorching flames had a different story. Hiro-Shu reclined himself and the beast to their faith. He fired one final punch into the beast's abdomen. The beast collapsed into the floor drained of energy. Hiro-Shu grabbed the key and headed towards the door.

"Rawwrrrrr!" shouted Mikoto bursting forth from the pile of rocks with renewed energy. "Show me Karasu! Let me at him! Let me at him!"

"You were asleep for this long and now you want to help out!" shouted Zesiro. Mikoto nodded meekly in response. "Fine, let's just get going! Let's find our ship and get out of here."

"Find our ship!" shouted Mikoto, "we still got to beat Karasu up!"

"You are kidding me!" shouted Zesiro, "we got ambushed! We were drugged! We got betrayed by Alfred! We fought a Lapahn! And you expect our ship to be sitting on the edge of the island completely untouched by Karasu and his gang!" Once again Zesiro felt like the only intelligent member of the crew.

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "Karasu wouldn't dare touch our ship! After all its all ship!"

Sage remained meekly in place. She wanted to go see this Karasu guy get beat up, but she also didn't want anyone to mess with her plants. Of course she feared for her ship. After all, they stole it from a gang of pirates whose to say that Karasu wouldn't do the same.

"He could be burning our ship as we speak!" shouted Zesiro.

Hiro-Shu was busying himself with the key. The key had gotten pretty banged up from the fight, but it fit into the lock with enough ease. The two people fighting behind him were of no concern. He'd rather get out and be on either way they decided on. While he fiddled with the lock hopefully the other two would figure out what was more important.

"Our ship is safe!" shouted Mikoto.

"Its burning!" shouted Zesiro. Why the heck won't idiots listen to reason?

"Safe!"

"Trouble!"

"Safe!"

"Trouble!"

"Where are your swords at?" asked Mikoto being distracted by Zesiro's 'swordless' body.

"Trou…" Zesiro's hands wandered down to his side. He forgot that somehow someone stole his swords. He gritted his teeth. His swords came first. "Our ship will be safe for another day. Let's take on Karasu!"

**Deadly Surprises, the Lapahn's Heart and the Marine Ship**


	25. BW Arc Deadly Surprises

**Two Deadly Surprises: The Lapahn's Heart and the Marine Ship**

Now that it was decided to go find and beat up Karasu. The crew decided to get started and start to head out. Zesiro shook his head. He already knew for a fact that he would rather just get his swords and go. They came here because Alfred wanted their help, not only did Alfred betray them, but he is now dead. There was no reason to stay here.

Currently they were just waiting for Hiro-Shu to undo the lock. The key slid in with ease but it was still pretty banged up. Hiro-Shu twisted the key, but it refused to spin right. It was a difficult struggle. The world just doesn't make locks that work right anymore.

"Okay," shouted Mikoto, "let's go beat up Karasu!"

"You're kidding me!" shouted Zesiro, "I need to retrieve my swords first! We are up against a Shichibukai level villain! I don't trust you enough to defeat him!"

"Don't worry about it! I beat you up didn't I?" said Mikoto.

"Uh, guys," spoke up Sage not wanting to interrupt the fight and get caught up in the middle of it.

"We never even finished that fight! Renvont broke it up, blew up my town, and then you got the crap beaten out of you by him and were knocked out!" shouted Zesiro.

"You want to continue our fight right here and now then!" shouted Mikoto.

"I need to get my swords back first!" shouted Zesiro, "I am not going to fight you without my swords!"

"Chicken!" shouted Mikoto. Mikoto started mocking Zesiro doing the old as dirt chicken dance.

"Guys," said Sage. He foot was badly messed up. She wanted to tell them, but she just wasn't getting an opening. She really wished these guys would be quiet like Hiro-Shu was. Hiro-Shu was mindfully picking the lock.

"STUPID LOCK!" shouted Hiro-Shu. The entire door, including the hinges, was blown straight from the wall. He stood there for a few more minutes. The key wasn't working, the two idiots behind him were blabbering on and on about stupid stuff. He had to punch something! The two idiots behind him weren't really an option anyways.

"Let's go get, Karasu!" shouted Mikoto. "Come on guys!" He looked down to notice Sage was still sitting on the ground. "Don't be lazy Sage, you are a pirate let's act like one!" He picked her up by her hand and forcibly made her stand on her two feet.

"OW!" Sage shouted as she collapsed and fell back to the ground. She gripped her foot. It was hurting like crazy! _She was going to kill HIM!_

"What's wrong Sage? Your foot hurts?" asked Mikoto.

"YEAH, IT HURTS, YOU…!" Sage breathed out heavily stopping herself from saying a word that wasn't very ladylike. Even though she was a pirate she should still keep a ladylike tongue.

"Sorry, but what are we going to do now," said Mikoto sounding very depressed. The more time they waste here discussing what they were going to do the more time he'd have to wait to beat Karasu up.

Hiro-Shu looked over towards the box. "We could use the trolley they used to bring the Lapahn in here." The large trolley was probably big enough to hold them all, after all it held a box big enough for a beast the size of a bear to fit in.

"Yeah, but who is going to get stuck pulling it?" asked Mikoto.

"Its Sage's foot let her decide," said Zesiro, he already knew who she was going to pick.

"Yeah, I agree with Zesiro," said Hiro-Shu, he, too, knew who she was going to pick.

"Fine. Sage, pick," said Mikoto, he didn't know who she was going to pick.

Sage smiled wickedly. It may not be as good as killing him, but it was a close second. "Mikoto." She only wished Ridley was here so he could've been punished, too. That blasted death to all plants! That's right! She remembers what Ridley did to her garden!

Hiro-Shu and Zesiro moved Sage over to the trolley and SET her down there. Mikoto had reclined himself to his fate. He had no options. Zesiro and Hiro-Shu were probably just going to stick him pulling them anyways. He tried taking off pulling with all his might. The trolley didn't even budge. He continued to try to pull. Still nothing changed. He turned around and looked at the trolley. Zesiro had been kind enough to step off, but Hiro-Shu was still standing on the trolley, with a distracted look on his face.

"GET OFF THE TROLLEY! ITS FOR SAGE ONLY! NOT GOLEMS!" shouted Mikoto wanting to get his punishment over with as soon as possible. He wasn't in the mood for hauling around Sage, much less Hiro-Shu who weighed who knows how much!

Hiro-Shu stepped off of the trolley. He thought he heard something a faint ticking. He looked at the Lapahn's battered body. He wandered over to it. It sounded like it was coming from the beast's defeated and burned body.

"Get over it," said Zesiro, "we got bigger fish to fry." He didn't quite realize the irony in his statement.

He heard it. A faint tick. He rolled the beast over onto its back. He didn't like looking at the mutilated bunny. It was burnt to a crisp. It was blood splattered it had deep gouging scars. He looked at where the heart should be. There was a line of stitches and a small protruding metal box. He got down to get a better look at it. The metal box was a clock. It had a glowing green ':30' on it. And it was counting down!

"Get going!" shouted Hiro-Shu. He charged towards the door at the highest possible speed he could achieve. He didn't want to see what was coming from the Lapahn.

Zesiro decided it was best not to ask questions and was following soon after him. Mikoto feeling the trolley was lighter without the heavy golem on it pushed and followed in a slower manner then usual, but was trailing behind them anyways.

A loud boom sounded out behind them, soon the entire room was engulfed with flames and it was swarming out as if it was trying to grab the crew and drag them to their graves.

Hiro-Shu panted heavily. He barely made it out in time. The flames actually tickled his hard metal back. He hoped the rest of the crew were as lucky. The smoke cut off all sight. The remaining flickering of the fire also made it hard to hear the rest of the crew. He hoped against hope that with Mikoto having to take Sage along would calm him down enough and make him stay where he was until the smoke cleared.

He decided it would be in his best interest to wait for the flames to die down. He wondered what would happen if he did wait? Would the flames ever die down enough to make passage through them safe? Would they just have to separate anyways? He pondered these thoughts as he waited patiently. When he finally got into a calm state of mind waiting for the flames to die down a loudspeaker blared on.

(-With Zesiro-)

"Crap!" shouted Zesiro, he tried desperately to shout over the roaring flames. He was sweating profusely. He didn't really like hot weather. Many Fishmen didn't. They felt their skin dry up and flake off in large slabs. This fire definitely wouldn't make his day much easier. He looked around. Maybe there was a map. Something to tell him how to get to the armory. His mind had floated back to his swords. He'd be nearly useless without them, if he could even get two replacements right now he would feel better.

He saw it a big sign that as plain as day said 'Armory'. He smirked maybe this day wouldn't turn out to be such a major loss after all. He could go there get his swords, maybe some others for the trip. Then come back here to regroup and meet with the crew. It was probably only a short jog to the armory anyways. Well, no use in sitting here waiting for a better invitation! He started to head out for the armory. He'd come back in a few minutes after he picked his swords up.

He started to head off for the armory. He didn't even need his swords at this point, he could get his swords back once they met up again. But he needed some kind of weapon. One sword, two swords, heck at this point he'd make do with half a sword. He started to bolt away from the blazing fire when out of nowhere a loudspeaker came on.

(-With Mikoto-)

"Let's see," said Mikoto, "if I were Karasu which way would I go?" He looked back over his shoulder to check on Sage. She was currently curled up into a ball, muttering some nonsense about fire.

"Uh, let's see…left is…" he held up both of his hands forming a L with each, "that way! Well, left is right and right is wrong, so LEFT!" he charged dramatically in the left direction. Well, as dramatically as a person can while he is stuck carting around another person…who was curled up in a ball.

"Bad fire…bad fire…bad…" muttered Sage. Her mind flashing back to the building with her mom. The brilliant red flames caused by the blasted pirates. Her mother's last words. She felt like laying down and sucking her thumb for a day or two with those images in her head. She wanted to get away from the fire and those memories as quickly as possible.

Sage was still trembling with those thoughts swarming in her head as Mikoto tried to wheel them away from the flames. Sage's thoughts were interrupted quickly by a loud blaring speaker. On the other of the speaker was the deep voice of a man.

(-With Ridley-)

"Shit!" shouted Ridley, uttering the first curse word of this entire story. He heard that explosion and knew for a fact that Mikoto had caused. He cursed out loud using similar word choices as his first. He felt better after that. The explosion would definitely bring other people to this place. It could work in his favor. Maybe Karasu would send his people to check on the explosion. No, Ridley couldn't pin his hopes on a 'maybe'. He had to keep going and wager all of his chances on a 'for sure'.

Ridley took two steps and froze. Somewhere, intercoms had turned on. He could hear them. Someone was going to broadcast a message. He stopped in place and listened closely.

"Atrium Zesiro and accomplishes!" shouted a fairly deep voice over the intercom. "We are from Marine Base East 1 and are here to subdue you. We request that you come quietly, but we are willing to use force to handle you brutes."

"_We request that you come quietly," _mocked Ridley in his head. How many times does that work? We are pirates for god's sake. If we were going to give up that easily we would've done so already. After all it wasn't the first time they had a run in with the marines.

The intercom buzzed back on. "We are guessing that you choose the hard way. So be it. We will deliver a quick and merciless rain of justice onto you. I, Stephanie, will finish you all off along with my army! Enjoy the last days of your life!"

STEPHANIE! Ridley nearly busted a gut laughing. He couldn't imagine being a guy with a name like, especially if he had such a deep voice. He wanted to mock him and he had never saw the guy before. Poor guy. Ridley shook his head trying to get his thoughts realigned. But after hearing a deep voice calling himself 'Stephanie' he had a difficult problem focusing.

(-With Zesiro-)

"Great," said Zesiro recognizing the name nearly instantly. "No swords, in the house of a mass murderer, and a girl is coming here to kill me. What a fun day!" He continued on his way to the armory. Swords come first. Only thing he had to do was get them, slash and hack his way through some freaks, and he is home free again.

Zesiro saw it, the big door underneath the word 'Armory'. Finally he could get his hands back onto some cold hard steel. He broke out into a sprint towards the swords. Next thing he knew he was thrown back along with the debris from the shattered concrete floor. Above him stood a towering man reaching nearly twice his size and if that wasn't intimidating enough to Zesiro. The sword he had just swung into the ground was probably just as tall. He wasn't going to be able to grab his swords and go. Hopefully, they wouldn't mind waiting on him.

**Battle Within the Armory: Zesiro Against the Giant Blade**

Okay, now that Chapter 25 is done with, I would like to say that after the Blackwell Arc I am planning to work harder and incorporate more OC's. So, that also means that if any of you readers & reviewers have any ideas for characters I will welcome them with open arms. (Even if you already submitted one or two, there is no limit to the number of OCs.)


	26. BW Arc Fight in the Armory

**Battle Within the Armory: Zesiro Against the Giant Blade**

A young pale girl sat on top of the huge metal dome in the center of the island. She carefully twirled a long steel needle in her hand. She was currently dressed in a black combat boots, black skinny jeans, and a black muscle shirt. Wherever her clothing didn't cover it was obvious she was scarred. Her chest wasn't large like most girls' were. She sighed as she put the thin needle onto the dome. She tied her long flowing black hair into a high ponytail.

She was fit and trim however. Lean and muscular. She stared out over the forest. She recalled her notes given to her by the old man. Hestas Nero or something. He was wearing a pure black business suit and had a steel cane with several jewels adorning it. 17 to be exact. He ordered her to kill Karasu Blackwell and make sure he never left the island. It was a simple order and she was just fine with doing it. Especially with the money offered to her 1 million belies. Despite the old man's frail appearance she was still freaked out by him. He ordered her to kill a man and had done so with a smile.

Oh, yeah, and then there was the fact that she wasn't the only one he hired. He hired someone else, too. A gunslinger with a blood red shirt with a big old bull's-eye on it. It didn't bother, her a little friendly competition was always a good thing.

Something rustled behind her, she grabbed the needle she had dropped onto the floor just minutes ago. She spun around with amazing accuracy and launched the needle. The needle lodged itself into it's target's throat just bare millimeters away from the jugular vein and an instant kill. The large bird that had startled her however still wasn't going to live.

The thin needle was coated in a neurotoxin. In a few seconds the bird will have died due to the fact that the nerves would shut down. It would be incapable of feeling a thing and more importantly the brain would die. Bye-bye birdie.

(-In the armory-)

Zesiro struggled to get back up. This maniac had a sword that could split him into and the strength to match. The first time since he started fighting the freak he got a good luck at him. He was definitely as big as Zesiro thought he was, maybe even bigger. He gulped, he hoped he wasn't. The man wore a simple muscle shirt and camouflage shorts. He wore camouflage painted combat boots on top of that. His face was round and chubby and he, too, much like all the maniacs in here, sported a crew cut.

Zesiro jumped back just in time to avoid another deadly blow from the giant blade. The blade was now inches in front of Zesiro. The blade was all weapon, no art. A pure silver sword that could a split a house. More importantly it was a weapon. Zesiro certainly wished he had one of those right now.

The huge sword came down like a boulder. The ground beneath Zesiro never even stood a chance. It was split down the middle. Worse then that the impact from the sword had sent a clean cut blast of wind howling down the halls and into a wall. The wall faced similar repercussions as the grounds a hole was blown into it.

Zesiro let out a heavy sigh. The sad thing was he considered himself lucky. One, he had managed to avoid two deadly blows from the sword. Two, the sword's shockwave was blunt it wouldn't cut him in two, just simply beat him up. Three, a huge collection of swords were four feet in front of him.

Sure he would've felt better if one, he had his two swords. Two, he wasn't facing someone who was strong enough to send a blunt air blast out with a simple swing of his sword. Heck, he'd feel better right now if he could just relax on the beach swim with little care. Maybe be with some friends while he was at it. Well, why not through the fact of him being a great swordsman while at it? That ship had already sailed anyways!

He was too distracted with his own thoughts that he hadn't noticed his opponent swing his colossal sword generating another blast of blunt air at him. He was thrown back. He collided with the previously damaged wall. Man, it felt as if his insides were being ripped apart. If he took another one of those and lived, he'd consider himself even luckier.

"Poor, poor, Zesiro," said the big man, "did you know you currently have a bounty exceeding 20 million? Its nothing to brag about…but its good chump change here in the East Blue." He lifted his sword where the blade touched the ceiling, he was crouching in order to do so. This guy's size was just immense! He brought the sword down and into the ground creating another vicious blast of air. Zesiro dodged to the side. He felt it barely engulf his foot, but it hurt like crazy all the same.

Zesiro got back up limping on his foot badly. Seems like this crew just doesn't keep very good care of their feet. Maybe instead of a regular doctor they sound just a foot doctor. He saw his opponent preparing another slash. His hands went instinctively to his waist and his empty sheaths. His face fell as he was reminded that he was missing his swords.

The armory was only a few feet away if he ran and dodged for his life he could probably pick up a pair of swords. Then he'd be ready to fight Biggo here! He took off towards the armory, he jumped to the side narrowly avoiding another compressed ball of air as it hurled past him blasting into another wall. The guy's recovery time was going to be poor with such a huge sword, he could get there without any problems. A measly three inches away from the swords he felt something tug on his leg and pull him through the air. Zesiro was thrown by the giant of a man. Crap, the big guy knew he wouldn't be able to slash him in time so he instead of grabbed him. He was so close, he could even smell the steel.

"Hey!" shouted Zesiro, "don't you have any moral code? You are not supposed to hit an unarmed opponent! Much less grab and throw him! We are swordsman, we live by the way of the sword! In order to do that we both need swords!"

"You mistook me fer a swordsman?" the big man laughed, he put his sword up against the wall and let it stand by itself. "The name is Dramand. And I ain't a swordsman," he said as he picked up a large mace from the arsenal, "I'm a weapons expert!"

"Heh…I think I preferred you with your sword," said Zesiro. The end of the mace was about as thick as Zesiro was tall. The numerous spikes protruding from it didn't make it seem any friendly either.

"Too bad," said Dramand, "I has tons of weapons and I'll mash you wit any one of them!"

"Got anything any thing normal sized in that arsenal?" asked Zesiro.

"It doesn't matter you won't live long enough to see any thing in there anyways," said Dramand. He swung the mace down into the ground with a tremendous force. The force of the slam sent a mighty shockwave exploding through the hall. Zesiro was knocked off of his feet. He knew immediately that he was at the mercy of Dramand for the next few seconds.

Dramand had already approached and had his mace in the air. Zesiro saw it. A way out and a possible a way to get his swords. He jumped up and back avoiding another deadly blow from the mace. The way was still obvious and he was surprised he hadn't seen it before. Then again should he do it, it is guaranteed to be disgusting. Another swing of the mace decided his mind for him. Disgusted versus dead…disgusted wins.

He dove at Dramand. This only caused a joyous and boisterous laugh from Dramand as he readied his mace. Zesiro dove and opened his mouth wide. He dug nearly all of his 96 teeth into the fleshy leg of Dramand. Dramand swung his leg forward and backward, at which point Zesiro let go and was hurled into the arsenal. The swords clattered noisily around him. He couldn't see the swords only thing that he could tell was that Dramand was getting closer and that was only from the thundering footsteps.

Zesiro reached and grabbed the first sword he found. He brought it up instinctively to block Dramand's ferocious mace. The sound of clashing steel snapped Zesiro out of it. He stood up and looked the blade over. A light blue hilt and a pure black blade. This blade was his. He looked down and saw his other faithful blade laying on the ground. He picked it up and examined the amazing gray hilt and red blade.

"Let's see if you can fight me when I got my swords," said Zesiro. "My bet is that you can't…at least not very well."

"I'll just have to prove you wrong then!" shouted Dramand as he brought his mace down with tremendous force and speed. Zesiro stood there one sword in his right hand fending off the mace.

"Are you still fighting with the same power?" said Zesiro, "I expected a harder fight." He lunged inwards and landed a quick and major blow. Blow spurted from Dramand's side.

"Punk," said Dramand as he grabbed his side, trying to hold the blood in. He threw the mace back into the arsenal and grabbed his sword. "I'll may not have been able to bash you, but splitting you is just as good."

"Your sword against my swords," said Zesiro, "I think I have the upper hand."

"No! It's your toothpicks against my blade!" said Dramand as he brought his sword down upon Zesiro. Zesiro dove forward avoiding the blade and driving his sword into Dramand's chest avoiding a lethal blow, but causing massive amounts of blood to spill out all the same.

Dramand picked his blade up and spun around again slicing the wall up with his power and his sword's edge. The blade skidded above Zesiro's head, slicing the air nothing more, not even a hair on Zesiro's head. Zesiro drove in, committing himself to the continuous dance-like movements of his swordplay. Each and every single slice and cut sent another wave of red blood spiraling from Dramand's body.

Dramand fell to one knee. He was already feeling the fatigue and pain that his massive blood loss was causing. He looked up at Zesiro, he made a weak slash with his sword at him. Its strength greatly diminished.

"I would like to play around with you a little more, but I'm probably running a bit low on time. I don't want my crew to worry about me," said Zesiro. He pointed his black blade straight out at Dramand. "Good bye." Zesiro unleashed a single slash slamming into Dramand's chest sending him sprawling to the floor. "I only used the back of blade…no reason to act so dramatic."

(-With Hiro-Shu-)

Hiro-Shu shook his head as he woke up out of his daze. The smoke was clearing and going away and the fires had started to die down. The first thing that was brought into his view was nothing. Zesiro left! He would say Mikoto had left, too, but really he wasn't too surprised about that.

Hiro-Shu was now debating on what to do. Would he even be able to catch up with either one of them? They already had a head start and both were naturally faster then him anyways. Then again Mikoto had to carry around Sage…at least he was supposed to carry around Sage. He'd better go and try to meet up with Mikoto. He was about to get running when he heard someone shout.

"Hey, Hiro-Shu!" shouted Zesiro as he came into view. Zesiro stopped right in front of Hiro-Shu. His entire body still hurt, but it was manageable no blood spurting everywhere, no broken bones (thankfully), only actual noticeable wounds were a bunch of bruises. "I hope I'm not late…had to pick something up." Zesiro took his sword out of his sheath and showed it to Hiro-Shu.

"Great, now we got two fifths of the crew together," said Hiro-Shu, "let's go see if we can get another two fifths."

"Mikoto left huh," said Zesiro. "As long as Sage is with him he shouldn't do anything to crazy."

"As long as Sage is with him," said Hiro-Shu. The two took off, knowing that that is just like something Mikoto would do with his half of a brain.

**Sage. Alone and Broken. The Hatred that Burns Deep.**

Bad news is coming. The first fight luckily ended up in favor of Zesiro. So, the crew is so far off to a good start. But since the Ridley left, Zesiro is battered, Hiro-Shu fought a giant rabbit, Sage's leg is broken, and Mikoto is…Mikoto, how will the rest of the crew fair? And is there a plot twist on the horizon read to find out! And of course DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!


	27. BW Arc Alone and Broken

**Sage. Alone and Broken. The Hatred that Burns Deep.**

"Mush!" shouted Sage cheerfully from her position behind Mikoto. It was apparent that she fully recovered from her previous fire spell.

"When we switch places then you can say that!" shouted Mikoto to her.

"We aren't switching places!" shouted Sage.

"Oh, why not!" shouted Mikoto.

Sage adopted her best puppy dog face and pouted out, "because I broke my foot."

"Don't sound so innocent, you slave driver!" shouted Mikoto.

"But I am innocent," Sage pouted.

"Come on! Be kind at least walk on your own! I'm getting tired!" shouted Mikoto.

"No, thanks," said Sage. She started digging into a bag she had with her.

"Please, I've been pulling you along ever since we left!" said Mikoto, starting to pant.

"Again, no," said Sage. She started quietly chewing on some food she dug out of bag.

"You got food, give me some!" shouted Mikoto, "come on share!"

"I will as soon as we get to room," said Sage, "this hallway is too gloomy for us to have a proper meal." She continued to munch on a rice ball contentedly.

"Then why are you still eating!"

The duo soon came upon a large room with a similar argument, still on the subject of food as well. The room was vacant and had three doorways including the one they came in from. Sage was just finishing up her meal when Mikoto stopped in the middle of the room, exhausted.

"I…think this…is a good…place to eat," said Mikoto huffing and puffing.

"Nah, I think the next one is nicer," said Sage.

"You can eat in the next room, I'm eating my meal now!" shouted Mikoto. He grabbed Sage's bag and started burrowing through it trying to find a decent meal.

"Hey, that's my bag, don't you know better then to steal a lady's bag?" said Sage reaching off of the trolley to grab Mikoto.

"Hah, bet you wish you could walk now!" shouted Mikoto running to the far corner of the room with the bag. He continued to conduct his search there.

"Stop it, Mikoto, I got my things in there! You shouldn't be looking in there for stuff! Its personal!" shouted Sage she put her foot down, but it stung like crazy the instant it touched the floor.

Mikoto chucked diary after deodorant after other unmentionables out of the bag paying them no mind. "Hah, ha rice ball!" he said with a victorious tone. He started to munch on it with a blissful look. Out of nowhere his stomach lurched. He threw up on the spot.

"Got ya!" shouted Sage, "now get me my bag and the things you threw out and give them to me!" She was red with either embarrassment or rage. It was hard to tell at this point.

Mikoto dug out a sandwich and started munching on that instead of listening to her he got up and started to walk around away from Sage's range and focus. He kept the bag on his shoulder however in case he wanted another snack.

"Mikoto, please!" shouted Sage, "I'm sorry, just get my things together and we can eat here! Just get them together and bring them to me!"

Mikoto smacked his lips confidently as he finished off what he believed to be a tuna sandwich. Mikoto bent down and started to gather up what he carelessly threw out onto the floor. He stopped for a second. That smell! He knew that smell! He dropped Sage's bag again and all of its contents spilled out across the floor.

"MIKOTO!" shouted Sage. She knew she couldn't do anything…now anyways, but when she got all better she would give Mikoto a piece of her mind! Along with a punch and a kick, probably even more.

Mikoto bolted out of the room at the nearest exit. Before the smell of the tuna sandwich had been blocking his excellent nose, but now that it was gone he knew what he smelled! He smelled Ridley!

Sage sat alone in the room without saying a thing. She was still in shock that Mikoto had left her, all alone, and injured! First chance she got, he was going to die! She looked over at her items carelessly splashed across the floor. She sighed. If it was Ridley that left her, it would just be a prank and he would come back in a few minutes…Zesiro and Hiro-Shu wouldn't have abandoned her in the first place. This was Mikoto, however, he wasn't going to come back. It was up to her to get her items back.

She put her hands onto the ground and managed to push herself a few inches towards the direction of her items. A couple more hundred of these and she'd be there. She started to rapidly push fast to get to the items. No real luck, still awhile away. She hung her head down in shame and defeat.

"_Grrrr," _was the first thing she heard as her head shot back up to attention. She scanned the room. She started to chuckle nervously. "Mikoto?" another growl was her response. "Zesiro?" a low pitched growl responded. "Hi…Hi…Hiro-Shu?" A louder growl echoed from the door. "Please let it be Ridley!" she said surprised that she actually wished to see the lunatic that left them. No growl. "Hah, Ridley just come out and show your self! And while you are at it, get me my stuff!" No response whatsoever. "Ridley. Ridley! Ridley?"

An insanely large wolf blasted from the doorway. Sage took another look at it and screamed one of the highest pitched screams anyone could ever hear. It wasn't a wolf! Or its body wasn't? The head was still that of a wolf, but you couldn't say the same for the rest of its body. It had a big hairy warthog body, long giraffe-like legs, and…an alligator's tail? It looked terrifying, funny, and gross at the same time. The animal bent down and started to eat Sage's many lost items, mainly her deodorant and her small stash of cosmetics. It completely ignored the food that Mikoto missed while scavenging through her bag.

"Whoa, whoooaaaooaaaooaaaaa!" said a tall skin man as he entered through the same doorway as the wolf-boar-giraffe-alligator thing. He wore a green zoot suit and a long green hat with feathers in it. His wavy blonde hair reached his shoulders. His hand was adorned in a thousand and one jewels. "Bertha, so here is where you went! I am amazed!"

"Hey, mister, do you mind calling your animal off? Its eating my deodorant," said Sage, thankful that a man who didn't seem dangerous had stopped into her room first.

"First off," he said staring straight at Sage, "my name is Roger. Second off, I'll get right on that." His gaze returned to the animal. "Stop pigging out! I said stop it!" The pig showed no response. "Is it really that good?" He bent down and picked up a piece of Sage's deodorant and licked it. "Its not half bad…"

"_Never mind…I don't want my deodorant back," _thought Sage quietly while tears were rolling down her face.

"Okay, Bertha," said Roger jumping up and mounting the pig-thing. "We got to go find the intruders!" He looked at Sage. "AH! When did you get here?"

"YOU ALREADY TALKED TO ME, ROGER!" shouted Sage. She was growing overly annoyed with the male species as a whole.

"ROGER! Who are you calling ROGER…my name is Pierre!" said the man striking a pose upon the pig. He smiled and looked confidently into the sky. He looked back down at Sage.

"YOU SAID YOUR NAME WAS ROGER!" Sage shouted, before regaining her composure. "Okay, fine, Pierre, I was…" Sage was rudely cut off by 'Pierre'.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," a few seconds passed, "whoa. My name is not Pierre its Jacques!"

"FINE!" shouted Sage, "I was in here before you were." She needed to redefine her idea of what the average human is like.

"Hey," shouted 'Jacques', "my name is not Yolanda, its Merrian!" He smiled confidently like Merrian was the best name a man could have in the entire world.

"WHO EVEN CALLED YOU THAT!" shouted Sage.

"You dare say that the almighty Arnando had lied!" said Merrian. "You will pay for your insolence!" He said as he pointed a finger at Sage… "Anyways, where we? Oh, yeah, so the duck said 'PUT IT ON MY BILL!'"

"I'm just gonna call you Roger, okay?" said Sage, ignoring the man's insanity and the punch line to a completely obvious joke.

"Of course you can call me Roger, it is my name you know!" said Arnando. "Anyways, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to kill you and take you to Karasu. You seem like such a nice boy, too."

A large tick appeared on Sage's head. That's it! This man is number one on her 'to-kill' list. Mikoto will just have to wait. Oh, and Marx will have to wait as well. "I am not a boy!"

"What who called you such a thing?" said Roger, "it is apparent that they would need glasses if they called you a 'boy'. It is clear that you are a female deer."

Sage was stuck wondering for a second about whether or not that was an insult and the proper way to respond to an insane person.

"Bertha, let's attack!" shouted Roger. Bertha, the pig-thing, charged towards Sage. Halfway to Sage it tripped and landed on its stomach. Roger jumped off of Bertha and towards Sage punching and screaming all the way. He landed a straight kick to Sage's head knocking her off of the platform.

"Hey!" shouted Sage. She rubbed her sore head. As if listening to this guy wasn't enough to give her a headache.

Roger was down on his hands and knees crying, "oh, Bertha, I am so ashamed. I was uselessly sitting her reading a book while you were out there fighting and dying against the evil lord of grasshoppers himself. I will remember you, always!" Bertha simply let out a sigh and went to sleep. Roger stood up, he glared at Sage. "YOU! You will pay for this, I am going to get serious!"

Roger launched a series of complex kicks at Sage. Each one plowed into the concrete creating a small crater. Sage backed away imagining the force that those kicks could do to her.

"I am one of the strongest warriors underneath the rule of Karasu," said Roger, "my kicks have the destructive forces of piano!"

"Piano?" asked Sage, slightly off put by Roger's choice. Dynamite would've sounded more intimidating.

"Have you ever had a piano dropped on you? I have and trust me, it hurts," said Roger.

"Yeah, I have a bad feeling it was dropped on your head," said Sage.

"How rude!" said Roger puffing his cheeks out. "For that you will have to face my special nutty sauce attack! The **Open Air Combo! One Thousand Kicks!" **Sage braced herself against the ground ready for the attack. Roger's body went limp, his arms hung uselessly at his sides. He started running towards Sage his arms still hanging. He jumped into the air inches in front of Sage.

He then drove his foot towards her from his position in the air at her. Each kick slammed into her body and nearly lifted Sage from her spot on the floor. Roger then landed and ran back over to Bertha.

"That wasn't even one hundred kicks," said Sage, trying to sound tough despite the fact that she hadn't been able to land one blow.

"Bertha, let's hit her with our ultimate attack!" shouted Roger, the animal snorted and stood up. Roger jumped on top of the pig and was standing on its spine. Bertha took off from her position at high speeds towards Sage. "**One Ton Full Body Rush!" **shouted Roger. Bertha rammed into Sage sending her flying into the air. Roger jumped off of Bertha. "**Midair Death Kick!" **He spun around and landed a direct kick into Sage's gut. Sage was knocked onto the ground. She screamed in pain. If more then just her foot is broken by the end of today, she'd consider herself the luckiest girl alive.

Sage struggled to put herself onto one knee. Her body ached now, not even just her foot. She couldn't avoid another blow, much less two. She put her hands in front of her and readied herself to fight. She rapidly increased the pressure. Time to cause some serious signs of vertigo.

Roger wobbled right off the bat. The Osu-Osu powers were doing their job and doing it quickly. Roger spread his arms and Bertha lifted him up unto her back. She snorted at Sage. Roger smiled and said "Bertha, once more. **ONE TON FULL BODY RUSH!"** Bertha took off charging at Sage.

* * *

**Emergency Intervention! Kira Steps in…Along with the Navy!**

First off a disclaimer: We of CSpacian's brain do not approve of any of the following actions-Eating deodorant, riding a wolf-boar-giraffe-alligator thing, changing your name without a reason, beating a person with a broken foot up, or leaving some one with a broken foot alone. Yeah, everybody expected Mikoto to leave Sage. But it is for a good reason, he smells Ridley! Anyways, I hope everyone is rooting for Sage to live! YOU BETTER BE!


	28. BW Arc Emergency Intervention

**Emergency Intervention! Kira Steps in…Along with the Navy!**

Bertha skidded to a halt a few inches in front of Sage. She felt the beast breathe her warm moist breathe down her shirt. Sage gulped. What was it now? She looked in front of her. One thing was standing in the way of Sage and Bertha and that was a single delicate silver needle, but knowing Roger he'd mistake it for an innocent bystander.

"What's the matter, Bertha?" said Roger from a top of Bertha, "saw something tasty?" The animal squealed and backed up a few feet. It looked petrified of the needle in front of it. Sage looked at the needle. She glanced around the room and saw no one else around…was this needle here when we got here?

Roger hopped off of Bertha and walked over to the needle and picked it up off of the ground. He sniffed it carefully. He looked it over and upon noticing nothing out of the ordinary he licked it. Yeah, not the healthiest thing to do in the world.

Roger spat right on the spot getting some spit on Sage. Sage quickly wiped it off of her blouse. She glared at Roger, if she only had the use of both of her feet. Roger wiped his lips. He had a look of disgust on his face. He then proceeded to speak in a very low voice, "it is poisoned." Sage smiled and waited for Roger to drop dead on the spot for licking it, Hah, serves him and his stupidity right!

A few seconds past and nothing happened. Roger returned his attention to Sage. Sage spoke up, "Why aren't you dropping down? You just licked poison!"

"Everyone I know must handle the poisonous treatment," said Roger, "we get ejected filled up with powerful antibodies everyday. There is no telling what lows pirates will sink to."

Sage distracted her gaze from Roger and said, "I have a pretty good idea." Her past events with pirates had not really been good ones. What with Ridley, Mikoto, and Oz being the only pirates she knew before becoming one. Two of them were idiots and the third one attacked a female! Zesiro and Hiro-Shu weren't bad at all, though neither one of them decided to become a pirate and both of them were framed for an action and forced into piracy. Maybe being a pirate wasn't a good choice for her…

"Silence, mortal!" said Roger in a commanding voice, "I, the lord of lords, the king of kings, the manliest man to ever walk the earth, Sylvester Steele commands you to!"

"Another name change, Roger, really?" said Sage, "Can't you just find a name you want and stick with it?"

"Fine, you may call Goku!" shouted Roger.

"NOT HAPPENING! I AM STICKING WITH ROGER!" shouted Sage.

"It is very rude to call people names, missy, how would you feel if I started calling you Sage?" said Roger, "you probably wouldn't be happy it, would you Sage? Huh, Sage? Sage? Sage? Sage? Sage? Sage?"

"Shut up!" shouted Sage. She looked up at Roger. He was close and standing still…perfect a few seconds away from having his head blown wide open! She readied her stance, but due to Roger's inexplicable sense of bad timing he jumped onto Bertha and rode away.

Roger stood a few feet away from Sage. "Bertha, we must finish this fight even if it costs us our lives! UP! UP! AND AWAY!" Bertha jumped into the air with Roger on her back. "Finishing technique! **ONE! TON! FULL! BODY! PRESS!"** Bertha started her fast and deadly dive towards the ground.

Sage closed her eyes fast and started muttering her sins, repenting for the things she had done. A huge suddenly blew knocking her off balance and leading to her toppling over onto her side. Her eyes remained shut waiting for the crash or Roger screaming out in failure. Neither one came. Maybe Roger got stuck? Was that even possible? She opened one eye and glanced around. Roger and Bertha were both lodged in the ground quite a few feet away…hah! They missed! Serves him right…wait. Wasn't she closer to the cart before? Yeah, she definitely was…she was also a lot further away from her stuff, but it was around her? What was going on? She grabbed her head and wrenched back trying to find the answer to this question, she found it.

Behind her stood a pretty tall woman about 6 feet…she looked kind of underdeveloped in the chest area, but her muscles showed differently and the scars covering her body told Sage this girl wasn't the kind you'd want to mock. She wore black a turtleneck muscle shirt, black skinny jeans, and combat boots. Her long black hair stretched to her hips. She waved some stray strands of her from her deep red eyes and smirked. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a nice sized hunting knife.

She spoke very clearly, but in a kind of a gruff tone, "back away from the girl."

Roger finally snapped to. He looked at the woman and stepped back real quick His once goofy and unserious nature vanished into thin air upon laying eyes on Kira. "I have no intentions of fighting you, Kira. I have nothing against you nor your mother…but the girl behind you is my prey."

"Back off," said the woman, apparently named Kira. Despite the fact that she only said two words many more words seemed to flow into people's heads. Words like 'or else', 'before I beat the snot out of you', or one of any thousands of possible combinations of bad language.

Roger dusted himself off, he stared Kira straight into the eyes. "Before we dance, I would like to ask you a question." Kira nodded. "Have you ever heard of somebody named Jugo? He has been on the run a lot from us, the Marines, lately, and we would like to take care of him personally…maybe you or your grandmother have heard from him lately."

Kira shook her head 'no'. She flipped her hunting knife into a battle stance and gave Roger the ever popular 'come on' hand gesture.

Roger scoffed. "Like I said I have no intention of fighting you. But I know some people who would like to…after all your mother has caused some shame to befall us over the years. Relentless butt-kicking, escaping us every single time, and even sadly taking people from barely fortified prisons." He pulled a small Den-Den Mushi from his pocket and spoke into it. "Found someone."

Kira braced herself, her muscles tensed. She heard footsteps plodding through the hallways just to get into this one room. Soon they were faced with thousands of marines. Kira grabbed onto her hunting knife and bit her lip. "We are surrounded."

"Wait, you are a pirate, too? Why did you call the marines?" shouted Sage.

A very masculine man with a triple butt chin interrupted and pushed Roger down to the ground. Despite his appearance he was wearing a bustier and a short skirt barely mid-thigh. "I am Stephanie of Marine Base East 1. And the idiot you were fighting is a ranking Marine official. He went undercover to further investigate Karasu a known criminal and problem maker. Up 'til now he has had free reign doing what he wanted and just gaining a high rank in Karasu's personal army. He was to assassinate him soon. But with the interference with both the Infinity Pirates and now Kira, I see, we have decided that assassination will no longer be an option and we'd have to resort to more drastic actions. Complete death of the island and every living person on it." She reached into her bra and pulled out a long staff. "En Garde!" She put herself into the usual stance for fencers.

Kira waved her knife in the air at her opponent. She looked around her, she was outnumbered. When it comes to one on one fighting she was above your average fighter, but with all these other Marines gathering around…it was questionable whether or not she would get out alive. The girl behind her basically had her fate sealed.

Roger jumped into the fray before the rest of the Marines even moved. "**Grounded Pulverizing Kick!" **Roger flew down and drove his foot into the hole mere inches away from Sage. Sage's scream was extremely audible for probably a twenty mile radius. "You handle Kira, I, Hernando Thiraban the Third, shall finish off the insane psycho maniac." Sage gulped. If she could stand, she would run.

Roger smiled standing over Sage. Kira's grip on her blade tightened, she was trying to calculate the best way out of here. Two years of being by herself as a pirate and she was still getting into these types of situations. She was a doctor anyways, should she really even being getting involved in these types of situations? She knew backing away and hiding wasn't an option. She decided to save this girl anyways. What kind of man picks on a girl with a broken leg? What kind of human turns her back on a human about to die?

Kira spun around and tossed her knife at Roger. The knife dug into his shoulder blade and he wrenched in pain. He stumbled for a few steps, grabbed it and tossed it to the ground. He turned around and saw Kira standing there no weapon in her hand and Stephanie had started charging at her. Kira was caught completely off guard as Stephanie's staff smashed into the back of her skull.

Kira was knocked onto the ground. Stephanie stood over her and she rammed her staff into Kira's hand. Kira bit her lip, drawing blood, instead of letting out a scream. Stephanie glared over her body and said "Did Roger ask you about Jugo, yet? I am dying to know about him." A sudden shot of pain blasted through Stephanie's body a lesser Marine would've been knocked onto the floor unconscious. "So…that's the famous…technique," each word fell out of her mouth like a bag of bricks.

"So, you recognize it?" asked Kira.

"Of course, only idiot wouldn't be aware of it!" shouted Stephanie. "NOW! Answer my question about Jugo! I need to know where my true love is!"

Kira's stomach churned. She knew Jugo, they had met on the sea several times, but telling the marines about him wasn't going to happen. But thanks to Stephanie she now had the image of Jugo and her turning around in a hot steamy mess. It could've made her barf. "I am not going to tell you."

Kira reached into her bag and pulled out a long silver chain. She started swirling around in the air preparing for a strike. Kira's chain lashed out. Stephanie brought up her staff to block. The chain wrapped around and caught the staff. Originally Stephanie would've been confident enough in her strength to pull the pirate to the ground, but Kira's early attack left her weak in the knees and she released her staff and nearly fell down from the momentum.

Kira smiled. This one had already took a small blast of damage from her early attack. She was weak enough for a final blow. Kira reached into her pocket and pulled out a second hunting knife. She wasn't going to kill her. Just make sure that the lesson she should've learned today was embedded within her forever. More specifically embedded within her shoulder. She leaned upwards the blade shimmering in the light of the room. Then a sudden sharp pain came assailing through her skull. Roger had launched another kick at her this time hitting her dead center in the skull.

Roger grabbed Stephanie and glared at the two women. He HAD no intentions of fighting Kira, but how could he turn his back on a fallen comrade. He blamed them both, despite Sage having little to nothing to do with the instance. He was holding the knife Kira threw at him in his hand. He would finish her off with her own blade. The ultimate irony. He took one step forward and stopped. The pain in his hand…where was it coming from. It panged and boomed in several jumps at once. It was like a concert of pain. The violins stringing their cords around his hand constricting and squeezing it while the drums exploded with powerful from the inside. It ravaged his arm with pain. It felt like it was going to explode. He needed to find the source of this pain. He took the knife and put it into the other hand the one that didn't hurt like hell. He reached up with the knife.

"Reverend Hugh Mosac will not be tormented like this you miserable imps!" shouted Roger. He slammed the knife into his hand ripping it open, the increased internal pressure was released in a single powerful blow. The knife, and some skin, was ripped from his hand. The knife flew up from the blow lodging it in his chest. Roger took a few seconds and started breathing normal again. The dagger was dangerously close to his heart. Every breath sent his heart inching closer and closer to it. He waved his still functional and badly damaged hand in the air, signaling a retreat. The Marines were about to talk back, but Roger gave them a serious look. Ordinary that look would mean serious business from a sane person, coming from Roger the crew didn't know to think of the situation as extremely important that he was worried or that he was joking around. They grabbed their weapons and Stephanie and ran away.

Sage stood their smiling. She made a good choice. She could barely get a fix on Roger's head, but she had enough time to get his hand. Thank you! Finally she was good and alone again. Alone? Not completely. Kira was still on the floor, she looked more exhausted then beat-up. But still there was a cause of concern looking at her passed out on the floor. Sage shook her head. Two broken girls lying all alone in a big room…she sighed.

"I'll just wait for you to get up," said Sage. She reclined onto the floor. She soon passed out due to exhaustion and bruises.

**Reencountering Ridley! Wait! What did Ridley just say?**

**

* * *

**

Disclaimer: Kira Samore belongs to Munia. Well, well, well, well, wwwwweeeeeellllllllllll. That is it for this chapter. For those of you who were sitting down and wishing Sage to die…TOO BAD FOR YOU! For those of you who don't think that Roger would be Marine, well too bad! My plot twist commands it to be so! Wait, a second! That wasn't the plot twist!


	29. BW Arc Reencountering Ridley

**Reencountering Ridley! Wait! What did Ridley just say?**

"Ridley! Wait up!" shouted Mikoto twisting around another corner. He could've sworn he just saw Ridley's Mohawk. Was he running away from him? Oh, well, only one way to find out! Catch him and ask! Mikoto continued to run towards the direction Ridley he thought he saw Ridley run. Mikoto ran towards a giant door. He stood in front of it for a few seconds. Why would Ridley come here? Why couldn't Ridley go to the place with a lot of food? All that running burnt up all the energy he got from Sage's delicious chicken sandwich. Was it chicken? Maybe it was actually a hot dog? Oh, well, too late to wonder about what he ate.

Mikoto was about to calmly open the door and walk in to see Ridley again, but then it occurred to him. Ridley came here to fight Karasu! This must be Karasu's room! It certainly was big enough. Mikoto smiled. Time for a dynamic entrance! He ran back to get momentum. He suddenly rushed forward

Mikoto jumped through the door kicking it, nearly sending both sides off of its hinges. He landed in the middle of the room. "KARASU!" He landed in the middle of the room. He looked around no one seemed to be any where near him. He then saw Ridley on the far side of the room laid against the wall.

"Ridley!" shouted Mikoto with his classic goofy smile. He was about to run towards him when he noticed Ridley had a huge gnash on his stomach. "Whoa, what happened to you?"

Ridley looked freaked out for a second and it took him awhile to answer. "YOU DID YOU MANIAC MUTT!" he shouted, "DID YOU EVER THINK HOW BURSTING THROUGH THE DOOR COULD EFFECT OTHER PEOPLE!"

"No," said Mikoto looking back at the barely intact metal doors. "So, ready to go fight Karasu?"

Ridley remained laying against the wall. He stretched his head back and stared at the lights on the wall. "The Infinity Pirates can't beat him, you know?" He sounded glum.

"Sure, we can!" shouted Mikoto, "musician and captain! We can't be stopped! Forget about Karasu and his exploding bunnies!" Mikoto still had the big goofy smile on his face. He was glad he could finally catch up to Ridley. Now only thing he had to do was help him beat up his father!

"Exploding what?" asked Ridley dumbfounded by Mikoto's weird and slightly stupid statement.

"Bunnies. Anyways, Karasu doesn't know what he's getting himself into we should go in there, knock him around a bit, steal some gold (I think we spent all we had), and then leave on our merry way and listen to him shout 'YOU MEDDLING KIDS!"

"You don't my dad, do you?" asked Ridley. He had to chuckle at Mikoto's twisted idea of what kind of old man he was.

"Nope, but nonetheless we'll go in there and beat him up for you and your mom!" said Mikoto. He was going into the fight completely blind and he was still happy about it.

Ridley twitched. For the first time this entire conversation he stood up. He walked over to Mikoto. "Thanks for opening up old wounds," he patted him on the back, he took a few more steps towards the door that Mikoto had entered from.

"Sorry, I don't always think my words out before I say them!" said Mikoto. "Its something you are going to get used to sailing around with me!"

"No, duh," said Ridley, he sighed. He wished the rest of the crew good luck with sailing with an idiot like him.

"I mean I have said some stupid things before, I mean to you, to Xaiver, and probably to Zesiro and Hiro-Shu too…I think I've been okay so far with Sage," said Mikoto. A sweat drop came down as he thought about his old teacher, Melanie. He had said several stupid things to her before.

"Yeah, be sure to take care of Sage when you guys get to the Grand Line," said Ridley. Things would only going to get tougher from here on out.

"You mean when 'we' get to the Grand Line," said Mikoto grabbing Ridley's shoulder and pulling him close. "I mean think about it! The Shichibukai! The Sea Kings!…"

"Mikoto, I don't think…" said Ridley trying to intervene and get out of Mikoto's vice-like embrace.

"The Marines! The other Pirates!" Images of huge men with swords, clubs, axes, and Devil Fruits flashed through Mikoto's mind at high speeds.

"Mikoto, I am trying to say…"

"The Yonkous! Think about the Yonkous!" His mind flashed to the dead Yonkou, Whitebeard. Sure he never saw him, but from what he heard he had the power to destroy an entire village.

"Mikoto!"

"And then think about the One…" continued Mikoto still in his high energized demeanor.

"I AM LEAVING THE CREW!" shouted Ridley.

"Piece." Mikoto looked at Ridley questioningly. Mikoto then all of sudden made a funny face by sticking out his tongue and pulling up on his eyelids. "Ya got me! I actually thought you were serious! I mean leaving the crew we practically formed! You would never do that!"

"You formed. The crew you formed," said Ridley dejectedly, he finally pushed himself out of Mikoto's embrace. He stood in front of him. "I hereby quit the Infinity Pirates!"

"No, you don't!" shouted Mikoto. "We fought! I won! The deal was if I beat you, you would join my crew!"

"That's the only reason I am this stupid crew!" Ridley shouted back, "I sure as heck didn't join to be around your dumb ass!"

"What about Sage? What about Zesiro? What about Hiro-Shu?" said Mikoto, "What am I going to tell them?" Was Ridley being serious? How could he?

"Tell them I left! Sage would probably jump for joy at that news! Zesiro probably would be happy since only thing I was to him was a distraction with my loud music! And heck, Hiro-Shu would probably enjoy the peace and quiet for a change! Me leaving is probably the best darn then that ever happened to your crew!" Ridley started to walk for the door.

"Fight me!" shouted Mikoto standing in one place. His hands straight down at his sides forming fists.

"What?" said Ridley. He twisted around to see Mikoto.

"Fight me! If I win you stay on OUR crew! If you win you can leave and do whatever you want!"

"I am leaving!" shouted Ridley. He felt a fist fly into the left side of his face. He was tossed to the ground.

"Fight me!" said Mikoto this time in a more definite tone. Ridley looked at his face. This was probably the first time he ever saw Mikoto without a smile on his face since he joined the crew.

"Are you insane!" shouted Ridley. "I already got this gnash in my stomach and you want me to fight you? I thought you would be all about fair play and giving it my best!"

Mikoto transformed into his half-beast form. Ridley stepped back, Mikoto was being serious. Mikoto then slammed his claw into his stomach, bleeding onto the ground. "Now we are even. Are you going to fight me now?"

"Listen Mikoto, fighting you won't make any difference I am still leaving this crew one way or another!" shouted Ridley.

Mikoto growled. "No! We agreed! To the Grand Line! To the New World! Are you going back on that?"

"You can go and do it yourself," said Ridley, "heck, you are going to do it with Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, and Sage! What do you need little old me for?"

"We are a team!" shouted Mikoto, he jumped up and landed on Ridley bringing him down to the ground. Mikoto launched punch after punch into Ridley's cheeks. "We are supposed to be crewmates!"

Ridley somehow managed to break his legs free, he suddenly brought them up, curling into a ball and launching both of his feet straight into Mikoto's chest throwing him straight off of him. Mikoto tumbled onto the floor.

"This is how you treat your crewmate?" shouted Ridley, "Like I said before I am not fighting you!" He stood up patted the dirt off of him. He started to head for the door again.

"Did your father really ditch you?" asked Mikoto. Ridley stopped his in tracks. "Compared to you, I'm guessing your father is like a saint!" Ridley turned around and faced Mikoto. "Heck, with Alfred being a traitor and all…I wonder who really did kill your mom?" Ridley sped towards Mikoto. He swung his guitar straight into Mikoto chin sending him flying upwards. Mikoto then plummeted back into the ground. Ridley pointed his guitar straight at Mikoto's head.

"Get up," said Ridley, "you aren't worth killing unless you are still talking crap." Mikoto got up and stood in place. Another slam of the guitar sent him spiraling backwards and into the dirt again. "Come on, King of Pirates! Can't beat a guitar, can you?"

"At least I didn't turn my back on my mother!" said Mikoto, "He killed your mother! Shouldn't you at least try to defeat him? Or…or is the great Ridley really just a chicken?" Ridley gripped his guitar tighter. "Yeah, that must be it! There's the first song for your record! 'The Great Big Chicken'!"

"You want a fight?" said Ridley. "Fine, mano a mano! Musician versus the beast!"

"The fighter versus the entertainer!" grumbled Mikoto back.

"Your requiem will be a beautiful one," said Ridley. He flipped his guitar out and put his pick to the strings.

"Save the requiem for yourself," said Mikoto.

(-Back with Sage-)

"Wake up!" shouted Zesiro shaking Sage violently trying to shock her out of her stupor. He stopped shaking her and held her for a few seconds staring at her closed eyelids. "Wake up!" He started to shake her again.

"I hope you didn't just make it worse," said Hiro-Shu looking at the two, trying to figure out if it would wise to intervene.

"Zee…zee…Zesiro?" said Sage as she finally came to. Zesiro let her go. She quickly collapsed back into a lump due to her dizziness.

"I think you just knocked her out again," said Hiro-Shu.

"No, I didn't!" replied Zesiro, he looked back to her frantically, "Sage?"

"Yeaaaaa…yes?" she said still disorientated.

"You okay?" said Zesiro calmly.

Sage shook herself to regain her composure. She looked around her at a fast pace. "Where's Kira?" No one else was in the room. Just her, Zesiro, and Hiro-Shu. The girl who had helped her out wasn't in there.

"Who?" asked Zesiro, "no one else was here, when we got here. Whoever she was she must've left before we got here."

Sage bit her lip. Did Kira get away? The Marines could've easily have come back here and captured her while they were passed out. No, they couldn't have. If they would've taken Kira wouldn't they have taken her, too?

Sage breathed harshly. "She probably just got away." Sage looked down at her foot. It still hurt-like crazy, but compared the pain the rest of her body was feeling, it wasn't as bad as it seemed to be before.

Hiro-Shu took note of this. He picked her up, gently, and carried her over to the trolley and set her down. "Let's head on out to meet up with Mikoto again…you probably have a bone to pick with him, don't you?"

"You better believe it!"

Zesiro rubbed his chin. "I can't believe he left you alone…I thought Mikoto would've been more responsible." He was seriously starting to doubt his crew's abilities.

"I don't know what he was thinking. He ate the tuna salad sandwich I happily made for him, then ran off," said Sage, deliberately skipping the other parts of what happened since the split.

"Mikoto really does have the attention and the wisdom of a fruit fly," said Zesiro.

"Yeah, but what can we do he is our captain," said Hiro-Shu, "only other thing we can do is quit the Infinity Pirates." The entire crew fell silent for a moment to consider the option before them.

"Not happening," said Sage cheerfully.

"Same here, once an Infinity Pirate crewmate always an Infinity Pirate crewmate," said Zesrio.

Hiro-Shu simply nodded in agreement.

**War! What is it Good For? Absolutely Nothing!**

**

* * *

**

Notice: I forgot a disclaimer (I just can't remember to do these to save my life!) in the last chapter so I just added it. Next up, yeah, Ridley seriously is leaving the crew. (Actual reasons will be revealed soon). Oh, well, keep on reading and reviewing! (And if you want to you can keep singing the above song). I do not own the song either it is by Edwin Starr.


	30. BW Arc War! What is it good for?

**War! What is it Good For? Absolutely Nothing!**

"Ready Mikoto?" questioned Ridley. He played a quick rift on his guitar. "I ain't going to go easy on you like last time."

"Easy?" said Mikoto, "Yeah, you were easy to beat last time."

Ridley smirked. "I am going to miss you…I wish you luck on your journey."

"Since you are coming with me at the end of our fight you won't have to miss me!"

"Not likely…Captain," said Ridley, "You going to attack me or just stand there?"

"Remember," said Mikoto striking his best fighting stance, "you asked for this." Mikoto dashed towards Ridley his claws outstretched. "**Shear Slice!"**

"Always one for crappy lines, aren't ya?" said Ridley. He brought his guitar up blocking the slicing motion Mikoto made with his razor sharp coyote-like claws. The claws scrapped the guitar. "Hey, dude, you chipped the paint!"

"Yeah, and you're next!" said Mikoto making another run-by this time barely catching Ridley's shirt and leaving a nice clean cut straight through it.

"Wow, you cut through fabric, you are so scary," mocked Ridley. "Here's something to remember me by! **100 Decibels!" **He slammed his guitar strings down releasing a massive sound shockwave towards Mikoto. Mikoto crumpled to the ground clutching his ears. He cursed this form for its highly sensitive ears.

Mikoto morphed back to his previous human form. At least in this form the noise was bearable. Mikoto stood up. He charged towards Ridley.

"**150!" **shouted Ridley. Mikoto was thrown forcibly to the ground by the sheer sound of the noise. Ridley continued to play at that high level. "Its sad, isn't it? You can't withstand the shock of my attacks, so your only option is to dodge it, but when my attack affects the entire room you can't. You are out of options!"

"I still got a few actually," said Mikoto through gasping breaths. "Charge on regardless!" He got up and ran towards Ridley.

"Nice try, but it ain't working!" shouted Ridley, "**175!"** Ridley started to increase the sheer volume of his note playing, but yet somehow Mikoto kept on charging. "**190!"** Ridley was about to increase the volume, but he was just a tad slow, Mikoto landed a punch square to Ridley's jaw knocking him back a few feet.

"What's up? Without your music you are the same basic human as everyone else," said Mikoto, "I, on the other hand, have trained to be fast and strong. Having eaten the Devil Fruit is only icing on my cake!"

"Wow, that was probably the most humble sentence in the history of the world," said Ridley, sarcastically. "I still got a few more tunes to play before my final number. Let's see how you like my Number One 'HIT'. **Skillet!"** Ridley started strumming loudly on his guitar, but in a musical kind-of winced as he was actually thrown backwards by the sheer volume of the sound. Mikoto tumbled around on the ground.

Mikoto quickly got back up to his feet, with renewed vigor ready to take down Ridley, "hey, Ridley, I got a riddle for you? What's black, blue, and red all over?" Mikoto morphed into his hybrid form. Ridley was about to finish his obvious line, when Mikoto blurred and started racing towards him. "YOU!" Mikoto launched a kick straight up and into Ridley's bottom jaw, separating him from the floor.

"Sorry, but I prefer jokes, they have actual PUNCH lines," said Ridley while in the air. Before he touched the ground and nearly right after his line he strummed on his guitar again creating another blast of sound that slammed into Mikoto. This blast was smaller and didn't quite knock Mikoto back, more like caused him to skid across the ground.

Mikoto turned to the side and spat out some blood and maybe a broken tooth along with it. He looked down at his body, it looked like it was still in one piece, but his body felt tattered and destroyed. He felt literally destroyed from the inside out. Ridley may not be strong, but that guitar of his was so far successful at keeping him at bay. He can't get close enough to get a hit without being hit before or soon after.

Ridley wiped his lip. It felt cut open, Mikoto's speed was no joke. All this time with him and he always imagined that they were equal. Boy, was he wrong. Mikoto outclassed him in strength, speed, and stamina. He was already started to feel fatigue. Maybe if he hadn't already fought Karasu today he might be able to hold out a little longer against him, but it seemed like a lost cause. He might as well collapse now and save them both the trouble.

"Giving up already, Ridley?" said Mikoto, "you aren't pirate material, are you? I don't believe that you are strong enough to be on my crew anyways, I guess it's a good thing you are quitting!"

"I may not be as strong as you guys," said Ridley his lost from today still fresh in his mind, "but I can still give you a run for your money!"

"Suuurrrrreeee," said Mikoto, "whatever you say. *cough* crazy *cough*."

"I'm crazy, huh?" said Ridley, "let's see if you can survive this! **Trapping Tune!" **Ridley started playing a mixture of melodies.

Mikoto tried to move, but his legs felt frozen in place. "I can't move," said Mikoto with grunts of effort in between each word.

"Like I said, I can give you a run for your money," said Ridley. "Say hello to '**The Fray!'"** shouted Ridley. He slammed down onto this guitar. The sound intensified. The sound was deafening.

Mikoto screamed in pain. He slammed into the ground the effects of Trapping Tune gone the instant Ridley let up his playing. Mikoto got up, blood dripping from his mouth, his internal organs felt battered. No one he ever fought before ever beat the crap out of him to this degree. Mikoto quickly got back up to his feet. Regardless of that fact, he wasn't going to allow Ridley to beat him. Mikoto morphed into his hybrid form.

"**Wolf Cutter!" **shouted Mikoto he slammed his claw into the ground and started running towards Ridley. Sparks followed his claw as it sliced through the ground. Mikoto brought his claw up right underneath Ridley, but much to his dismay Ridley had managed to bring his guitar around to block the claws. Mikoto morphed back into his small beast form. Mikoto lunged at Ridley's foot bringing all of his teeth through Ridley's soft flesh.

Ridley brought his leg up and started shaking it violently trying to break free from Mikoto's vicious bite. But to no real avail, the harder he swung the deeper Mikoto sunk his teeth. Finally Ridley grabbed his guitar and swung it at Mikoto, making contact and knocking Mikoto and all of his teeth off of him.

Ridley glared at Mikoto. This fight was dragging on to long, they had both been weary from before and they both had large wounds in their stomach, granted he had his much longer then Mikoto, but still this match might actually kill both of them. Not to mention the only doctors on this island serve his father, or rather their enemy. Ridley decided to end this fight here and now. He took careful aim with his guitar, this next attack was either going to hit Mikoto and knock him out or leave Ridley open long enough for Mikoto to get a clear and direct hit to knock him out. These were the only two possibilities that could happen

"Let the angels sing, **Apollo's Allegro!"** shouted Ridley. He immediately started playing his guitar. Musical notes could almost be heard dancing about the room in a fit of anger all ready to defeat Ridley's former friend and current opponent.

Mikoto heard it all. Each note rebounded off of each corner of the room and each time it intensified with anger and power. Mikoto charged towards Ridley, he wasn't going to lose! He would defeat Ridley, show him up and prove to him once and for all, that they were both made to be pirates. Mikoto finally got up close enough to Ridley and launched a punch straight into Ridley's gut. Ridley flipped into the air for a second and then came crashing back down onto the ground nearly knocked out.

Mikoto stood confidently over Ridley still listening to Ridley's final song echo through the room. Mikoto collapsed down onto one knee. He looked down at Ridley. "You stay right where you are, I'm going to go take care of Karasu." Mikoto struggled to stand again. He nearly collapsed several times in his effort to escape each and every time though he stood right back up and continued on his way.

Ridley was left laying on the ground arms and legs splayed out still bleeding profusely. He turned over and slowly got to his feet. He started to simply walk away, but every so often he turned around debating on whether or not he should go help Mikoto, each time he decided he would be useless and kept on walking.

He soon exited the door, with a large amount of effort on his part. He panted heavily on the other side. If it took him this long to get outside of the room just imagine how long it would be before he was out at sea. He was going to die. There was no changing that fact, Karasu ensured him of that. Ridley fingered the large hole in his stomach for a few seconds. It still burned. Darn that creep. Still he wasn't going to allow his crew to see him die, if he was going to die, he was going to make darn sure well that Mikoto, Sage, Zesiro, and Hiro-Shu didn't see him kick the bucket. He carefully continued on his way.

He suddenly heard voices. He twisted around and tried to run away, but he couldn't and he simply fell down and onto the ground. He rolled over onto his back. "Ouch, oh well, looks like I'm screwed," he chuckled to himself. He closed his eyes and waited for the owner's of the voices to come over and do him in.

"Hey, look, its Ridley," said the first voice, it was high and feminine. Sounded sweet, but it also had a slight twinge of anger in it.

"So it is," said the second voice. It was a lot deeper and hard. It sounded nearly cold and unemotional. So, someone didn't care for him, huh?

"Yup, well, let's see how he is holding up," said the third voice. It was deep, too, definitely masculine.

Ridley felt a light slap hit him across the cheek. Ridley opened his eyes. Drat, why couldn't it have been someone who wanted to kill him? Well, Sage might fit that description, but the other two hopefully didn't.

"How's it going, Harvest Hater," said Sage from on top of her metal trolley. "Hey, Hiro-Shu can you please wheel me over to him?"

"No," said Hiro-Shu, he was pulling the trolley about with little effort and only one hand at that, "you'd probably kick him."

"What!" said Sage, "I'm innocent! I only wanted to see how the man who destroyed my crops and left us all alone was doing! If that's what you guys think I was going to do, you might kick him as well."

"Sage," said Zesiro, "if we kick him he'd probably pass out again." Zesiro was close to Ridley, examining the numerous wounds over his body. Zesiro had his nose pinched however, acting like Ridley had a tremendous body odor about him, even though right now it was probably only blood. "I'll just carry him to our ship, you two go on ahead and help Mikoto."

"No!" shouted Ridley, "You three go over and help Mikoto." Somehow as if by a miracle Ridley lifted himself up to his own two feet. "I'll go over to the ship by myself. I got to reserve what dignity I got left, after I got my butt kicked by that wild animal." He started to head out in the direction Zesiro and the others came from.

"Well, if you think that you can manage," said Zesiro questioningly, "we'll head out."

"Yeah, yeah, I am one hundred and ten percent, okay!" said Ridley slamming his chest. He immediately let out a moan of pain, "okay, okay, seventy six percent, I'll admit, but hey, I'll manage."

"Don't be afraid to ask for help," said Sage, "we are a team after all, aren't we?" She was showing more concern for Ridley now then she ever did before.

"Yea, don't worry if I am ever in a tough spot, I'll ask you guys for help first thing, but trust me. I got everything under control," said Ridley as he continued to walk off in the distance.

The crew shrugged. Better not complain or follow behind him. Mikoto would probably be in worse shape, especially if the fight with Karasu has started. The crew started to head towards the direction in which Ridley came from. Hiro-Shu still managing to pull Sage's trolley along with ease and with only his right hand. Zesiro walked next to them considering something, his nose was still pinched close.

"Man, Ridley looked beaten up," said Sage, breaking the silence, "I hope he is going to make it back to the ship." She looked over her shoulder and back down the hallway. Ridley was nowhere to be seen. "If Karasu could do all that, I wonder how Mikoto is holding up. After all he was pulling me all this way…" the fear and regret in her voice started to grow.

"He'll be alright," said Hiro-Shu offering to cheer her up, "they'll be alright."

"You think so," said Sage, with a shred of hope in her voice. Hiro-Shu nodded. Zesiro still looked away from the conversation and wasn't even responding.

Hiro-Shu cleared his throat to get Zesiro's attention. Zesiro snapped to. "Don't you think that Mikoto and Ridley, will be okay?" asked Hiro-Shu motioning with several quick head jerks towards Sage.

"Yeah," said Zesiro, "did we ever mention it to Ridley where our ship is?"

"No," said Sage. Hiro-Shu agreed.

"Then how is he supposed to get there by himself?" questioned Zesiro.

* * *

**The Villain Finally Fights! And What is with Ridley?**

Well, that is it for now. Next chapter, I am planning on explaining what is going on with Ridley and why is leaving the crew. So, if you are thinking Ridley would never leave, what till next chapter to find out what is going on!


	31. BW Arc The Villian Finally Fights

**The Villain Finally Fights! What is with Ridley?**

Zesiro spun around on his heels. Crap! Who knows where Ridley had left off to? He could've taken a left instead of a right, a right instead of a left, kept going instead of turning period. He could be utterly lost by now! Or he could be on the correct way. He seemed confident enough when he left. He acted like he knew which way to go…the question remained should Zesiro go after him.

"Going?" asked Hiro-Shu. Zesiro remained where he was, where could Ridley have gone. Zesiro tossed this over and over again.

"Come on," said Sage waving for him to catch up, "Ridley is Ridley he wouldn't accept your help even if you found him. Let's just keep heading forward!"

Zesiro gritted his teeth and decided that Sage was right. Ridley wouldn't accept his help, but he could at least be there when Mikoto was having his butt handed to him. He gripped his sword and nodded, "To Mikoto!"

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto landed another tremendous kick on the door blowing it off its hinges just like the previous one. He looked around the room. It was another empty room. Dang it, he was just trying to make a dramatic entrance why couldn't Karasu just be in this room. Knocking down doors was tiring business. If he didn't find Karasu soon and make his dramatic entrance he would be to worn out to fight him…

Mikoto cursed his luck seven dramatic entrances and still no Karasu. The odds were not looking good. Should he just give up with his dramatic entrances? Nah, it wouldn't be as exciting without a dramatic entrance. He continued to walk. He tried to figure out where Karasu could be, but with no map or even the faintest idea of a possible path to take it could take a normal man years. Well, luckily he was part coyote.

Mikoto morphed his body till he was that of a small dark brown coyote. He suddenly shot from his spot in a crazy manner. He slammed into the doors on the opposite end of the room blowing them open. He continued to dash in straight line through room after room after room. Each time just gaining more momentum.

He burst into the final room to see a large golden throne and in it a large muscular man. Mikoto didn't stop running, rather he couldn't stop running and slid head first into the man. The throne tumbled over from the force sending them both into the air for a brief moment. The muscular man stood up and glared at Mikoto.

"Ah ha, I am glad I could finally finish off the man who converted my boy into a fool," said the muscular man. He stood up. He was changed out of his attire from before, but this was definitely Karasu. Those eyes still radiated evil and cruelty. He was wearing army pants, army boots, and a pure white muscle shirt. "Let's see if you are all Ridley said you were!"

"You are Karasu, huh," said Mikoto, "I'm trying to figure out how Ridley felt when he came face-to-face with the person that caused him so much pain. And I guess I just can't imagine it." Mikoto looked up at him. He morphed into his hybrid form and glared at Karasu, "let's fight."

"Fight? You expect me to WASTE my time with you?" said Karasu, "You already look like I pulverized you?" He flicked Mikoto's throbbing black eye, that Sage had given him. "Maybe you should just go drown yourself in a kiddy pool and save me the trouble."

Mikoto launched one straight punch straight into Karasu's cheek. The force behind Mikoto's punch didn't quite do as he wanted. He was expecting Karasu to go flying and land in the wall behind him, leaving a human sized hole in the wall, but nothing. The only thing that happened was Karasu's head simply twisted in one direction.

"Not what you expected, I take it," said Karasu. Karasu launched a devastating sucker punch to Mikoto's abdomen lifting Mikoto off of the ground for a few brief moment. "Maybe you'll do for a warm-up. Maybe when I pulverize the rest of your friends, maybe just maybe, they'll give me more excitement. After all, I already know how this match is going to end," Karasu slammed his rigid forearm into Mikoto's back sending him falling to the ground, "with you buried 6 feet deep!"

Mikoto struggled to get back up to his feet. "Sorry, I couldn't you…I only heard the air whooshing out of someone's ego." This only got him a devastating strike from Karasu's knee into his stomach again. Mikoto coughed for awhile blood oozing from his mouth. "Come on, now give up. I must admit, however, before this fight continues, that you are quite the surprising specimen…a Zoan Devil Fruit user. Not too many of those in the East Blue."

"Heh, I'm one in a million," said Mikoto still struggling to catch his breath.

Karasu slammed his foot down onto Mikoto's back slamming the coyote back into the ground. "I AM NOT FINISHED SPEAKING!…Anyways, where was I…oh yeah, the lack of Zoan Devil Fruit users in the East Blue. I can't say much ever since Hestas Nero started his trading industry the boom of Devil Fruits have grown now anyone with money could've eaten a Devil Fruit. I mean he goes to the Grand Line, collects some rare things, including Devil Fruits, then sells them to people all around the world, including the East Blue, so how much did it cost you to get your hands on that Devil Fruit?"

"Not a single Beli," said Mikoto, "me and Hestas go waaaaaay back! We were mighty good friends at a time."

"Hestas? His name is Nero, you young fool!" said Karasu laughing. "His given name is Nero!"

"Funny, I always called him Hestas and he never got mad at me," said Mikoto, "just goes to show you…that some people are fools."

Karasu stopped laughing at twisted his face into a frown. He fired another punch at Mikoto. Mikoto spun around and landed in the wall, he flopped to the ground like a rag doll. "Fool. Interesting, the only fool I see here is you…you and my own pathetic son!" Karasu punched the wall next to him nearly atomizing it with a single stroke.

Mikoto's ears pricked up, "Ridley? Why is he a fool? He didn't even want to fight you!" The memories from his earlier fight still fresh in his mind, "He turned tail and left my crew, because of you!"

"Because of me…well, yes, full-heartedly yes! He did quit because of me," said Karasu, "but that's only because I beat him and I am going to kill him…" Karasu cracked another wicked smile. "If he said that he didn't want to fight me, then that must mean you fought him after my fight with him. Did he…did he have a huge gnash in his stomach?"

Mikoto solemnly nodded.

"That's it," said Karasu, "Ridley didn't turn tail and run. He went to hide his own funeral! I beat him! I gave him that huge hole in his stomach! Then I poured poison into it! My son won't live and grow up stupid! If he is stupid then my only answer, then only cure is death! Guess he didn't want his 'friends' to see him as the weakling he truly is!"

"Ridley?" whispered Mikoto, "no, he didn't leave because he was weak…" Mikoto stood up, "Ridley's not a coward…he left us because he was scared for us. Probably more so for me…leaving us on bad terms by leaving the crew, insulting us…that was his way of saying 'good-bye, don't miss me'. If he would've suddenly dropped in front of our eyes during a party, we would've remembered him as the good man he was, not as the creep punked-out rocker nobody would cry over."

"Hah! That's hilarious!" said Karasu, "I stomped Ridley! He was weak! He left you because he was weak, not because he cared for you! He never cared for any of you! You hoisted a pirate flag together, gathered a crew together, each selfishly chasing after your own dream! He would've screwed you over in a heartbeat to have become famous! This is the truth about Ridley! He would've killed you! The girl, the fishman, the big guy! He would've killed you all to accomplish his dream! His dream of killing me! Face the facts, you are all nothing to…"

"Karasu," said Mikoto quite solemn all of a sudden, Karasu stopped his rants and sneered at Mikoto, "shut up." Karasu's eyes went wide all of a sudden either out of anger or surprise. A smile crept over Karasu's face. It was more along the lines of an evil smirk. He clenched his fists. He charged at Mikoto.

"Only the strong can command others!" shouted Karasu, as he smashed his fist into the ground and extremely high speeds, his muscles pulsating with sheer strength. Dust blocked his vision. Karasu started to laugh in his own dust blocked world. "You are nothing, but a mere insect! I am unstoppable!"

"I'm sorry, but are you talking to me?" said Mikoto, "cause I could've sworn I told you to shut up." Karasu twisted around in his spot to see Mikoto standing behind him, arms crossed, gazing at him.

"Quick little runt, ain't ya?" said Karasu. He shook his hand in the air. "I will let you taste my full power!" Karasu flexed his muscles. They grew with every inch he moved. "My punches generate such monumental force even a cannon can't match it."

"We got a pretty big ego there, don't we?" said Mikoto. "Your punches are only great if they connect!"

"Pretty cocky for an amateur," said Karasu, "but I guess you are a pirate and as a pirate I should honor you with my very best." Karasu started to beef himself up even more. "With my previous punch clocking in at…probably around 60%, I'd say 100% should atomize even your smallest particles, like your brain." Karasu charged at Mikoto his muscles solidifying with every step.

Mikoto bolted, trying to run around and avoid Karasu's charge. Karasu didn't even change then direction of his charge. He stopped where Mikoto once was and slammed his fist into the ground. A crater was formed sending out a massive shockwave that slammed into Mikoto. Mikoto was tossed helplessly to the ground. Mikoto cursed the pain Ridley put him in. If it wasn't for the earlier fight he was sure he could probably, no definitely beat Karasu, but with his organs banged up, his brain melted, and ears hurting insanely bad his chances shrunk from 100% to probably 35%. Actually, lower then that. Much lower.

Mikoto struggled to his feet. Despite that after hearing how Karasu treated Ridley, his legs wouldn't allow him to run away. His fists wouldn't uncurl. He wanted to beat Karasu up until Karasu begged him for mercy. He wanted to see Karasu's face twisted in horror and in fear of him, Ridley's best friend. And he was going to do it!

"Thinking about something there?" asked Karasu. He was already right in front of Mikoto. Karasu grabbed onto Mikoto's left hand and squeezed with all his might. Mikoto collapsed groaning. Could this one man's strength really put such a great gap in between them? His strength was astonishing. Karasu slowly lifted his hand, without releasing his grip pulling Mikoto right off of the ground by his arm. Karasu glared into Mikoto's eyes.

Mikoto struck out with legs and sharpened claws. He was kicking wildly from his position just simply scratching Karasu's rock hard abdomen area. Not even the slightest blood dripped from the barely visible wounds. Karasu simply laughed.

"Strength is what the sea demands!" shouted Karasu. He flung Mikoto to the other side of the room with his one arm. "Willpower? Hah! Destiny? HAH! Nakamas? That's the biggest laugh of them all. The most coveted title of the seas…what's it called again? The KING of the Pirates. Not KINGS! Singular! One person! The sea doesn't care about your friends! We only care about the strongest!" Karasu was already looming over Mikoto. "Want a word of advice? Throw your friends. They are only holding you back."

"Argh!" Mikoto stood up and launched a fist at Karasu. He caught it without even batting an eye or skidding backwards an inch. Mikoto collapsed again his fist still sitting in Karasu's huge hand.

"I've been wondering why are you about to get killed?" said Karasu he knelt down and looked at Mikoto face-to-face. "If its for your 'friend' then I was right? You are willing to die for a friend who is going to die anyways? Well, I'll tell you what kid the Grand Line is filled with kids like you. All of them six feet deep."

**Infinity Crew Versus The One Man Army**

**

* * *

**

Whoa. Took me awhile, huh? *crickets chirp* Fine don't respond! I'll just have you know I am going to continue this story despite whether or not you respond…PLEASE RESPOND! PLEASE REVIEW! Say something!

(In case you've forgotten how to post a review press that button, down there).


	32. BW Arc The One Man Army

**The Infinity Pirates Versus the One Man Army**

"Zesiro!" said Hiro-Shu as the Fishman rushed past them. He looked ahead. Zesiro was already at the next corner, turning around it at high speeds. "Wonder what's up with him?"

"I think he's worried about Mikoto," said Sage. Ordinarily Hiro-Shu would've said something to cheer her up, but the way she said those words made it sound ultimate. Like she knew.

"Funny, you say it like you worried about Mikoto," said Hiro-Shu, chuckling. He was also worried about Mikoto, but he wasn't going to let Sage know and start worrying.

"I am now," said Sage, "before I agreed with you…Mikoto isn't one to let himself be crushed, but I could've sworn just then I heard Mikoto scream…"

Hiro-Shu swiveled around. He heard the scream, too, he just didn't want Sage to worry. "Well, then we'd better stop dawdling and get going then. But don't worry me and Mikoto are made of the same stuff. Hard, unbeatable steel." Hiro-Shu braced himself.

Sage nodded. Hiro-Shu started to run in the same direction as Zesiro. True he wasn't as fast as Zesiro. Not by a long shot, but it sure was faster then before.

(-With Mikoto-)

"This is my favorite part of a fight," said Karasu, "the part where my enemy dies!" Karasu picked Mikoto up by the throat. He tossed Mikoto into the air. "Just think in a week the poison in Ridley's system would've worked its way through and have killed him, you will be together again!" He slammed his fist at full speed into Mikoto's gut sending him flying clear across the room. Mikoto slammed into the ground with a loud grunt.

"Ahh…" said Mikoto rolling over onto his stomach. He put his hand down and tried to force himself to stand up again.

Karasu put his foot on top of Mikoto and forced him back down to the ground. Mikoto coughed up more blood. "Still alive…I hate people like you!" Karasu lifted his foot off and picked Mikoto up and stared in his eyes. "Why can't you just die? Make my job easier for me!" Karasu tossed Mikoto through the room with relatively little effort.

Mikoto coughed up more blood from his spot. He just lied there. "Bi…bot boo bo thumfing…you urt by brin (I…got to do something…you hurt my friend)."

"What? I'm sorry I couldn't understand that," said Karasu, "see you've got a little blood. Right there…" he was pointing straight at Mikoto mouth. "Let me just fix it for you." He clenched his fist and launched a single devastating punch to Mikoto's head. Mikoto yelped. "Pathetic." Karasu turned around and started to walk away, but he stopped cold instead. He stopped because he could still hear breathing. Rough, ragged, dragged out, painful breathing. "JUST DIE ALREADY!" Karasu spun around shouting.

Mikoto was already done back on his feet. One arm extended, one foot slightly back. His stance suggested that he was ready to continue this fight. The pool of blood at his feet suggested that he couldn't. Karasu casually strode back up to him. He flicked him on the forehead. Mikoto wavered in place for a minute before collapsing back down onto the ground. He huffed and turned around. He took a few paces and then heard footsteps approach him from behind. He turned around. There was a mako shark Fishman standing above Mikoto. "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of the man you just pummeled," said Zesiro, "and I don't know how you beat my captain, but you aren't going to beat me." Zesiro drew both of his blades simultaneously and took his stance. Both swords in front of him as he stared down Karasu.

"Scary," said Karasu sarcastically, "If I were you I would've ran out of here the instance I saw that kid's bloody body laying on the ground."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just better then you are," said Zesiro with a chuckle.

"You'll pay for that!" shouted Karasu charging at Zesiro. He swung his right arm out in front of him. Zesiro brought his blades up to block ready to sever the man's arm as soon as it made contact. Karasu punched Zesiro's swords, and much to Zesiro's chagrin his swords didn't dig into Karasu's hand his muscles formed such a solid wall his sword's couldn't cut it without proper momentum. Zesiro was thrown back due to his ignorance.

"Guess you got some thick skin," said Zesiro checking to make sure his swords had retained their sharpness from his previous fights, not believing that Karasu's fist was really that tough. He groaned as he saw the blade was just as sharp as he remembered it.

Karasu was already on top of Zesiro launching another barrage of punches onto Zesiro. Zesiro deftly avoided the punches, trying to find enough room in Karasu's wild and random barrage of fists to get a swing in. He couldn't find a single opening, he jumped back to try to get more room. Bad move. When he jumped back he left himself open just long enough for Karasu to get one square right hook into his gut sending him back a few feet.

Zesiro cursed under his breath as he lamented his stupidity. Karasu was above him in the few seconds he spent. Karasu slammed his elbow straight down into Zesiro's back forcing him to the ground with enough power to kill rhino. Karasu smirked confidently over Zesiro's limp, and probably broken, body.

"**Cascading Cuts!"** Zesiro leaped into action despite his injuries he grasped his swords tightly and leaped straight upwards delivering several powerful cuts into Karasu's legs, then abdomen, then finally leaving a small cut from Karasu's chin to just below his left eye. Karasu stumbled back. "**Devilfish Finisher!" **Zesiro confidently slammed both of his sword's into Karasu's body forming an X. Zesiro then quickly dragged his swords away in a zigzag fashion leaving several mutilating cuts across his chest.

Karasu slammed his fist into Zesiro's body knocking him briefly into the air. Karasu then grabbed and got a firm grip over Zesiro's throat and began to squeeze. Zesiro's swords clattered against the ground as he dropped them. Zesiro's hand went up to his throat trying to pry away Karasu's hand, but due to the lack of oxygen he couldn't force Karasu's hand to open up.

"The poor minnow," said Karasu obviously enjoying Zesiro's pain, "Can't you do anything to free yourself. After all, I've heard that Fishman were supposed to be superior to us humans. Naturally evolved from us. With superior strength, intelligence, and skills. Wait a second though, I am superior to everything, humans, animals, and Fishmen!" Karasu's grip tightened, his muscles convulsed.

"Do you want me to ease up on your throat? Maybe even put you down? Only thing you have to do is speak up and ask me," said Karasu with his free hand he cuffed his ear pretending to listen intently, "no, you are fine with me choking you? Fine! I'll keep at it, then!" Zesiro's hands were still stumbling at his neck trying to free himself.

Karasu's eyes went blank for a second. His stomach gurgled. He released Zesiro from the vice-like grip. His hands grabbed hold of his stomach. He lost his lunch all over the floor right next to Zesiro. Zesiro didn't complain, he was too busy trying to recover from being strangled.

"**Fist of Iron! Golem's Fury!" **shouted a deep voice. A hard iron incased fist collided into Karasu's side sending Karasu sliding down his hands still covering his sides. He looked across the room. Two new people had entered the room. A girl and a large man who was currently wearing iron gauntlets. The girl was sitting up on a trolley her hands pointing at him. He wiped a little vomit from his lip.

"More flies to the spider's web," said Karasu. He shook his fists. He looked at the large man. "Quite a punch you got there. I really felt it in my bones. Now, with your two friends here already suffering," he slammed his foot down on top of Zesiro's stomach forcing the air out of his lungs and Zesiro to let loose a small scream, "who is going to be the next body?"

"**Second Stage! Golem Guard!" **shouted Hiro-Shu. His arms remains encased in iron, but the iron progressed to cover his chest, abdomen a little of his legs, and even completed the outfit with a small iron helmet. He prompted Karasu to come at him.

Karasu charged at Hiro-Shu. He swung a punch at Hiro-Shu's chest. Hiro-Shu puffed his chest out to absorb the shock. Karasu's fist nailed Hiro-Shu iron encased tense chest point-blank. Hiro-Shu was knocked back a few feet. There was a heavy dent in his armor at where Karasu's punch had connected. Hiro-Shu's hand fingered the dent.

"You better hope that comes out," said Hiro-Shu cracking his neck, "**Forger's Fire! Igoku's Flame!"** Hiro-Shu stretched his neck out and blew an immense amount of fire out at Karasu. Karasu jumped back to avoid the majority of the flames. Sage chattered briefly with being so close to the flames. Hiro-Shu's eyes lit up with an idea. He braced himself for the next hit.

Karasu was up in front of Hiro-Shu in no time. His fist collided into Hiro-Shu, Hiro-Shu slid back a bit, but he immediately reached out and grabbed hold of Karasu. He wrapped his iron arms around Karasu's abdomen and held him there. "SAGE!" shouted Hiro-Shu through Karasu's relentless smashes into his head.

Sage nodded. She brought her arms up in front of her and aimed them straight at Karasu. She closed her eyes briefly while she reminded herself of all the evil things Karasu had done to Ridley, Mikoto, and Zesiro. She needed to solidify her resolve. "Pop goes the…" Sage's eyes opened up and her jaw dropped. Hiro-Shu was being flung at her. The iron encased golem had actually been weakened enough to have lost his grip and been thrown straight at Sage. Sage's hands twisted into a different shape. Sage was knocked back by the golem's immense weight.

Hiro-Shu struggled back up to his own two feet. He looked down at Sage and grimaced. First Ridley, Mikoto, and Zesiro, and now even Sage. He turned to Karasu. Second stage should be enough to handle this joker. But…he maybe he should give it his all just in case. He looked at the three battered and beaten bodies in the room. One more stage…just in case. **"Third Stage! Gol…"** Hiro-Shu couldn't even finish his statement for as his body was going under the transformation Karasu had landed a swift straight and powerful punch to his unguarded face. Hiro-Shu flew across the room. He was unconscious even before he hit the floor.

* * *

The Infinity Pirates were never heard from again. It was a nice run everyone. I had fun writing the story, really I did, but I mean what else could I have done? Every crew can't just make it to the One Piece there are some crews that fail. It's a normal part of life…GOT YA! The story goes on! Continue reading!

* * *

Sage was the first one awake. She shifted uncomfortably. Her hand gingerly touched her head. Ouch! It felt like she was hit with piano! Today just wasn't her day. First she broke her foot and got stuck with Mikoto throughout all of it, then Mikoto abandoned her (she still had to kill him for that), then she met Roger, and finally a giant golem slammed into her.

If you are wondering how she survived it was simple really. While Hiro-Shu was flying at her, she increased the pressure between him and her. The pressure decreased his momentum and made the impact next to nothing. She was just that smart! She collapsed again, her entire body ached though for a next to nothing impact.

"Hello there," said a voice. Sage opened her eyes. Above her on her buxom was a teddy bear? Who talked to her? She picked the teddy bear up and threw him across the room.

"OUCH! Why the…!" said the same voice as before. Sage spun around, she saw no one again.

"Who's there," she said as she clambered back on board of the trolley. She pun around viciously continuously checking the room. She still saw no one.

"I am! Orso McGee!" said the same voice.

Sage pondered the name. She had heard it once before…she knew she had. "Ah…who are you?"

The teddy bear jumped up on top of the trolley. "Come on! Really?" said Orso McGee. "I was one of the Marines who fought your crew back at East Blue Base 4! Show some respect for your enemy!"

Sage lashed out with a kick sending the bear, who as you probably guessed was incredibly light, flying. Orso McGee landed with a soft thud. He stood back up and ran up to her, "What are you thinking! I am a respect marine official!"

"So what are you here for then!" shouted Sage, "You here to arrest us!"

"No," said Orso quietly, he mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?" asked Sage.

He mumbled something else again, Sage could make out the words 'left' and 'help'. She smiled. "What was that I still couldn't hear you?"

"I GOT LEFT BEHIND AND I NEED YOUR HELP!" shouted Orso. Tears somehow streaming down this non-living animal.

"So much for respected marine official," said Sage, "maybe we'll help you." She smirked at Orso's distress. "Tell you what wake these guys up and I'll try to talk them into helping you!"

"Okay!" shouted Orso saluting Sage. He pulled a small toy-sized megaphone from out of thin air. He spoke into it. "ALRIGHT EVERYONE UP AND AT 'EM! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

Zesiro bolted awake and looked at Orso angrily. Hiro-Shu slowly sat up solemnly. Mikoto, who was in a near death-state again, merely opened his eyes. The crew slowly gathered up around Sage, who was trying to prevent them from killing forgotten bear.

A few minutes later and the crew reluctantly agreed to hear Orso out.

* * *

**Orso's Tale of Woe. What Happened to the Marines?**

Anyways, I apologize for the joke. I couldn't resist. Anyways, if you remember the crew beat some Marines up a few chapters back, so next chapter will be recapping exactly what had happened to them, but it will be told from the manly (and awkwardly cute) Orso McGee's point of view. Anyways, hope you guys will keep reading! And reviewing!


	33. Chapter 33 Orso's Tale of Woe

**Orso's Tale of Woe! What Happened to the Marines!**

"Well," began Orso McGee, "my bad run of luck started since you guys beat us…"

(~Flashback~)

"Due to the recent loss at the hands of the Infinity Pirates, Orso McGee, Valerie Steel, you have both been demoted," said a large marine official, "You are both being assigned the title of co-captain until you can prove yourselves worthy of being captain rank again."

"Okay, no problem!" shouted Orso, "We'll quickly work our way through the ranks! Nothing is a problem for Orso McGee! Right, Valerie?"

Valerie seemed distant. She didn't even respond, more importantly she wasn't even paying attention to the vice admiral who was assigned to give them the bad news. She was looking out the window.

"PAY ATTENTION TO ME!" shouted Orso.

Valerie snapped to attention. "Yeah…uh-huh…um…why have we been called to attendance here again?"

"You are both being demoted," said the vice admiral visibly annoyed. A large tick sat on his forehead.

"WHAT!" shouted Valerie, "Are you aware of how long we worked to obtain this title? Are you dense, dumb, or cruel!"

The tick on the vice-admiral's forehead grew and nearly tripled in size. "YOU WILL DO AS I SAY! I AM A HIGHER RANK THEN YOU!"

"Ranks, phbbt," said Valerie voicing her dislike, "fine, come on Orso, we have work to do."

"WAIT!" shouted the vice-admiral, "you are no longer assigned to the same crew. "Orso you will be under the supervision of captain Stephanie…" he pressed a button.

"Huh, she doesn't sound half-bad," said Orso, "never met her before, but I've heard she has done good work…" Orso feigned confidence in all reality he was extremely upset that he was going to be leaving Valerie. But he had to act brave, courageous, and strong for Valerie's sake.

A man in a bustier, skirt, and high heels came sauntering in. His triple butt chin scared the lights out of Orso. "Ah, look at the cute teddy bear," said Stephanie with a voice that was deeper then a bass drum, and made the sentence seem oddly out of context.

"I AIN'T CUTE! I AM MANLY IN A SMALL PACKAGE!" shouted Orso.

Stephanie bent down and picked Orso up and held him against her(?) flat as an ironing board chest. Valerie glared down Stephanie. Stephanie slowly walked out the room with Orso's defiant struggles against her bust sounding loudly. The door closed behind them.

Orso's shouts was quickly drowned out by Valerie's next scream, "ANYONE BUT HIM!"

(-Back to regular time-)

Orso spoke up, "I never did find out who was Valerie's new partner, but I'm guessing he wasn't her ideal partner. Anyways, over the span of the next few weeks, me and Stephanie brought in numerous bounties! She thanked me even! They were all brought down thanks to my amazing skills! I defeated over a hundred pirates over the span of a week! I was the strongest man among the seas!"

Zesiro, Sage, and Hiro-Shu all thumped him quickly on the head. "Tell the truth!"

"Fine, but we really did bring in a lot of bounties," said Orso, "we made a good fighting team, I just hated her guts. She was annoying…always calling me, cute little fu…anyways, back to the story! We were in town a little while ago…"

(~Flashback~)

Orso was strolling through town center. He was amazed by the voices and all the things they were selling 'Find-Your-True-Love' amulets, a golden apple seed, what rip-offs. He was strolling slower then every one else. Or his small footsteps just made it seem that way. All of the sudden a woman's voice shouted "WHO NEEDS A SHIRT ANYWAYS! NOT ME!" Orso recognized the voice he jumped up on top of the nearby bench, but he only caught a glimpse of the person as she was running away.

"HOLD IT! BY ORDERS OF THE MARINES!" shouted Orso, he leapt down and started chasing after her. He bobbed and weaved through the legs of bystanders. He was still going slower then everyone else. But he couldn't go any faster, he couldn't risk using Kumo Hokan in this busy street.

He quickly lost sight of the girl and gave up. He slowly trudged back to the ship. Somehow Stephanie was thrown into the sea. She growled at Orso on sight. "We are going after the Infinity Pirates! I want all hands on deck to chase after them A! S! A! P!"

Orso's new ship and crew slowly trailed after the ship and winded up on an island with a huge metal dome in the middle. Orso was the first one out on the ground running around trying to be the first one to get the crew. If he could take them down he would've proven himself to be captain-grade at least! Then he and Valerie would finally be reunited! She would thank him! Sadly, his plan didn't go as well as he wanted. He got lost…he was too small! The freakin' roses were about as tall him! He kept running though keep going straight! STRAIGHT! Sooner or later he would come across the building!

Orso crashed next to the building's wall. He found a wall! Finally! He rested upon the wall his back leaning on it. Oh, well, he came this far a short nap wouldn't hurt him…right? He was about to settle down when a loud thud came from inside the building. Just a rock falling or something. Then Orso heard a loud ticking sound. He stood up, and put his ear next to the wall. Yup, the ticking sound is still there, hmm, Orso wondered what could be going on. Next thing the wall expanded towards him with a loud boom. Orso was sent flying through the air.

Orso quickly regained consciousness. He got up and with a huff and a puff he began to continue his path around the dome, this time with renewed vigor at the thought of beating up the person that caused the explosion. He found a door after a long jaunt, probably about 1 mile.

The door was large, especially compared to him, he ran up against it and tried to force it open, but it being probably ten times bigger then him he had a lot of trouble forcing it open. He smiled. He came prepared for this. He put his right paw on the door. "**Kumo Tekken!" **he cried. The Impact Dial he stored in his right hand went off blasting the door off of the hinges with enough force to put a cannon to shame.

Orso ran through the halls courageously ignoring the numerous bodies of some random person's henchmen that were already defeated by his fellow marines. He leapt over another body wishing that there were still a few around. Maybe ten or so? You know enough to give him a warm-up for the upcoming fight. That would be nice.

He bumped square into Stephanie's leg. She turned around about to say something rude, but at the sight of Orso her face lit up with sheer happiness. She bent down and squeezed him once again to her flat chest. Orso wondered what Valerie was doing right now as he missed her plump and soft chest which would've given him cushioning to this rough and unwanted embrace.

Stephanie looked pretty banged up and Roger, a marine who went under cover posing as a member for the Black Market's king's gang…wait! Was this island the hideout for Karasu! He felt personally offended that no one mentioned that to him. Maybe they talked about it after he ran off…yeah, it could've been his fault. His teammates would never forget about him!

"Okay, with the information saying that Karasu is here, we must drop all ideas of capturing the Infinity Pirates out of our mind!" said Stephanie. Orso's heart fell…he had to beat them. He had to prove his worth to the Marines….he had to! "Instead we will focus all of our man power on Karasu! He may have a 58 million belie bounty but we are still the strongest force in the seas! We are Marines! If we all attack simultaneously after he is worn out from his fight with the Infinity Pirates we might just have a chance!" Orso was baffled they had to do all that! He could probably take Karasu out all by himself!… ergh, no, probably not, but he wouldn't be sneaky about such a coward. They were marines!

Orso nodded. The first chance he got he would take Karasu's head off with his Impact Dial! Wait…he had already used his Impact Dial. That put a damper on things…maybe he could use his chainsaw. He reached behind him and tried to pull it out, he failed. He tugged at Stephanie's skirt.

"Um…Stephanie," said Orso, mortified, embarrassed, and slightly dejected, "will you get my chainsaw out?"

"What's the magic word?" asked Stephanie in a sing-song voice. Her sing-song voice, those words, his regular masculine heavy bass-like words…Orso's stomach churned.

"Will you please get my chainsaw out?" asked Orso, ignoring the heckling coming from the remaining Marines.

"Nope!" said Stephanie cheerfully, "Little boys shouldn't play with such dangerous things you could hurt someone!"

"I AIN'T A LITTLE BOY! AS A MATTER OF FACT I AM OLDER THEN YOU ARE!" shouted Orso.

"That's not really anything to brag about," said Stephanie as she got up and started to swish around in her skirt towards the next pair of doors. The Marines continued after her chuckling.

"Come here and laugh in my face!" shouted Orso.

"No, thanks, I don't think I bend down that far!" shouted a Marine back.

"Idiot," said Orso. He quickly galloped off after them.

The next few minutes were something that Orso would've loved to have forgotten. Karasu dispatched the entire army of Marines with quick and relentless attacks. They were soon laid out on the ground, bloody, bruised, and beaten. Orso was lucky, he guessed, he was one of the last three standing. Soon it was only him, Stephanie, and Roger. He never considered either one of the other two really good fighters, only hearing how crazy Roger was or how funny Stephanie looked (he guessed he was in the same boat as her as he was in the body of a Teddy bear), but Roger was managing to hold his own in the fight with several flashes of cold blooded attacks, despite his hand bleeding profusely through the bandages. Stephanie was capable of taking attacks, too, but soon she quickly fell.

It was only him and Roger then. His Impact Dial was being used to the brink of uselessness. He had absorbed probably close to seven attacks, but he had gotten hit by probably fifteen of them. If it wasn't for the fact that he lacked blood he would've been passed out by now, too. He was losing a little stuffing, but nothing too important. His right hand tightened, it was still charged. He had to find the perfect time to use it. It would probably break soon from overuse. A normal dial would've, but the Impact Dial was designed to get hit over and over and over again. He'd have to risk it all with this next hit. He would've done just that, but a stray punch from Karasu had hit him. Knocking him out and sending him flying.

He had woken up about over an hour before Sage did and was wandering around wondering what happened to his crew. He guessed that they didn't see him due to his small body and had set sail without him. How they noticed the lack of his super cool, super charismatic attitude bewildered him, but it must be possible.

(~Back to regular time~)

"And so I am stuck here and I need some help to get back to the base," said Orso, " and if you don't oblige I will take your ship by force!"

"Why don't you just take our ship by force now?" said Zesiro, "I mean we were asleep you could've easily have gotten the drop on us and steal our ship and at the same time you could've collected our bounties."

Orso mumbled something.

"Speak up," said Zesiro.

Orso mumbled it louder still not wanting to actually say what the problem was.

"Come on," said Zesiro, "if you don't tell us I'll make sure that we leave you here on this island."

"I can't reach the steering wheel," said Orso looking away from the crew, "I'm too small."

"Okay, fine then," said Zesiro, "you still can't come though."

"What?" said Orso, "isn't it the captain's choice!" Mikoto rolled over in response not wishing to add his two cents. "Fine, uhhhh…how about a vote! That's nice and fair!"

"We are pirates," said Zesiro, "we aren't exactly ones for fairness, especially since we could slit you Marine throat right now and be on our way. I think we are already being nicer then your average pirate." Orso gulped loudly.

"Come on, Zesi," said Sage, Zesiro looked at her angrily wishing to make her pay for that nickname, "we might as well take him with us. If worse comes to worse we can throw him into the ocean. I mean he can't swim anyways."

"I agree with Sage!" shouted Orso.

"You don't count!" shouted Zesiro he then turned to Sage, "I was against inviting Alfred along, but you, Mikoto, Hiro-Shu, and Ridley were all for it! Now look where we are! We are one crew member short, Mikoto was nearly beaten to death, you broke your leg, me and Hiro-Shu are also completely exhausted, then we still don't know what kind of condition our ship is in! It could've been blown to smithereens by Karasu while we were knocked out!"

"Want us to leave him behind then?" said Sage, "he didn't arrest, he didn't attack us, he's done nothing wrong! He needs our help!"

"Neither did Alfred!" said Zesiro, "he could be bugged, he could hand us over to the Marines! I am putting my foot down and I say NO!"

Sage twisted her head and around and looked away from Zesiro. "Hiro-Shu you decide."

Hiro-Shu groaned. He hated being put on the spot like this. No matter what he said he would tick someone off. Hiro-Shu contemplated it. "I agree with Sage," he said finally, "With Ridley missing we are on person short. That's one less person to do chores, take shifts to watch for Sea Kings, and things of that sort. We'll need all the help we can get."

Zesiro grumbled grabbed onto Mikoto through him onto his back and walked away in the direction of the ship. Sage cheerfully ran in front of him and started doing a skip-like pace. So much for her broken foot…Orso smiled and started to walk right after them, but a sharp tug at his neck stopped him cold.

Hiro-Shu bent down and stared him in the face. "If you dare to betray Sage's trust, I will personally make sure that getting thrown into the ocean will be the least of your worries."

Orso smiled and gave Hiro-Shu a thumbs up. "Don't worry! I am an honest man through and through!"

**How the Iron Golem was Forged! Hiro-Shu's Memories!**

Well, it seems like I'm back on my roll! Two chapters in two weeks! Anyways, onto the actual story (you probably don't care much about my life). Who is Valerie's new partner? Is Orso trying to trick the crew? Where is Ridley? Is Ridley really going to die? None of these questions will be answered in the next chapter! But since it is about our favorite iron golem's past you should read it anyways!


	34. Chapter 34 How Iron is Forged

Okay before I start I want to state this: I have some important information at the end of this chapter in my little author notes crap please read it.

**How the Iron Golem was Forged! Hiro-Shu's Memories!**

Hiro-Shu was standing aboard the ship steering it through the oceans. The sea was calm and clear not a cloud in the sky. He was upset at that. He just go the news. Ridley left the crew. Mikoto refused to give them the reason why, but Hiro-Shu assumed he had reasons. Mikoto was passed out on the deck he was down in the dumps since they had arrived and talked, he's been leaning on the railing of the ship ever since.

Hiro-Shu was having trouble fighting that. Ridley wouldn't just betray them and it seems like Mikoto knew something. He shouldn't be that depressed if Ridley was just leaving them. It happened on the seas it wasn't like Ridley was going to die. Hiro-Shu repressed some memories from his past. He wasn't in the mood to think about something like that for now.

The entire crew was worse the wear. Sage was holed up in the kitchen cooking in a state of disbelief and sadness, Zesiro was upset that once again no one listened to him and was busying himself sharpening his swords, and he was steering the ship lost in his own thoughts. Only person on the ship that seemed to be in a good mood was Orso.

It amazed Hiro-Shu that a Marine could feel so at home aboard a pirate ship, but Orso was doing just that. He was even fixing up a few things about the ship. He even remarked on how badly it got banged up during the journey as if he was sailing along with them. Orso was messing around and running around the ship, something Mikoto would be doing if he was up with that kind energy to do it.

Another flash from Hiro-Shu's past burst into his mind. For some reason he just couldn't forget about it today. He decided to call it day and jut go back to rest. "Hey, Zesiro," called Hiro-Shu. The nearby Fishman turned his head to the current helmsman. "Can you take over for awhile, I'm still feeling kind of beat."

Zesiro sighed and then nodded. He put his swords back around his waist and went up to the wheel. He put his hands on Hiro-Shu's back almost sensing that something else was up, but Hiro-Shu ignored it and kept walking down to his room. He passed the kitchen he heard Sage's quiet and almost silent crying. Other then that the continuous bang of spoon against cast iron pot was audible. She seemed whipped into a state of bitter fury and utter sadness.

Hiro-Shu ignored his urge to open the door and help her. He was starting to feel depressed himself. With the recent loss or Ridley, the crew's sudden solemn nature, the blasted memories of his past continually reappearing in his mind after each try to push them down.

Hiro-Shu collapsed on the remains of his bed. This ship, namely the beds, weren't made to handle his weight all of the time. A few days of collapsing into the bed weary after a hard day's work or another fight and the bed's frame hit the floor. He ended up taking another bed's mattress and doubling up on the cushions to prevent him from breaking the floor too.

Hiro-Shu tried to trace his life back while lying in bed. Starting from now he had fought only one real battle as a member of the Infinity Pirates, then he fought Valerie Steel, the same Valerie Steel who just moments before had released him from prison. He was in prison because someone had framed him with stealing…he really should find out who did that. But even before then he fought on his own as a treasure hunter making a decent enough living. And before that he was just plain ol' regular Hiro-Shu who was trying to make name for himself by being part of a three person treasure hunting group with his two friends.

(~Flashback~)

Three young kids sat alone in a large library. One was a fierce, fiery redheaded female she appeared to be 13 and clearly bored at the simply fact of being in the library. The second one was skinny clearly timid, but was rather quite at peace with a colossal sized book on his lap. The third was large and bulky overshadowing both of them in his brown leather jacket with his mere size. He was carrying books from one end of the library to another for the smaller one.

"Bored!" shouted the redheaded female, "Come on, Uhn! Hiro-Shu! Why are we sitting here doing nothing? We should be going out! We just found out about this incredibly artifact and you want to read about it! We should be hunting it!"

The smaller one dropped the book to the ground as he stood up. "We've got to be prepared! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and with all of the traps in there who knows if we'll make it out alive if we don't know what to expect!"

The third, the largest one, looked at one then the other not saying a word.

"Well," said the redhead, "I'm going! Why should I wait here? Who knows if there is someone else is trying to get the artifact!" With that she left out of the closest door on her way out.

The smaller one fidgeted. The big guy looked out after her and glanced back. "FINE! We'll do things your way Mai!" said the smaller one running after her. The big one in the back lumbered after them with no real speed behind him.

They three soon neared an immense temple. It was old and broken, just how you would expect an old eerie temple to be. The trio went inside abandoning all fears, except for the little fellow who openly protested that he had not studied the make-up of the temple, common booby traps for the period, or even the passages of the temple.

"Hurry up, Hiro-Shu! You and Uhn are slowing me down!" shouted Mai continuing to just breeze over every single the booby trap. A pitfall opened underneath as she leapt into the air avoiding it by mere inches, "whoo! Almost got me that time!"

"MAI! Be careful!" shouted the skinny kid, "don't do anything too reckless!" The big guy just charged through avoiding pitfalls and other dangerous mediums. An arrow whizzed by his head, which just caused the little guy to become even more worried.

The trio crossed through more dangerous traps. Rocks falling from the ceiling and rolling around trying to crush them. Steel saws rolling around in a threatening manner. Pitfall after pitfall after pitfall. After a few of those people really just get tired of seeing them, but apparently they were easy to make as there was at least a dozen of them.

The crew quickly came upon a large open and empty space hidden far off in the corner of the temple. Only someone who ignored vast treasure, avoided traps, and kept an eye open for secret passageways could've made their way here. However it was painfully uninteresting. It was a huge empty room with rocks all around an inscription on the door and a giant steel ball in the middle of the room.

The small kid was standing there transfixed to the giant steel ball. His eyes never once parted from it, he was being pulled in by some unknown supernatural force. It wasn't until a punch from the red-haired shocked him out of his trance that he was forced to turn around. She was pointing at the inscription.

"Look, I can't read this!" she shouted, "so can you please read it for me!" She picked him up by his collar and forced him around to face the inscription.

"Those with courage are like a roaring flame. Those with fear are brittle like rock. But one must have both to truly be as strong as Iron," said the smaller kid only barely just glancing at the inscription his eyes still truly on the iron ball.

The small kid wandered up to the ball. His hands wavered mere inches from the cold iron ball. Finally with one final inch his hand came into full contact with the ball. The ball glowed briefly before shrinking and being absorbed into the small kid's hand. The kid's hand briefly lit up before cooling down like the ball did.

Then in that same instant a black hole opened up in front of him. It was dark perpetually swirling around and sucking in small objects into its black body. The smaller kid was being picked up by the vortex his body started to creep towards the hole.

The girl stood back. The bigger boy was the first to react he jumped from his position moving with speed that was surprising for him. His giant hand grabbed hold of the kid and he quickly braced himself. It didn't help. The hole was still roaring, sucking up everything and anything around it. The two boys included.

The bigger one twisted with all his might and tossed the smaller kid back. The kid collided heavily with the ground. The kid recovered and looked up just in time to see his friend being sucked into the hole. The hole slammed shut apparently content with its newest bounty.

The smaller kid mortified bolted to the place where the black hole just vanished. He started digging and clawing up the dirt, as if he firmly believed that the way to bring the hole back was underground. "Mai, don't worry we'll save him! We'll save him!" He twisted back his body filled with an emotion all too new to him, rage.

The girl was standing there, wide eyed. She, too, was experiencing an emotion new to her, fear. She couldn't move, her body was frozen in terror. The girl then sprang into action just not the way the kid was hoping. She twisted around and escaped the temple at top speed.

The kid got up and chased after her. He charged after her shouting her name asking that she slowed down. He narrowly escaped the booby traps, which all tended to slow him down further. Not only that, but his body seemed slower and it appeared to lag behind him and slow him down.

He finally the temple and headed towards town determined to set things straight and get to know his friend again. He needed her strength now! He already lost one of his friends, he wasn't going to lose another one without a fight.

He finally got to the town when he froze. Mai was there, but she was surrounded by four men in business suits all with handguns. She meekly pointed at the kid. The four men lifted their guns up at pointed them at him.

"You gots somethin' we want," said the first man. He waved his gun at him. "Ya gots that?"

The kid looked at Mai, "W-Why?" It seemed to be the only word he could think of.

Mai looked away. Another man spoke up. "Well, its like this, son. She doesn't care for you anymore. It's the sad truth, but it's the truth nonetheless. She just handed you over to us. I'm sorry to say it Hiro-Shu, but since you killed your friend, Uhn, I'm afraid I'll kill you."

"You have no right," said the kid, a young Hiro-Shu, "Uhn saved my life! I will not give it up!" The first man pistol whipped Hiro-Shu sending him to the ground. Hiro-Shu struggled to stand. He then blacked out.

As Hiro-Shu blacked out he could've sworn he heard Mai's voice say, "I'm sorry".

(~Back to today~)

Hiro-Shu shifted uncomfortably in bed. He was unaware of his power at that point. He figured the only reason why he survived was because he went berserk and his other half took over. The other spirit defended him and flattened the enemies. He shuddered at the thought of what happened to Mai. He never heard from her or of her again. He tossed around in the bed again. He wish he knew what had happened to her. A loud clunk against the ship at the hull made Hiro-Shu shoot up from his bed and rush to the top level to see what had caused the impact.

**Is There a Doctor in the House? The Mending of a Patient and a Crew**

Well, well, well. We finally learned a bit about Hiro-Shu's past. Also in case you couldn't tell a doctor OC is going to be joining the crew soon! However, I am currently at a four-way tie! And since I am lazy (wait something good is about to happen) I AM LETTING YOU GUYS PICK! Over the next few weeks I will post a poll on my profile please go there and vote. (VOTE!) Also over the course of many chapters I will be leaking information you may not know about those characters so read my chapters! Also please do not vote more then once and please wait to get a good grasp on the OC's personalities before voting. If this goes well it may happen more often!


	35. Chapter 35 Is There a Doctor in the

**Is There a Doctor in the House? The Mending of a Patient and a Crew**

When Hiro-Shu arrived Zesiro, Orso, and Sage were already huddled around the prow looking down. Hiro-Shu glanced down and saw a small ship. Well, more of a row boat with a short mast. Hiro-Shu thought he saw something move down there, but couldn't figure out what it was.

"Someone should go down there," said Sage.

"Yup," agreed Orso, "Someone should go down there."

Zesiro shrugged, "if someone is alive down there they'll come up here first."

"No one is steering," said Hiro-Shu.

"I nominate Zesiro!" shouted Sage.

"I second the nomination!" shouted Orso.

"What! Why me? I say just let them stay down there," said Zesiro.

"If me, Orso, or Hiro-Shu go down there they could force off of the ship and into the water, where we will drown," said Sage, "You don't want us to drown, do you?

Zesiro groaned. He wandered over to the edge, good thing he wasn't wearing a shirt today. He jumped off and landed in the water. A giant splashed enveloped him. Right now, he was debating on whether or not he would be better off if he would've said 'yes'.

He climbed onto the boat. He turned away at the smell. It smelled as if someone on this ship hadn't taken good care of the trash. He looked at the floor, yea, he called it. Empty wrappers of seeds and dirt laying all around. He shook his head. A small growl came from inside the sleeping bag near him. His hands jumped to his sword. With all the trash he had seen he had forgotten that this could be an enemy vessel.

He neared the sleeping bag. It was quiet now. He prodded it quickly with his sword. The sleeping bag didn't even move. He launched a swift kick to it. The sleeping bag toppled over, but other then that it didn't do anything.

"Hey, Zesiro, you alive down there?" shouted Sage, "I don't hear anything."

Zesiro froze and looked at the sleeping bag. It was still motionless. Zesiro shouted, his eyes never leaving the bag, "Yeah, everything is good down here. Just a sleeping bag."

"Bring everything up that is worth something," shouted Sage, "There may be some worthwhile things on board!"

"I cannot condone that course of action miss!" shouted Orso jumping onto the railing where he could stare Sage face-to-face, "stealing from any vessel, whether it is merchant, marine, or unknown I, as a marine, cannot allow you to steal from it!"

Sage smiled, "We are pirates. We steal from vessels. You are lucky we haven't thrown you overboard yet, Mr. Marine."

"You drive a hard bargain, I will be kind and not fight you over this trivial matter," said Orso, "consider it a favor for granting me free voyage on this…vessel of yours." He jumped down and started to leave towards the cabins.

Zesiro came up hauling a large treasure trove of seed packets and water canteens. He dropped them all off on the ground. "Well, other then the sleeping bag this is basically all there is."

"Water and seeds? No food?" said Sage, "what kind of halfwit leaves an island without food?"

"Didn't Mikoto say he left without food?" asked Zesiro. (see Chapter 3)

"To think that there is apparently someone else out there like Mikoto," said Sage, "was there anybody else on board?"

"They may have been dead in the sleeping bag," said Zesiro, "but they didn't respond to my actions or your shouting."

"Heh, go bring the sleeping bag up," said Sage, "maybe they have some valuables on them."

"Why do I got to do all the work?" shouted Zesiro.

"Because I am not strong enough," said Sage with adorable puppy dog eyes.

"Fine!" shouted Zesiro, he braced himself against the railing as he made another leap into the water.

"Hear that Mikoto," said Sage, "Someone else left without food! Looks like we found someone just like you!"

Mikoto grumbled and collapsed to the floor.

"Give me another few minutes," said Sage, "dinner is almost done." Sage was happy that the ship had run course into another ship. Finally a much needed break from her thoughts. She was still going to kill Ridley if they ever met up again. After all anything short of his death made this stupid act of his treason and wrong.

Zesiro came up with the sleeping bag slung over his shoulder. Still no sign of life in the bag. He threw it off of his shoulder and onto the ground. A loud thud and barely audible moan was heard.

"Something is alive in there," said Sage. "Care to open it?"

Zesiro pressed his sword against the sleeping bag and cut it open with a single slice. A female rolled out of the bag and onto the deck. She had long black hair that reached down to her ankles. Her chest was surprisingly flat for a girl her age. She was extremely pale and wore a one shoulder purple shirt, some old blue jeans, and some brown sandals. "Zesiro!" shouted Sage, "What did you do to her?"

"Yeah, an unconscious girl falls out of a bag and its my fault," said Zesiro.

Sage knelt down and put her head on the girl's chest. "She's still alive," said Sage.

"Then its by just barely," said Zesiro, "her breathing's terrible. Not to mention I kicked her while we down on that boat and she didn't respond."

"You do not kick a girl!" shouted Sage slapping Zesiro's head harshly.

"How about I chop you up instead!" shouted Zesiro.

"Ah calm it!" shouted Sage, "you half-fish!"

"At least I can swim!"

"I can walk around in public without feelin' like a freak!"

"Hey, I can fight and win against my opponents without ending up passed out on the floor!"

"Yeah, you did a real good job at that last time!"

"I actually fought! You never once got off of your cart to move!"

"Geeze with crewmates like you it's a wonder why I joined this crew!"

"Right back at ya!"

"Land hoy!" shouted Hiro-Shu managing to be heard over the two fighting.

"Shut up, you golem!" shouted Sage and Zesiro in unison. They continued bickering.

Mikoto let out a brief sigh. Zesiro stopped yelling. Sage quickly followed. "We should've kept our mouths shut."

Orso ran up onto the deck, "I heard someone say land hoy! Am I finally going to be reunited with the Marines?" He took a quick look at the solemn crew. "What? Did I say something wrong?"

Zesiro was the first one off and onto the island. He did a quick stretch and then proceeded to help Sage off of the boat. Hiro-Shu was off right after him carrying the young girl in his arms. "I am going to find us a doctor, I'll come back when I find someone."

"I'll go with you," volunteered Sage. She scurried off after him.

"Hey, captain!" shouted Zesiro, "any orders?"

"Yeah," said Mikoto walking down the board, "find a new captain. I quit."

"Wait. What?" said Zesiro rushing up to Mikoto.

"I quit," said Mikoto, "this pirating thing is apparently not for me. I'm not going down in history as the second worst pirate of all time."

Orso popped up. "Why would you quit?" He jumped down, "you are already branded! Marines will chase after you forever regardless of whether or not you quit!"

"Fine with me," said Mikoto, "I'll go down as another prisoner…I can handle that."

"You are a selfish bastard!" shouted Zesiro throwing a punch straight at Mikoto and connecting. Mikoto was knocked back a few feet into the dirt. "Stand back up! We've fought before! I know you can take a hit worse then that!"

Mikoto stood up, "what do you want Zesiro? I am not going to be your captain anymore. Period. Go find yourself another one."

"I became a pirate because of you," said Zesiro, "I became a pirate because you and that damn Dominic Renvont framed me for blowing up my hometown!"

"What do you want? I'm sorry about your hometown."

"No, don't apologize for that," said Zesiro, "I know what you did! Ridley and Sage told me everything! While I was knocked out you went back to fight that psychopath! You went back to save my hometown! I joined this crew to be with an admirable man and now you go ahead and shatter that! You took one lost and you give up! No man worth admiring would give up because he lost! And certainly not you!"

"I have my reasons," said Mikoto.

"Well, then I am all ears," said Zesiro.

"My reasons are my reasons alone!" said Mikoto, "You, Sage, and Hiro-Shu can keep being pirates, but this is the end of the line for me!"

"First Ridley and now you? When I joined I didn't think the Infinity Pirates were a bunch of wimps!"

"Yeah, after all you guys beat up us Marines," said Orso.

"See, even the freaky teddy bear agrees with me!" said Zesiro.

"Freaky?" asked Orso insulted.

"Why would you just up and quit?" asked Zesiro.

"Why wouldn't I?" shouted Mikoto, "Ridley left us and is going to die! You and Sage are at each other's throats! Hiro-Shu is just as solemn as usually! And on top of that if I recall right, neither you nor Hiro-Shu even wanted to join!"

"But we joined anyways!" shouted Zesiro, "We didn't want to join, but we did! Do you know why? We did it because of you!"

"Well, in that case leave because of me!" said Mikoto morphing into his coyote form and dashing away.

"Well," said Orso, "I guess that's the end of the Infinity Pirates, huh?"

"No," said Zesiro, "People like him don't just live normal lives. They excel and become famous. One way or another, he'll become number one and I will be with him when that happens."

"What makes you say that?" asked Orso.

"My experience aboard that ship," said Zesiro pointing at the damaged boat.

(-With Hiro-Shu and Sage-)

Sage was whistling and skipping a few feet ahead of Hiro-Shu. "I think I'm going to prepare a banquet tonight," she said with happy smile, "we just survived our first loss as a crew that's something to celebrate! I think I'll start off with bruschetta along with some seviche, following that up maybe some burgoo and hotchpotch to wet our lips, I haven't decided on a main course, yet, but maybe for desert some chocolate cheesecake."

"If you feed Mikoto like that when we lose, he'll never want to win again!" laughed Hiro-Shu. He took in the sights around him the town was desolate everyone ran around with rags on and the houses were barely a step up from tents.

"So, you're saying I should just give him bread and water?" asked Sage.

"And that's bribery," said Hiro-Shu.

"The real reason I want to give Mikoto a feast is because he needs something to pick himself back up and, since Ridley left, I guess that makes me Mikoto's first mate for now!"

Hiro-Shu couldn't help but feel a little bit more excited. With Sage in such high spirits and the crew only a few more stops until they reach the Grand Line how could one not be? They quickly neared a small tent with a hospital sign out front.

"Wow, this is a sad hospital," said Sage she was about to walk in when a large elderly man stuck his palm out the zipper and started trying to shoo them away. _"They don't even have doors."_

"Go away! Come again another day!" shouted the voice from inside. "I have much business to do. First a man comes here with a giant wound in his stomach claiming to be poisoned, then a group of ferocious pirates come! This is too much for my small heart to take. I think I'm going to die!"

Sage smiled, their reputation surpassed them. Just their mere presence on an island could force a grown man into hiding in a small tent. "Listen, I know we, the Infinity Pirates, have been accused of being baddies, but we just want to help someone out. We won't kill you."

"The Infant-y Pirates?" asked the man, "Never heard of you. You must be pathetic…"

"Don't mock us!" shouted Sage smashing her foot into the tent.

"Someone help!" shouted the man from inside, "a women from the Infant-y Pirates is attacking me! They are trying to rob me and steal my curios! Someone save my curios!"

Hiro-Shu lifted Sage up with one arm and started to walk away. The unconscious girl laid asleep in his other arm. "We need to find a capable doctor."

"This isn't over yet," shouted Sage struggling to break free from Hiro-Shu's grip.

"You guys are looking for a doctor, huh?" said a woman as she walked out of the shadows. Her attire was simple a big black cloak covering most of her body. "I know someone but he charges an arm and a leg."

"Okay," said Hiro-Shu. He figured that since they were pirates they'd just skip out on the bill anyway. Sage was still frantically fighting to break free.

"Okay, but in order for top quality information like that its going to cost you top dollar," said the woman rubbing her forefinger and thumb together.

Hiro-Shu twisted around and started to walk away. The crew was nearly broke already. They needed to save some money up for an emergency. Or more likely they needed to save money up to fix their ship.

"Fine," said the woman slinking around to emerge in front of Hiro-Shu. "This one will be on the house, just come back soon." She handed Hiro-Shu a slip of paper. He took it with the hand that was holding the passed out girl and was about to walk away when he noticed he felt over 100 pounds lighter. He looked down in his other arm and noticed by some miracle Sage had broken free and was back to attacking the man in the tent.

After about an hour of persuading Sage to leave the tent and poor man inside it alone and then about another half an hour of just walking he finally found the place the woman was hinting at. For being a shady business dealer, she certainly did have horrible penmanship. This house was large about four stories tall, it was rundown and on top of that it wasn't a tent. Whoever lived here lived pretty well off. He knocked heavily on the door.

"Do I have some new specimens? Er, I mean patients?" said a young voice from inside.

* * *

**The Broken Crew Hears the Bad News!**

**The White Devil Docks!**

If you knew what I was planning you'd know I included everything you needed to know for the next couple of chapters. But since you probably don't (if you do I'm warning you I got a twelve gauge shotgun) you should know another one of the doctor OC's made its appearance and I even hinted at the other two! However, since the doctor OC hasn't really revealed herself (there's a hint, it's a her) I feel like I would be giving too much away to say whose it is! Look forward to the next chapter! Also in case you are wondering I did already introduce a possible doctor, it is Kira Samore from the Blackwell Arc! Congratulations Munia! Hopefully, I will include the full list of all of the doctors in the next chapter!


	36. Pimp Arc: 36 The Broken Crew Hears

**The Broken Crew Hears the Bad News!**

**The White Devil Docks!**

A young male stepped off of his small caravel-like boat. He wore black pants and his white tux shirt was tucked in. His shaggy black hair swayed in front of his dark green eyes. He looked back at his trustworthy ship. It had gotten him from one island to another, but sadly it wasn't flashy enough to attract attention so he was often left alone and in the quiet. Boy did he hate the quiet. He'd just have to find some nakamas to liven the ship up for him! One new nakama would be nice.

He spun his left arm around and did a quick stretch. His body was cramped up. His left arm was decorated with tattoos of clockwork with gears and cogs taking up the entire stretch of skin from his shoulder and wrist. The back of his hand had a circle of waves ending at the dot in the center. The creepiest tattoos were the ones on his fingers. An X on his thumb. A single I on his fore finger, middle finger, and ring finger. And a 'th' decorating his pinky with the T above the H.

"Now," he said as he bent down to pick up his medicine bag, "Let's find me some new crewmates and the best place to look for them is at a diner."

(-With Hiro-Shu and Sage-)

"Do I have some new specimens? Er, I mean patients?" said a young voice from inside. A scattering of feet could be heard from inside.

"I don't like this guy," said Sage, "You want to know why?" Hiro-Shu didn't respond. "First, a strange woman dressed in a rob gave us the directions to this place. Second, he got specimens mixed up with patients. And third, he sounds way too young! His body is probably hideously deformed! A child's head, a woman's legs, a man's chest, and baby's arms! Who know what else he could be doing to his body!"

"I think you are overreacting," said Hiro-Shu, "besides we are only here to drop the girl off."

"But a third hand could come his mouth and grab us! He could drag us onto a giant spider's web and start sucking our blood out through a straw!" complained Sage.

"Fine," said Hiro-Shu, "You can wait outside and I'll go in by myself."

"Wait outside?" said Sage, "do you know how dangerous that is!" The door creaked open and a little boy walked out, he went unnoticed by Sage, "The freak in there could have a horde of zombie minion ready to come out and steal my brain!"

"Zombies are overrated," said the little boy. His short blonde hair was neatly combed to the side keeping it out of his light pink eyes. He was wearing a dark pink hooded shirt and shorts. You could barely make out the dark blue shirt underneath the hooded shirt, his shoes matched his shirt along with the dark-blue gloves he had on his hands.

"Oh, he's SO CUTE!" shouted Sage, "Hullo, der wittle boy. Is the woctor in the house wight now? We weally need to talk with him."

"No, he's standing outside the house talking to a fool," said the boy he looked at Hiro-Shu, "The name is David H. Dreems. Wow, you're big. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extended a hand to Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu stuck out his hand, which was nearly three times bigger then David's.

"Back at ya," said Hiro-Shu, "how old are you eight? Nine?"

David stomped his foot down into the ground in a child-like manner, "I am a teenager! I turned thirteen several months ago! Apologize now or I won't treat the speci…er, patient."

"Sorry, you look young for your age," said Hiro-Shu.

"Fine, apology accepted," he sighed, "come on in." He waved them into the house.

"I wonder where the doctor is," said Sage overcoming her fear to step inside.

"I think the 'wittle' boy is the doctor," said Hiro-Shu.

"But he said the doctor was talking to an…oh…that's not very nice!" said Sage visibly upset.

Hiro-Shu glanced to his left and to his right and the more he did so the more he believed Sage was right to say to not come into the house. The shelves around them was decorated with human organs. Livers, pancreas, a gall bladder or two, he seemed to have a surplus of appendixes in jars. It seemed the boy was an avid collector of body parts. He was beginning to think what the woman said about charging an arm and a leg was meant to be literal.

The trio soon came to an open table with leather restraints where the arms and legs would be placed. "Put her down onto the table, I can't wait to cut her open and see her insides!" He looked around the room and the dozens of scalpels, saws, and other cutting tools he had laid out.

"I think," said Hiro-Shu, "we should go see another doctor."

Sage gulped. "I wanted to go see another doctor before we came in here to see this one."

"Eh…" said Hiro-Shu to David, "I don't think we have the kind of money to pay for that. I think we'll just leave." Hiro-Shu was about to turn around when David appeared in front of him.

"Uh…I know you guys can have the friends and family discount!" said David, "now I am sure you can pay for it!" He tried pushing the behemoth over to the table with little or no success.

"I don't think you understand, kid, we are pirates," said Hiro-Shu, "we aren't going to pay you anything, as a matter of fact, we might actually rob you."

"Well, then your friend might as well get treated here, too," said David still trying to push Hiro-Shu, he was obviously enthusiastic about cutting someone open. "Why are you so dang heavy!"

"Come on, Sage," said Hiro-Shu, "we are leaving."

"**Tranquilizer!" **shouted David. Hiro-Shu felt his entire body go limp. He plummeted to the ground. His eyes were still open as David made a gun out of his hand and started spreading pink dust all over his body.

A creepy smile shot over David's face. "You were pretty heavy, weren't ya? I guess I'll just have to dissect you and find out why."

(-with Mikoto)

"If I'm going to quit being a pirate I guess I'll need a real job," said Mikoto, his stomach grumbled audibly. "First, I guess I need to find some real food." He saw a nearby diner and headed into it.

He scrambled around his pocket for some loose change. Very little…it may be enough for a meal, maybe even two if he doesn't eat a lot. Being a pirate was so much better. No! He wasn't going to endanger his crews' lives anymore just because he wasn't strong enough. It was his fault that Zesiro had a bruise the size of pizza on his side, that Hiro-Shu's iron armor was dented and he himself was banged up, or that Sage's entire body was developing bruises and her foot was twisted up something terrible.

A man in the corner of the restaurant had a full steak in front of him, but it appeared to have been out for awhile as Mikoto didn't see any steam coming from it, what really interested Mikoto about the man was his tattoo on his left arm, all those gears and cogs. Mikoto almost fell into a trance looking at it. He finally settled down in a corner where he couldn't see the man and he couldn't see him. He ordered a salmon fillet and some cola.

A large man at the front table was sitting there with some alcohol and some meat with a bone in it. He had a large sword in it and from the sound of his voice he was just there looking for trouble. "I am 'Big Sword' Mashiro. I just got me a brand new bounty of 6 million! You people better give me my food for free."

Mikoto smirked. Imagine if you had a six million belie bounty if people just gave you free food. Mikoto wondered what that meant he would get for free with his 25 million belie bounty. No! His days of pirating were over!

Mashiro's antics continued for the next couple of minutes. He did stupid stuff like knock plates onto the floor or spill his drink and asked for more food, which probably one half of it went into his mouth. The other the half ended up on the floor. Mikoto was fine with everything that he did, he didn't really care about the floor of this place. Mikoto would've just been fine eating his food in peace. But then Mashiro just had to go and push his luck.

Mashiro knocked his plate onto the floor and called the waitress over again. The waitress' skirt was small only about mid thigh. You could tell she didn't feel comfortable about wearing it, nonetheless wearing it while she was serving a pirate. She walked over and started to pick the plates up when Mashiro smashed his foot onto her back. "Tell you what, purty yung thin' come onto my pirate ship me and my boys here promise you a good time." The boys started to hoot and holler. The girl looked mortified, but couldn't find the voice to stand up to a pirate. The noise stopped when Mikoto's leg ended up lodged in Mashiro's forehead. Or maybe it was when the mysterious stranger from the corner's hand was smashed into the guy's gut. It was hard to tell which came first.

"I hit him first," said Mikoto smiling at the guy.

"I hate to disagree, but I think my fist knocked him way before your kick did," said the man.

Mashiro rose to his feet, "I'm going to chop you!" He reached for his sword.

"Like I said with pirates it always comes down to a gun or a sword. Hey, I have an idea of how we can settle who hit him first," said Mikoto.

"Pray tell," said the man.

"The first one to knock him and his goons out wins," said Mikoto.

"Sounds like a fine idea," said the man.

(-With Hiro-Shu, Sage, and Zesiro-)

"Wake up," said Zesiro slapping Hiro-Shu gently across the face, "wake up." Hiro-Shu's eyes rolled to an open.

"What?" Hiro-Shu was obviously out of it.

"Where's Sage at?" asked Zesiro, "I have something to tell you guys and I want to do it all at once."

"Sage? Sage!" Hiro-Shu jumped up. He looked around him. "Crap, that crazy kid psychopath must've taken her! Where could he be?

"Oh, yeah, there was this note attached to your forehead," said Zesiro holding up a piece of paper. On the front of the paper was a classic idiot symbol of a smiley face with his tongue stuck out and one of his fingers pulling one of his eyelids down.

Hiro-Shu took it without saying a word. _"Sorry. But for some reason whenever I tried to dissect you a weird metal plate came up protecting you so I'll just settle with working on the two girls for now. Come back when you learn some manners." _Some of the words were misspelled and the handwriting was sloppy.

"He's got Sage," said Hiro-Shu, "man, Mikoto's going to be mad about this."

"Something tells me Sage is going to be even madder," said Zesiro. "So, where's the building?"

Hiro-Shu frowned he didn't remember the way to the building. Much less what the building looked like. He looked around frantically. He spun around and saw the building right behind him. Hiro-Shu struck out with his foot knocking the door down with little effort.

"Hey, Hiro-Shu," piqued Sage, "I was starting to wonder what was taking you so long!"

"Sage?" said Hiro-Shu rushing up to her. "You are okay?"

"Yeah," said Sage, "why wouldn't I be?"

"The doctor?"

"He's not as bad as he is…overly enthusiastic," said Sage, "oh, and guess what he fixed my foot! I can walk with ease now! That rubble hitting it back at Karasu's place did some damage, but now I am back and better then ever. I am ready to go back to pirating, kicking butt and taking names, right alongside the Infinity Pirates."

"That's nice to know," said Hiro-Shu.

"We should probably be heading out soon. Zesiro where did Mikoto head off for anyways?"

"Don't know," said Zesiro. He was finding it harder to tell them with each passing moment.

"Are you insane!" said Sage, "Mikoto needs a leash! It'll take us forever to find him! Let's hope he didn't get into any trouble. Ho! Let's hope he didn't get drunk!"

"Who cares he's not our problem," said Zesiro. He couldn't quite get it out of his throat.

"What do you mean he's our captain," said Sage.

Zesiro struggled with the next few words. It probably would've been easier to kill them with his own two hands then to tell them the news.

"Well, Zesi!" said Sage in playful/annoyed way, "where is he?"

"I said it doesn't matter, and it doesn't. He left the crew," said Zesiro. "The Infinity Pirate crew is now down to its last three members." He should've just cut off their heads. It would've saved him from looking at their faces.

**The Sleeping Woman Awakens!**

Well, it seems like I still haven't made a decent list of the doctor OC's as someone has not made their official appearance yet. Oh, well. Until then I got a few requests about open positions in my story and here is a quick list of open slots for admirals, Shichibukai, Yonkous, etc.

Admirals: 3 open slots

Fleet Admial: 1 open slot

Yonkous: 4 open positions

Shichibukai: 4 open positions

So, if you have an idea for one of these characters feel free to submit them.


	37. Pimp Arc: 37 The Sleeping Girl Awakens

**The Sleeping Girl Finally Awakens!**

"Death Lord please guide this soul to the lowest of Hell, and make them suffer eternal damnation, Amen" said the man with the gear tattoo.

"He's still alive, you know," said Mikoto. He gently kicked Mashiro's limp head. "I got seven of them, how many did you get?"

"Eight," said the man finishing his prayer.

"The boss counts as two," said Mikoto, "So I guess I actually got eight, too. Looks like we tied."

"Apparently," said the other man, "the name's Trafalger Enma."

"Oh, like the old pirate," said Mikoto, "my name is Mikoto. Mikoto…uh…you know the rest of the name isn't important." People seem to know the names of bounty posters better then the pictures. He'd better not jinx himself and let his full name be known.

"Yeah, okay," said Enma, "Mikoto. Anyways, Mikoto, any thoughts on pirates?"

"Depends on the kind," said Mikoto. Just cause he wasn't pirate anymore, doesn't mean he was going to pretend to hate them.

"Not scum like him," said Enma motioning towards Mashiro.

"Okay," said Mikoto, "I guess those kinds aren't too bad. I even know some like them."

"Well, then how'd you like to join a pirate crew?"

(-With Zesiro, Hiro-Shu and Sage-)

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" screamed Sage, "Mikoto would never do anything like that! Are you trying to sabotage the crew? Are you the reason why Ridley left?"

"Quiet down," said David entering the room. He looked around. "I shouldn't be here right now, should I?"

"I had nothing to do with that," said Zesiro solemnly, "And I am not lying to you. Mikoto said it himself. Just listen though, I don't think this is…"

"I'm going to go find him and tell you are trying to ruin this crew," said Sage. She stormed out the front door.

"I fix her foot and what does she do? She goes ahead and runs on it, if she breaks it again," said David, "I'm not fixing it for free. There is no common customer discount here."

"Sage!" shouted Zesiro. "Come back here Sage." Zesiro almost chased her out the front door, but Hiro-Shu cleared his throat.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Zesiro returning his attention to Hiro-Shu, "I, kind of, you know, forgot that you were there."

"Continue," said Hiro-Shu.

"Right, um…I don't think this is going to be permanent okay," said Zesiro, "I think the only thing we need to do is wait. But I know Mikoto, you know Mikoto, Sage knows Mikoto, give him a few days and he'll realize that he's being unreasonable. He wants to a pirate, and, heck, he makes a fine one."

"Um…heh, you don't have a few days." said Orso appearing from behind Zesiro.

"Whoa! Cool a talking teddy bear!" said David, "where can I get one?"

"What the heck!" shouted Zesiro. He grabbed Orso from his back and flipped him onto the ground, "where in the world did you come from?"

"The same ship you did!" shouted Orso, "I just figured I'd hitch a ride and tag along with you! Don't make me fight you! I gotten to know you over these past couple of days and I don't want to have to take you in!"

"Take me in?" shouted Zesiro, "you think a person not even the size of my foot could take me? I'll take your stuffi…" Hiro-Shu stopped him short.

"What do you mean 'we don't have a few days'?" asked Hiro-Shu.

"Well, you see, I thought you'd be away and on your way by now," said Orso, "so, I…um… kind of called my base. They said they'd be here in a day or two to pick me up."

"You're kidding me!" shouted Zesiro, "You could've at least given us a head start! We probably won't be able to get the crew back together, set sail, and get far enough away. Why did you have to call them!"

"Hey, I'm a Marine," said Orso, "you're lucky I didn't catch you and turn yourselves in myself!"

"For the last time you couldn't," said Zesiro, "I would squash you!"

"Oh, yeah, let's just see who would squash whom?" A bottle smashed into the floor interrupting the would-be combatants.

"What was that?" said Zesiro his hands wandering to his swords. He gripped them tightly.

"Looks like she's up," said David, "its about time."

"Who is she?" said Orso.

"You already know her," said David his smile growing, "You've seen her a couple of times before."

"Okay, give us a better description," said Zesiro.

"Well, she was your ordinary everyday human near the brink of death before she got her, but then I took it upon myself to make some subtle changes," said David, "I hope you're going to like what you see."

Hiro-Shu glanced about. "Where's the girl? The one with the long brown hair?" The table where David had said to restrain was empty.

"Bingo," said David.

Quiet footsteps sounded throughout the room. Zesiro twisted on David and pulled him into the air. "What did you do to her?"

David laughed, "what any ordinary mad doctor would've done!"

Hiro-Shu's arm reached over the counter and grabbed some brown hair. He picked her up and slammed her onto the ground. His fist raised in the air.

"Eep!" screamed the girl, trying to bury her face into her hair. She was shivering and shaking scared to death of what was going on around her.

David burst into a laugh, "what a couple of fools! I really had you going! You were like 'Oh, no. What's going to happen to us' and then I was like 'Mwa ha ha ha' and then you were like 'somebody has to save us!'"

"You are in my hand two feet off of the ground. This is not the time to be mocking me," said Zesiro sternly.

"Hey, there," said Hiro-Shu crouching down next to the girl, "I'm sorry."

The girl scurried away and hid behind the table. She peeped over it with her purple eyes surveying the room. She didn't say a word.

"Hey, listen! Blame the little kid," said Zesiro setting David onto the floor. "He was the one that made you out to seem like some kind of horrible hideous monster." The girl's eyes started to water. She slumped down behind the table and a quiet crying could be heard.

"You are not supposed to call young ladies 'horrible hideous monsters'," said Orso, "its just not nice."

"I said the kid made her out to be one," said Zesiro, "I didn't call her one!"

"Blaming a little five year-old boy, really?" said Orso.

"I'M THIRTEEN! YOU WALKING-TALKING TODDLER TOY!" shouted David.

"Toddler toy?" asked Orso, "I am not a toddler's toy! I am a Marine, son!" David turned away and plugged his ears. "Listen to me! Listen to me!"

"La-la-la, can't hear you," sung David, "I can't hear you!"

"Very much like a teenager," shouted Orso, "Act your age!"

"Must people prefer to act their shoe size," said Zesiro.

"Yeah, but only shoes he could fit into are ones for dolls," said David laughing.

"Respect your elders!" commanded Orso.

"Says the toys for three year olds," said Zesiro getting in his own quick snip.

The crying behind the table slowly became an giddy laughter. When the rest of the people became quiet she slowly peeked back up over the table. When she saw them all looking at her she dodged back behind it.

"What's your name, little lady," said Orso. The term 'little' caused a bit more laughter from David.

"Corra. Corra Ila," said the girl from behind the table.

"Wanna come out and have a chat?" asked Orso.

"Nuh-uh," said Corra.

"Fine," said Orso, "these guys only saved your life. The only thing they are asking for is some conversation…" Orso waited for a response. The girl slowly came out from behind the table.

"Nice to have you join us," said Zesiro.

"I'm surprised she decided to," said Hiro-Shu, "A golem, a Fishman, a creepy teddy bear, and a mad doctor."

"Not exactly the ideal group of people I would want to wake up to," said David.

(-With Mikoto and Enma-)

"What do you say," asked Enma.

"No," said Mikoto instantaneously, "I've been there and done that. It just ain't my thing. I'm not going down as the worst pirate out there."

"Seems like you did a pretty good job beating the crap out of him," said Enma motioning to Mashiro.

"He was a small fry," said Mikoto, "the big ones are the ones you got to look out for. They are the ones that nearly kill the rest of your crew."

"Your crew got beat up because of you," asked Enma, well, more liked restated.

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "not the happiest moment in my life."

"What else?" asked Enma.

"What do you mean 'what else'?" asked Mikoto.

"You are not telling me something," said Enma, "what else happened?"

"Nothing," said Mikoto, "nothing a stranger needs to know at least."

"Don't worry, I'll wait to hear about it from you," said Enma, "I still got awhile before I leave this world. Or so I believe."

"I don't know many people who can say that with a straight face," said Mikoto.

"But you know some?" asked Enma.

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "one of my crewmates."

"You've got to introduce me to these guys," said Enma, "they seem like fine pirates."

"Yeah, they deserve a better captain," said Mikoto.

"Why don't you just become a better captain," said Enma, "seems like it would be better for everyone."

"Can't do that," said Mikoto, "they nearly got killed because of me. What kind of friend would I be if I willingly risked their lives?"

"What kind of friend are you if you willingly threw away your friendship?" asked Enma, "shouldn't you just ask them how they feel?"

"Like they'd say they don't want to be with me," said Mikoto, "we're friends. Its hard for a friend to say they don't want to be with you anymore. That's why as captain I took on that burden."

"Not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, are you," asked Enma.

"I've been told," replied Mikoto.

The door swung open slamming loudly with the wall. In the doorway stood Sage. She frantically searched the room for Mikoto when she saw him she ran up to him.

"Mikoto! Zesiro is lying! He told me that you are quitting the crew!" she shouted, "you gotta go over to him and beat some sense into that shark-like skull of his."

Mikoto sighed, "Zesiro isn't lying Sage, I'm quitting the crew."

"Mikoto, I'm serious," said Sage, "Zesiro is telling us that. Stop joking around and beat him up!"

"But he's not lying Sage," said Mikoto, "I am officially disbanding the crew. We just weren't cut out to be pirates."

"I get it," said Sage, "You and Zesiro and maybe Hiro-Shu are all playing a joke on me…yeah, actually Ridley is probably in on it too. He probably only pretended to quit the crew, okay, come on out, you got me!" She waited a few seconds, but no one appeared.

"Sage…" started Mikoto, but Sage quickly cut him off.

"My mom told me about how pirates were brave swashbuckling heroes to some, how they were chasers of freedom, and even saviors to some countries…and honestly I thought that you and Ridley were all of the above," said Sage, "but now I see you and him as you both truly are! Cowards! You aren't pirates! You are nothing more then cowards!" She turned around and ran out of the diner.

Enma remained quiet for a few seconds. "Friend of yours?"

"Yup," said Mikoto.

"Wanna go calm her down?" asked Enma.

"You can go ahead and try," said Mikoto, "but right now I think I can only make things worse."

"Funny, it seems like a lot of guys say that about women," said Enma, "I'd better go step her, though, this city isn't safe right now."

"Why's that," asked Mikoto.

"Didn't you hear? Snazzigton P. Pimp is in town," said Enma. "He's a notorious evil pirate. The Marines have been on his tail for years."

"You mean Sage could be in danger?" asked Mikoto.

"More then likely she will be," said Enma.

"Well, then," said Mikoto standing up. "I got no time to lose. I'm going to protect Sage until she leaves."

* * *

**Sage is Kidnapped!**

**The Story of the Unconscious Girl is Told!**

Well, another chapter is done. Its been harder to get inspired lately. Oh, well! Anyways, the last person for the doctor position has finally been filled in so here they ARE!

Kira Samore (by Munia)

David H. Dreems (by War Panda)

Trafalger Enma (by nerazo)

Corra May Ila (by ksv12)

Your option is between these four! Over the next couple of chapters I will be leaking information about them that I may not be able to fully elaborate on. Like their powers, family, or little unknown facts about them! SO! You better stay tuned and review!


	38. Pimp Arc: 38 Sage is Kidnapped

**Sage is Kidnapped!**

**The Story of the Unconscious Girl is Told!**

"Stupid Mikoto," grumbled Sage as she kicked a rock in front of her shoe, "stupid Zesiro, stupid Hiro-Shu, stupid Ridley…STUPID MIKOTO!" She slammed her foot into the poor defenseless rock and sent it flying.

"Well, someone doesn't seem happy," said a cloaked figure as it appeared from behind a nearby building.

"Holy!" shouted Sage jumping straight up as the figure completely appeared from the shadows, "oh, hi, I'm sorry. You just startled me coming out from behind the corner like that. Listen, I don't have the money to pay you for your help, go ask the golem."

"Oh, don't worry about it," smiled the figure from beneath the hood, "my boss is a very reasonable man. I'm sure we can figure something out, he may even give you a permanent job."

"No, thanks," said Sage, "I'll be going back home."

"Well, then, I hate to this to you, but…" said the voice, "since you didn't pay me…I'll have to take you back by force." Her leg went up and struck Sage's head bringing her down very quickly. Sage grumbled she tried to get back up, but before she could do that another masked man came out from the shadows.

" Whad'up, my new little lady friend! I'm sorry but I'm here to apprehend! " sung the man in a rap-like style. Sage wanted to cover her ears, his music was blasting so loud it was nearly deafening, but her arms were currently being restrained by the man. She couldn't even concentrate enough to use her Osu-Osu no mi powers. Before she was aware of it, she blacked out.

(-With Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, etc-)

"Let's see," started Corra, "I guess my life tale starts quite a few years ago. At my house with my mother, father, and brother."

"Did we ask for life story," whispered David to Zesiro.

"Be quiet," said Zesiro, "you could learn something about humans."

"Like you're one to talk," replied David.

"Quiet down you two!" commanded Orso, "can't you see the young lady is talking."

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the crib," complained David. Orso ignoring the comment urged the Corra to continue.

"Well, it all start out that one day," said Corra getting progressively quieter, "my mother was on the hospital bed *mumble* *mumble*" Corra's shy voice eventually just disappeared.

"SPEAK UP!" shouted David which earned him a thump on the head from both Zesiro and Orso. They returned their attention to Corra who was back to hiding behind the table.

"I'll try to talk the girl into talking to us again," said Orso.

"I'll kill the kid," said Zesiro drawing his sword and aiming it at David.

"Cool!" shouted David, "A samurai!"

"Swordsman," corrected Zesiro, "aren't you afraid?"

"Why would I be afraid when there is a real life samurai in front of me!" shouted David.

"I really want to cut you up," said Zesiro.

"Go ahead and try!" shouted David.

"Guys!" shouted Orso, "the young lady is willing to speak again as long you keep your voices down."

"I'm outta of here!" said David, "close up when you're down." He walked towards the door and exited.

"What an obnoxious little brat," said Zesiro.

"We cannot allow him and Mikoto to meet," said Hiro-Shu.

Zesiro chuckled, "yeah, that would be quite a disaster."

"Anyways," said Corra, "as I was saying it started a few years ago. I was at home with my mother and my brother. My father was away on Marine business. My mother was very ill…"

(-several years ago-)

"Corra," said a young woman. Her face was beet red from her sickness, several rashes were developing across her face, her face was distorted from what it was like originally, "where is Corra?"

The doctors in the room shrugged and continued to check the monitors they had set up around her. They also checked her chart to check her current progress. They all seemed upset and completely absorbed in their work. They made quick calculations, jotted things down, and then returned to previous matters. They all ignored the woman's pleading for her daughter.

"Where is Corra at?" she said, "where?"

"Hey, mom," said a young boy. He appeared to be in his young teens. It looked like he came back from one of his previous training regimens. "Nice to see you're still worrying about Corra."

"Well, you understand," said the mother, "A mother can't help but worry…" she coughed violently, "especially with that sister of yours. Why don't you be a dear and run off and find her?"

The boy nodded and stole a glance at the charts. He looked back at his mom, smiled, and said, "it appears you are doing better! You'll have this disease beat in no time!" He left the room ashamed at himself for lying to his own mother.

He took a stroll through the village at a leisurely pace, more enjoying himself then looking for his little sister. He stopped at the market and bought a potato, he went to the herb shop and peered around. Nothing much in stock. The soil around here was decent enough to grow some things, but the quality of the crops were never topnotch. His stroll through the town led him to several shops, but none of them were good. He stopped at one of the farms. There was a girl a couple of years younger then him frolicking in the farm, bothering the workers no doubt.

"Hey, Corra!" he shouted trying to get her attention.

The girl stopped for an instant and waved back, "what's up, Brian?"

"Mom, wants ya!" he shouted.

"Be there in a sec!"

The duo were soon walking back through town. Neither of them were speaking, until Brian broke the silence. "I got a present for you, Corra," he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a potato and handing it to her, "Your favorite."

"Oh, wow! Thanks Brian!" she took the potato with glee, "think mom will be able to make it for me soon?"

"I don't think so," said Brian, "but tell you what! I'll make it for you, anytime you just name the dish and I'll make it!"

"But…you're not a good cook," said Corra.

Brian slumped, "gee, thanks…not even going to encourage your older brother are you?"

"Do you want me to?" questioned Corra.

"No! I will still cook that potato for you!" shouted Brian, "and you will eat it!"

"I thought you said it was supposed to be a present," said Corra. The duo continued walking for awhile until Corra broke the silence. "When is dad getting back?"

"Not for awhile, kiddo," said Brian, "I hope he gets some better doctors."

"Yeah, me, too," said Corra.

The duo arrived at home where the mother was passed out in bed. They ran up to the bed, "MOM! WAKE UP!"

The doctors pulled them off of her, "shhh… she's asleep. She needs some rest."

They sighed, they jumped to a conclusion. It was their fault. They immediately left where their mother could continue to sleep. Brian immediately stood true to his word and cooked Corra's potato, much to her dismay.

One day, Brian packed his stuff up. "I'm going out to sea, Corra!" He declared proudly.

"Brian!" shouted Corra, "that's a pirate ship you are about to board!"

"Yeah, I know," said Brian, "the pirates aren't that bad."

"But they can't be as good as mom and me!"

"I got to go," said Brian, "dad ain't returning anytime soon, so its up to me to go find a doctor and save the day. But with all the news of the pirates circulating around the would, I wouldn't be able to save the day by myself, I need allies. This crew is my one-way ticket to a good doctor."

"Then I'm coming too!"

"No, you are not," said Brian, "I need someone to hold down the fort. Keep mom company."

"Mom's got doctors! I'm coming!"

"No, you're not," said Brian with a slight chuckle.

"Yes, I am!"

Brian slammed down his foot with all his might the sound echoed and scared all of the onlookers. "No! You are not coming! Somebody needs to stay home and keep mom company! The doctors aren't good at that! You are! So stay here and keep her aliv…I mean company…keep her company."

"O…okay," quivered Corra, "will do!" Her confidence returning to her voice. "I will keep her company!"

"Thatta girl," said Brian, "when dad comes home tell him I plan to meet him on the open sea."

Days passed and their mother still struggled to live. Brian still didn't return home. It was like a race and nobody knew who was winning. Would Brian return with a better doctor who could cure the disease or would their mother die? Which one would happen first?

Then the race was finished. It was late afternoon on a Sunday. Their mother passed away silently. The doctors surrounding them couldn't do anything to save her. She died with Corra in the room. Corra, traumatized, quickly withdrew.

A few weeks later, her dad came home. He had the news and had come to comfort his kids. Or more like have his kids comfort him. He was a mess, he seemed to be lost for a brief instance upon stepping foot onto the door and not hearing his wife's voice echo 'come in'. His body seemed to move on its accord. He sat down and listened to Corra tell him how long their mother held out, how big she had gotten, and other things. It wasn't until she told him about Brian that things got worse.

Upon hearing about Brian's departure, the father stood up and put his Marine coat back on.

"Listen, Corra," he said, "I'm going to return with your brother just give me a few weeks. I'll return with him. Then I'll retire, take up a job around here, and we'll be one big happy family. Trust me, I'll make everything right." Corra was left with the neighbors, just until their dad got back or Brian got back whichever one occurred first.

Then a letter appeared for her it came a big black Marine ship. A funeral ship. Their father had died. He was apparently distracted just a bit and a stray swipe from his opponent's blade did him in. The crew had no idea how to tell a young woman what had happened. A woman who had lost her brother, mother, and now her father. They decided a letter, a gift basket, and a shoulder to cry on were the best way.

Years passed and Corra just grew stronger and braver. Brian even returned once, only to say hello, settle rumors, and then to set off once again. Nobody even told him what happened to their dad. Corra had decided something though over those years.

If her mother died due to lack of good medicine and her brother left her in search of a good doctor. She'd be able to provide both. She'll be the best doctor out there, one with a cure for every illness. That was her dream.

Her dream, however, was short lived as a few hours into sailing she noticed she forgot food. She figured it would probably be quicker to go to the next island rather then turning around. After a day or so she realized she was wrong. Very wrong. She still kept on going forward though hoping she'd run into a merchant ship, a restaurant, or an island. She never did she passed out due to hunger and fatigue shortly after.

(-Back to present time-)

"Wow, such a sad story," said Zesiro leaning back, "I'm sorry for your losses. You have my condolences."

Hiro-Shu nodded in agreement.

"Corra Ila…as in the daughter of Captain Ila," said Orso, "I should've realized it sooner. Then I would've spared you the pain of remembering that tragic tale."

"Don't worry," said Corra, "the story only strengthens my resolve."

A soft crying could be heard outside the door. Apparently David only left and went to the outside of the door, he didn't actually leave. He had heard the entire story.

"Sad story, isn't it?" called Zesiro.

"Shut up," said David, "I'm not crying…I just got something in my eye."

"Yeah," said Zesiro, "it seems to happen to most people when they hear a sad story."

"Well," said Orso, "I better get going…I don't want to hang out with you pirate types for too long. I'm actually starting to like you, its going to be hard to arrest you the next time we meet."

"You could just join us," said Zesiro, "we could use a carpenter, our ship is in shambles after all."

"Yeah," said Orso, "I may take you up on that offer the next time we meet…when Mikoto reforms the Infinity Pirate crew tell him 'he's got quite the eye for amazing people'". Orso left the building without saying anything else.

**Who's the Man in the Photograph?**

**

* * *

**

Okay, now before I do my usual song and dance I want to say this: do NOT decide your vote yet! David has had more screen time then the other three contestants. Corra has had a total of 0, well, one chapter including this. Enma, Corra, and Kira are still in this thing and they refuse to go down without a fight! Anyways, yeah, I did not create the people who kidnapped Sage, you'll find out who they are soon enough. Anyways, onto my poll information:

Kira Samore: Age 17, Female, Human **Goals:** find and become part of a Crew. Protect said Nakama. Become one the best doctors out there. Her specialty are poisons and antidotes. (First appeared in the Blackwell Arc when it was Sage vs. Roger).

David H. Dreems: Age 13, Male, Human **Goals: **To find his family and make sure that they never get hurt (not literally; just as in not SERIOUSLY hurt), as well as that they all complete thier dreams.

Trafalger Enma: Age 23, Male, Human **Goals: **To find the library in Raftel

Corra Ila: Age 16, Female, Human **Goals: **Make a cure for every sickness there is.

Be warned there is more information coming! Did any of them eat a Devil Fruit? How do they fight? Do any of them have any weird things about them? And what about their history!


	39. Pimp Arc: 39 The Man in the Photograph

Mikoto was lost. He had no idea which way Sage had run off. He didn't even know where the rest of his crew, or former crew, was. Finding Sage and saving Sage was going to be a lot harder then he had thought. Man, he missed his crew…well, he had Enma scouting in a different direction, but Enma was no Hiro-Shu or Zesiro.

Then again if Sage had been kidnapped would he even be able to do anything to save her? His strength failed against Karasu…how could he be so certain it would do anything against this Snazzginton Pimp guy? He lost Ridley already. Not only that but then Sage, Zesiro, and Hiro-Shu all got hurt. Not to mention himself. Would he be able to defend her or would he just die trying?

Mikoto had been second guessing himself for such a long time for now. He had to bounce back soon if he planned on being able to save Sage. Just because he had lost his will doesn't mean anything…he was going to save Sage. Well, of course, he hoped he wouldn't have to, but if it comes down to whether or not he can he will. He will, if necessary save Sage.

His head sunk back down. That is if he could only find her. Why couldn't she just scream like the damsel in all of the movies? It sure would save him a lot of time. He waited to see if by some kind of iconic twist of fate a loud scream would pierce the sky, but nothing. He sure was going to have one hard time finding her.

He didn't even remember what perfume she was wearing…if he could remember that then he'd just use his superior sense of smell and try to track her, but she used different perfumes quite often. He'd be lucky if he could remember the smell of one of them, much less all of them and then to remember which one she was wearing. He'd just have to find Zesiro and Hiro-Shu first. Four pairs of eyes searching would definitely be better then two. Now what does Zesiro smell like?

(-With Zesiro and Hiro-Shu-)

"Ungrateful bear," said Zesiro, "try to do a man a favor."

"Calm down," said Hiro-Shu, "there is no law in the world that says when you invite someone onto your crew they have to join."

"Heck," said Zesiro, "Mikoto just makes it look so easy."

"Mikoto?" asked Corra, "who's he?"

"The captain of our pirate crew," said Zesiro, "well, more correctly the former captain of our former pirate crew. He quit and right now it looks like it's the end of the Infinity Pirates."

"What a brat," said David.

"Hey," said Zesiro, "don't go insulting our captain…former or not."

"Yeesh," said David, "it looks your entire boat is filled with drama queens. First a captain who up and quits. Then a half-shark half-man creature with the personality of a tiger. What's next? You going to sprout eagle wings?"

"Do you want me to kill you? Yes or no," said Zesiro, "it's a very simple answer."

Hiro-Shu ignored the two bickering men and turned his attention to the lab. The numerous bodily organs and limbs still hung from the ceiling. Its amazing that neither Zesiro nor Corra, seemed to notice them. Hiro-Shu was about to interrupt the fight when he noticed something, a small portrait behind a jar with a red organ floating around in it.

He reached out and gently pushed the portrait to the side. It was a picture of a little boy, probably no more then 11 along with one older male. The boy was wearing similar clothing to what David was wearing now, although a younger style. Corra looked over Hiro-Shu's shoulder and glanced at the picture.

"What kind of boy wears a pink hood shirt?" shouted Zesiro, "you look like a member of an all girl gang!"

"Half-fish, you are going to be in for a world of hurt if you keep insulting me!" shouted David, he seemed to just now notice Hiro-Shu was holding the portrait. "PUT THAT DOWN!" he screamed.

Hiro-Shu jumped at the loud noise directed at him and dropped the photo onto the table. Thankfully, it was a short drop and it didn't shatter, but that didn't stop David from rushing over and checking on it. Anyways, he quickly stood it back up and pushed the organ jar back in front of it.

"Talk about a temper tantrum," said Zesiro.

"Get out!" said David, "unless you are a patient of my hospital. Get. Out."

Hiro-Shu slowly backed away to the door. Zesiro followed after Hiro-Shu, but stuck his tongue out at David to have the last laugh in their argument. Corra put her hand on the door, when David stopped her.

"Your body still hasn't fully healed," said David, "its going to be a few more days at least. Just go over there and lay down."

Corra sat back down onto the seat and sat there while David examined her leg. "Where's your mother in the photograph?" She asked.

"Dead. She died several years before that," said David paying a tedious amount of attention to the uninjured leg.

"I'm sorry," said Corra covering her mouth, "It must've been so hard for you and dad."

"My father died alongside my mother," said David.

"Oh my gosh," said Corra, "I'm doubly sorry!" She bowed her head. "I just assumed the man in the photograph was…"

"I can hang out with an old man when my parents die," said David, "I had to learn my medical skills from someone."

"Oh. Um…who is the man then? Your teacher?" she asked.

"Patients aren't supposed to ask their doctors question," said David.

"Yeesh! You didn't mind my previous question!" she said.

"That's because your previous questions were wrong," said David, "I was correcting you, educating you."

"Well, why don't you educate me about the old man?" asked Corra.

"Because," said David, "You don't need to know anything about the old man."

"But I want to," said Corra.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT!" shouted David, "My job as a doctor is to heal the injured by any means necessary! If I cared about what people want half the population on this island would die! They don't want strawberry medicine! They don't want an expensive procedure! They don't want me to cut them open and look at their innards! Well, guess what I do what I have to do, not what people want!"

Corra was hiding behind the table again from David's albeit reasonable, but childish temper tantrum. David sighed. He dropped his syringe on the table and tried to pull himself up on top of it. He was just a bit too short to manage it. Corra got up and walked behind and was about to do it, when David shouted again. She backed away. Finally David succumbed to his vertically challenged problem, got a chair, and climbed up on top of it.

"Listen," said David, "That man taught me everything I know. I'm not going to just talk about him with any old stranger. The memories I have him are a treasure to me so I don't go handing them out."

"I under…" before Corra could finish her sentence the door blew open. Pieces and chunks of wood splattered all over the ground. On the outside or well in the doorway was a beast that resembled a coyote, only thing was it was wearing a black T-shirt with a red question mark on it and shorts.

"My door!" shouted David, "what did you do to my door, you mongrel?"

"You door is broken! I couldn't push it open!" complained the coyote.

"Of course, you couldn't it was a pull door!" shouted David.

"Did that coyote just talk?" asked Corra.

"Coyote's don't talk!" shouted David. Corra responded to this by slinking back behind the table.

"I'm only half coyote!" said the coyote. It slowly morphed into a young man with black hair. His shirt remained the same, it just filled out into a more human-like form. "But I'm one hundred-percent Mikoto!"

"Yeah, well, Mikoto, I don't really care who you are and how much of a coyote you are," said David, "but I'm going to ask you to leave."

"Mikoto?" asked Corra.

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "Mikoto D. Azgard. Wait, a second. You are that girl my crew fished up!"

"Fished?" questioned Corra with her voice full of concern.

"Yeah, fished," said Mikoto. "Anyways, you've guys seen a girl about this time tall," he motioned at about Sage's height, "black hair with some bluish tint in it…" he scrambled around for the next word, "kind of cute, probably wearing a skirt, goes by the name of Sage."

"You make her sound like a dog," said David, "but no, can't say I remember her."

"What about a Fishman?" asked Mikoto, "big, burly, looks like a great white with feet?"

"No," said David.

"What are you talking about he was just here!" shouted Corra. "You got into a fight with him."

"Get out," said David, " I was about to tell this lovely young lady about the man in my photograph."

"I can wait," said Mikoto.

"Well, you see," said David, "when I was young my town was attacked by pirates. After ransacking the place for a couple of days they killed my mother and father." Mikoto tapped his foot. He was trying to rescue someone and this shrimp of a doctor was holding him up. "I was so distraught after it. Terribly, miserably distraught. Terribly, miserably, horribly distraught. My life was being shot to pieces. I lost control of my Devil Fruit powers."

"You are a Devil Fruit, too," said Corra amazed.

"Yes, I did, you know what I probably should've started with that," said David, "let me start over. I ate a Devil Fruit at a very young age. My dad was a very successful tradesman and got his hands on one. I mistook it for candy or something…I'm not physically deformed so I was accepted in the community."

"Sage is going to be kidnapped if I don't stop her!" shouted Mikoto.

"Kidnapped?" shouted Corra.

"I thought you said you could wait," said David, he quickly added as a wrap up, "he's my tutor both in Devil Fruit tactics and in medicine."

"I lied," said Mikoto, "it seems to be something we pirates do. Anyways, according to this man in the bar with some freaky tattoos. His name was Enma or something. He said that some guy in here was a famous kidnapping pirate. I need to find Sage and protect her."

"Yeah, he's here," said David, "I just fixed up one of their pirates. Got the place where the ship is docked."

"You do!" shouted Mikoto, "I'll just go there, beat them up where they can't kidnap Sage and I'll call it day! In order to do that I'm going to need a few good men. Any ideas where Zesiro and Hiro-Shu went?"

The duo looked at him dumbfounded.

"The shark and the golem!" shouted Mikoto.

They both shrugged.

"Great! First I lost Ridley, then Sage, now those two!" said Mikoto complaining. "I don't have time to waste. I'll just go beat them up myself. Where is their ship at?"

"Who says I'm going to tell you?" asked David.

"Maybe you didn't hear me," said Mikoto, "I am going to go help a friend of mine from being kidnapped! Now where is their ship at?"

"You just knocked down my door," said David, "leave!"

"I'll leave when you tell me where their ship is!" shouted Mikoto.

"Come on, David," said Corra, "What would your teacher do?"

David huffed for a second, before resigning, "you're right." He walked up to Mikoto. "Hi-YA!" said David launching a powerful kick to Mikoto's shin.

Mikoto let out a brief yelp and grabbed his leg, "What the?"

"I said 'what would your teacher do'?" said Corra.

"I know. I'm just too nice to kick him in the other place," said David.

"Your teacher was a sociopath!" shouted Corra.

"In more ways then one," said David, obviously enjoying Mikoto's pain.

* * *

**The Base is Discovered!**

**Mikoto Prepares to Attack!**

Well, this chapter did not go as I planned. I was planning to go more indepth with David's past...yeah, that failed. Oh, well! The man in the photograph is David's old teacher, what happened to him you ask? I have no idea! Anyways, I hope you people caught on about David's and Corra's fighting abilities. I mentioned them! I think...I hope I did. Anyways, since I have already shown you Kira Samore's power here is a quick refresher for those of you who forgot.

She uses Haki mainly for the concealment of herself from her enemy, enemy intimidation, and the sharpening of senses. Main weapons are a long silver chain, senbon needles coated in poison, 2 large hunting knives. The fighting style while using hand to hand combat is kicks and punches while taking advantage of her very flexible body. She will not be found unless she wishes to be found due to the fact that she is very adept to blending in to her surroundings. She has the same weapons made with 2 materials one version is made from a very tough steel, while the other are seastone. She always has antidotes for her poisons on her. 


	40. Pimp Arc: 40 The Base is Discovered

**The Base is Discovered!**

**Mikoto Prepares to Attack!**

"Why, you!" shouted Mikoto, "I'm going to kill you!"

"Sure," said David, "as soon as you can feel your legs!" David launched another kick into Mikoto's other shin. Mikoto howled and jumped up again with his hands now firmly grasping his newly injured shin.

Corra shook her head and lifted David off of the ground. "Tsk, tsk tsk! You shouldn't be so mean!"

"PUT ME DOWN!" screamed David. He started to flail violently within Corra's grasp with his arms and legs kicking out aiming for absolutely nothing. "PUT ME DOWN!"

"What's the magic word?" asked Corra.

"I was told never to call a woman that word!" shouted David.

"NOT THAT WORD!" shouted Corra. "Geez, at least you have some manners."

"STINK FACE!" shouted David.

Mikoto recovered from his injured leg. He got a menacing glare on his face and quickly shot a punch directly at David's stomach. David lurched forward with pain. "That serves ya right!" shouted Mikoto.

"Not you too!" shouted Corra.

"Pick him up!" shouted David from his place in the air. "Pick him up and make him say the magic word!"

"Annoying brat!" shouted Mikoto, "do you want me to hit you again!"

"You couldn't hit me even if you tried," said David.

"Wanna bet!" shouted Mikoto, he leaned back arming himself with another punch.

"**Dreamer's Gateway!" **shouted David. A short burst of pink powder exploded from his body covering the entire room. He quickly felt Corra's grip tighten. David made a quick dash for exit, not wishing to be around when the _side _effects wore off.

(-With Enma-)

Enma sighed as he strolled quietly through the streets. He'd been spending so much time trying to convince this Mikoto fellow to join his crew and save this Sage girl his own plans had become derailed. He had to get them back on track. Find some Nakama. Find a bigger boat. Leave for the Grand Line. The highlights of his three part plan.

He knew he wanted a cook, that was his primary reason for hanging out in the bar to begin with. He failed at finding one due to the fact that dumb Mashiro scared the majority of the staff into the back room and they didn't come out until him and Mikoto had beaten his crew. By then he decided to try to recruit Mikoto and gain a more powerful crew.

Both of his attempts had failed. Now he was wasting his time trying to find a girl and save a girl that he had never even met before. What a waste of time…and effort. He should just quit and go back to the bar to try to get a cook. Maybe one of them saw his earlier act of heroism and would want to join up with him.

For some odd reason, however, he felt rooted to his spot. He wasn't the kind of person to turn his back on someone in need. He felt compelled to help the woman in distress and the strange boy he met back at the café. "Lucifer, please save my soul." He started to trudge off in the direction he was originally heading in.

He saw it. A man in a purple pure (probably mink) fur-coat. He had a bejeweled cane at his side and started to walk away. His hands were covered in precious countless shiny gems. Enma was about to turn around and tell Mikoto, when he noticed a peculiar stench of pure alcohol behind him.

Enma turned around and came face-to-face with a man who looked like he had a little too much to drink. Enma was about to walk right on past him when the next thing he knew the man had launched into an attack and knocked him down to the floor. The man let loose a small hiccup before launching another drunken move that ended with his palm slamming straight into Enma's face. Enma was unprepared for such an attack and was knocked unconscious by the sheer brute force of the man's attacks.

"*Hic* I gots me anuddah onez," slurred the man.

(-With Zesiro and Hiro-Shu-)

"What a spoiled brat," said Zesiro leaned back, "I really should go back and there and teach him some manners!"

"I'm starting to think you want to kill him," said Hiro-Shu.

"I do," said Zesiro, "he really needs to learn his place. And I'd be more then happy to teach it to him."

"Any idea where Mikoto is?" asked Hiro-Shu.

"Right," said Zesiro, "our captain…to be honest I don't have the slightest idea where that mutt would be right now. Know of any good places to eat around here?"

Hiro-Shu shook his head. "Any idea where Sage is?"

Zesiro shook his head. "No…what's next any idea where Ridley is? I'm not keeping track of our nakama. They're big boys and girls now they can handle themselves."

"Any idea where we are?" asked Hiro-Shu.

Zesiro looked around him and let out a sigh. They were in some kind of trading square people bustling around them trading all sorts of things. A lot of shady characters were making even shadier deals. A rolled-up piece of paper would swap hands, then a mysterious box would, eventually some characters were just swapping drugs in open.

"No wonder why that kid is messed up," said Zesiro, "I don't have an idea about where we are. Do you?"

Hiro-Shu shook his head. "Its questionable." Just then by pure chance Hiro-Shu caught something out of the corner of his eye. A man with a huge afro was walking down the street. He carried a boom box in one of his hands while the other one held a man, his right arm completely decorated in tattoos of gears and cogs.

" I'm walking and strolling down da' street, making a phat and funky beat, for me this is a small little feat " rapped the man. " On my back is a man who is knocked out, he fought with our swordsman and lost that bout! This man is nothing more then a lout! "

"What terrible music," muttered Hiro-Shu.

"Who's that man he's carrying?" asked Zesiro, "sounds like he lost a fight with someone."

"Let's go over there and find out," said Hiro-Shu. The duo approached the man, once they got closer they saw his white trench coat and black sunglasses. His neck was covered in probably five gold necklaces.

" Two random dudes approach me, if they want to fight they better be ready to flee! " continued the man.

"Who's the guy on your back?" asked Zesiro.

" Some random man who I don't care about. Are you listening to these rhymes I spout? "

"Really, wish I wasn't," muttered Hiro-Shu.

"Anyways, where are you taking him?" asked Zesiro.

" I'm going to take him out to the deli. I hope the pay me enough to fill my belly. After all he's beginning to become smelly " rapped the man.

"You're taking him to the deli?" asked Zesiro, "Wouldn't the doctor's office be smarter?"

" They are going to make something called mystery meat. That's definitely not something I would want to eat " he said.

"In that case hand him over," said Zesiro grasping his blades, "I'm not going to sit back and watch you turn a man into meat."

" A little madman with two swords challenges me to fight. He's breath's so bad it gave me a fright! Its decision time fellas, should I take flight? " sung the man.

"I want him to shut up," said Hiro-Shu covering his ears.

"I just want to help the man on his back," said Zesiro, "but it looks like this guy won't let us."

The man let out a small groan as he came to. He shifted in his place and slowly passed out again. The trio looked at the man.

"You can't give a living man to a deli!" said Zesiro.

" Then I'll go to the butcher first, get ready world prepare for da' worst " said the man.

"These people are no murderers," said Zesiro, "they're not going to kill him where you can make a quick buck."

" Oh, man, it appears I'm all out of luck. I'm stating to think this day sucks " said the man keeping up his beat.

"Hand him over," said Zesiro.

" I'll hand him over when you pay me 2000 beli's! Come on now nice, nice, nelly " sung the man.

Zesiro grumbled dug into his pockets and paid the man a few bucks. "The things I do because I'm too nice."

" I'll up the price how about another thousand? That'll bring this conversation to an end " he continued.

Zesiro reached over and the snatched the man from his shoulder slamming the man harshly into the ground. "Be happy you got two thousand!" Zesiro turned around and started to drag the unconscious man back to David's. Hiro-Shu followed after him.

" I gots me some major money, whoo-whee! Now I can get me a burger with cheese! "

(-With Mikoto-)

"Ergh…" said Mikoto as he stretched out and yawned, "Not the best night's sleep…where was I?" He looked around at his surrounding. He saw the numerous limbs hanging from the ceiling and the organs floating in canisters. "Definitely not the best place to wake up to."

The girl, whose name is still unknown to Mikoto, was sleeping soundly a few feet away from her. She had a thumb in her mouth and was sucking on it, sound asleep. He should probably wake her up…nah, too much effort, he just woke up.

"I still got to get up and find Sage," said Mikoto, "but first I got to find Zesiro…I probably should find Enma while I'm at it. Too much work to do!" Mikoto laid back down wishing to enter the same blissful sleep he had been in just a few seconds ago. He was on a ship…his ship with his crew. Man, he's going to miss being a pirate captain. But he's…

Mikoto's monologue was caught short by the girl reawakening and stretching out widely. She wiped her eyes and looked at Mikoto. She seemed a little out of it and wasn't quite fully awake, yet. Finally she shouted at a tremendous volume.

"Aiya!" shouted Mikoto falling back down to floor with his legs straight up in the air. "What's the matter with you!"

"I'm in a strange place…alone and asleep…with some guy I just met! My mother always told me this would happen if I didn't stick with better company!" she cried.

"Uh…uh…uh…" said Mikoto trying desperately to think of something to make her feel better, "You were…awesome?" This only intensified the girl's crying. "You were…terrible?" The girl's crying became even louder. "I think this would go a lot easier if you were Sage…" The girl found a new reservoir of tears as they streamed down her face.

"You…jerk!" she shouted, "after…after…after what happened you want a different girl!" she threw a nearby can at Mikoto. He ducked instinctively.

"After what happened…" said Mikoto. "The last thing I remember was that little creep knocking us out."

"You don't even remember…" she started, but she soon stopped talking and also stopped crying, "that was the last thing that happened wasn't it…never mind." She blushed a deep red from embarrassment.

"What did you think happened?" asked Mikoto.

"NOTHING!" she shouted, "My name's Corra by the way, I don't think we ever properly introduced."

"…nothing? You threw a can at my head! If you do that over nothing I hate to see what you do when you are really upset with me," said Mikoto.

"Don't worry you forgive, right?" she asked.

"Sure," said Mikoto, "You got multiple personalities or something? Cause you sure act like a psychopath."

She started to sniffle again, "JERK!" she picked up another can and threw it at him. Mikoto didn't duck in time to dodge this one and was met with a spleen to the face.

"I SHOULD KILL YOU FOR THAT!" shouted Mikoto at her.

She started to cry again this time while picking up nearby canisters and chucking them at Mikoto several of them hitting her mark. Mikoto was soon backed up against a wall his arms in front of him trying to block some of the cans.

"I'm sorry!" shouted Mikoto, "I'm sorry I don't want to kill you! Just don't kill me!"

She stopped and lowered her arms. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

"Fine," said Mikoto, "I need help…" The door slammed open squashing Mikoto against the wall. Hiro-Shu walked in. He was followed by Zesiro carrying the man on his back.

Zesiro immediately took notice of Corra. "Hey, you know where David's at?"

Corra shook her head, but she pointed at the door. Hiro-Shu pulled the door back. Mikoto collapsed onto the floor. His imprint was imbedded into the wall.

"Oops," said Hiro-Shu helping Mikoto to his feet.

"Why do I keep getting hurt?" shouted Mikoto.

"Karma," replied Zesiro, "you hurt people you get hurt." Enma's eyes slowly opened at the sound of Mikoto's voice.

"Honestly, I think I got hurt more since I quit being a pirate then I ever did when I was!" said Mikoto.

"Mikoto…" rasped Enma, "in the dock…by the burger place."

"What you want a burger?" asked Mikoto.

"No, Pimp's ship…" Enma finished.

"Now, you're talking," said Mikoto cracking his knuckles, "See you guys later, I'm off to save Sage!" He said to Zesiro and Hiro-Shu before zooming off.

"Sage!" asked Hiro-Shu and Zesiro simultaneously.

**Enter the Pimp's Plaza!**

**Let the Rounds Begin!**

Chapter 40! This is one of the longest create your own crew stories running!…I think…tell me if you see a longer one. Well, the fighting is going to start soon so stay tuned in. Also, I did reveal David's power during this chapter…so any guesses yet? Also, if all my readers could be so kind to review this chapter even if its something like 'Hey'. I'm just interested in seeing how many readers I got. Anyways, dislikes and likes for the contestants! **L: = **Likes **D: **= Dislikes

Kira: **L: **sweet and sour foods. Colder regions. Darker colors and comfortable clothing. Making her own poisons and antidotes. Fighting. Night. High places. Swimming. Practicing fighting. Sharp and pointy weapons. Cats. Eating. **D: **spicy and bitter foods, watermelons (hate), overly revealing clothing. Hot weather, overly prejudiced people, revealing and girly clothing. Bright colors.

David: **L: **Family, 'doctoring' people, the color pink, cotton candy, happy, calming music, human organs.** D: **Loud, annoying music, people who hurt his family, angry people.

Corra: **L: **Any type of potato and the color purple. **D: **spiders, shots

Enma: **L: **Books, card games, fighting, rain, children and steak **D:** Eerie silence, arrogant people. 


	41. Pimp Arc: 41 Enter the Pimp

**Enter the Pimp's Plaza!**

**Let the Rounds Begin!**

**

* * *

**

Hiro-Shu and Zesiro were still lost as Mikoto bolted out of the door. His coyote legs giving him such an increase in speed it would've been pointless to follow him. Zesiro huffed and sat down. "I wonder what happened to Sage."

"Who knows," replied Hiro-Shu as he sat down. The man still strung across his back.

"He's a weird one, probably wouldn't have answered us even if we could've asked him," said Zesiro, "he still hasn't given us a very good reason for abolishing the crew."

Hiro-Shu nodded in agreement.

"I hope he doesn't get himself into too much trouble," said Zesiro, he sighed, "like that's going to happen."

"Who's that on your back?" questioned Corra finally peeping into their conversation.

Hiro-Shu turned his attention to the man and shrugged, "is David here?"

"He left," she said, "after he released some pink powder, the rest of my memories are kind of a blur that is until I woke up and saw Mikoto."

"What did you think of our captain?" asked Zesiro chuckling.

"Ah," said Corra blushing slightly, "he seems…eccentric."

"Ha!" bellowed Zesiro, "what a freak! Two minutes in with this girl and she already knows him!" Hiro-Shu added a small chuckle. "He's a good guy, though, his eccentricity is just a trait of his."

"Finally, that dog left," said David re-entering the room, "I'm not to happy about you two being back…" he said glaring at Zesiro, "but I'll take you guys over him any day…another guinea pig for me! Ah…I mean another specimen, of course that is to say patient…" David let loose a small nervous laugh. "I'm only thirteen! I get my words mixed up!"

"Hey, he took care of Sage and Corra with no problem," said Zesiro, "maybe he can help this man out. He's pretty badly beaten."

"Excuse me, shark face," said David, "this is a doctor's job, not a killer's…" he directed Hiro-Shu to drop the man off on the table. He propped himself and jumped up to the table and examined him, "this man has suffered a lot trauma probably in a recent skirmish with an extremely powerful opposing force."

"What?" questioned Corra.

"He got beat up," repeated Zesiro.

"In laymen's terms," said David. "I'll have to operate immediately!" He reached over and grabbed a large scalpel. "Restrain him!"

"I'm pretty sure he's unconscious," said Zesiro, "are restraint's necessary?"

"They are always necessary!" shouted David, "RESTRAIN HIM!" He quickly dug his scalpel into Enma's chest, Enma was so far out he couldn't even respond with a grunt.

(-With Sage-)

Sage's eyes fluttered open. She looked around and immediately felt her arms and legs being restrained. She looked down, still in her own clothing, but tied to a chair with a lot of rope. Finally there was some handcuffs holding her hands together, that seems pointless and stupid as her arms were restrained.

"I can't move," said Sage.

"Kya ha ha ha!" said a man as he entered the room, his purple fur coat floated elegantly to his legs. He had a large feathered hat on his head and his hands were covered in a ridiculous number of rings. "That's right missy!" He pushed his black shades beneath his eyes to look at her, "you are going to sell for quite the buck."

"Where I am? Untie me this instant!" shouted Sage, "wait…sell?"

"Of course," said the man, "I am the number one slave trader in the special field of females. I promise my customer one hundred percent satisfaction guaranteed!"

Sage spat her tongue at him, "you cruel little…" Sage searched her mind for a lady-like word and when she came up with nothing she resorted to the unlady-like word, "bastard!"

"I am no bastard! I am a pimp!" shouted the man, "Snazzington T. Pimp, better known as the 'Purple Pimp'!"

"You say that like being a pimp is better!" shouted Sage.

"That mouth of yours is probably going to lower your value…maybe I should just remove it?" asked Pimp.

Sage slammed her mouth shut.

"Good, already obedient," said Pimp, "maybe I can squeeze a couple ten thousand belies out of you…"

Sage twisted her face into a face of disgust. She would explode his head right here and now, but she didn't want to get her clothing ruined. Just give him a few more feet.

"By now, 'Plant' Sage," said Pimp, "you are probably thinking about popping my head with your Devil Fruit powers, right?" Sage ignored him, "well, here's the thing, I know all about you. Your wanted poster has a few facts about you including your Osu-Osu no mi powers. Those handcuffs are made of Kairoseki…Sea Prism Stone, if you prefer, anyways, they completely cancel out all Devil Fruit powers."

Sage shook her head, there was no such thing, at least in the East Blue. Something like that could exist in the Grand Line she supposed, but not in the East Blue. She just needed to concentrate and shut this pimp up. _"Pop goes the weasel!" _thought Sage as she focused her powers at his head. Nothing happened. She tried again with the same result. Again and again no matter how hard she tried the effects were always the same.

"See," said Pimp, "I'm used to trading humans I know about tricks that humans will use to try to escape…you are by no means different or special to me. You are nothing more then a pretty face that will soon be turned into some money. Have fun," He said as he left waving at Sage.

Sage spat onto the floor. "Freak," she muttered. She knew she was in no place to argue…no powers…no means of movement…no friends. She sighed. Maybe it was high time to quit struggling, she lost her mother and her crew. She seemed so small in comparison to that.

(-With Mikoto-)

"Dock! Dock! Dock!" shouted Mikoto charging through the streets of the dock glancing at the huge ships that loomed in front of him, "Pimp! Dock! Ship!" He glanced furtively from side to side he was lost. He didn't know what a pimp's ship looked like. He was expecting a giant ship that had the words 'Pimp' on the side, but no such luck.

He overheard some men talking about the news, "did you hear about the Yonkou attacking Marine Base E 2…rumor has it he already sunk E 3 and E 1. He's establishing his base in the East Blue, what a terrorist!"

"Yeah, we have no means to stand up to his power," said another man, "he has already took over Syrup Village, Hima Village, and Arost Island…he may come here next."

Mikoto stopped cold in his tracks. "Arost?" He walked over to the men, "did you say Arost Island?"

"Aye," said the man, "He's scouting out from some talent in this sea. He actually established a new pirate crew to guard that town. The captain of that crew has a thirty-five million belie bounty and its been going up ever since he joined forces with that Yonkou."

"Okay," said Mikoto, things just weren't going his way lately. Saving Sage comes first, though, Melanie and Xavier can hold off without him for awhile.

He was about to go back to scanning the ships, but he had an idea. "Hey, either one of you two seen a pimp come by here?"

"A what?" said the men.

"A pimp," said Mikoto, "I think he's after a friend of mine and I want to help her before they catch her."

"I think I saw one of them try to jog my memory," said the first man with a grin on his face, "try descriptions, name, and maybe give me some money."

"I don't know I've never seen him before, I think his name was Snazzington Pimp or something," said Mikoto.

"Snazzington Pimp? The Purple Pimp?" said the man, "Oh, yeah, I saw him. He's my captain." He threw a punch out at Mikoto catching the coyote off guard and sending him flying. "Looks like the captain is going to be able to sell a man off as well as a female."

Mikoto struggled back to his feet. He wasn't paying attention to the men before, the one that punched him was pretty well-built standard size with a large bushy beard. On his hands though were brass knuckles. The other one was smaller, height-wise, if you went by width he was huge compared to the other man. He was twisting a gun in his right hand.

Mikoto stood up his target selected, the man with the gun had to go down first, a bruise or two is nothing compared to a bullet wound. Boy, did he learn that lesson already. He morphed into his half-coyote form.

"He's a Zoan!" shouted the small fat man.

"Not just any Zoan! He's the 'Kid Coyote'!" shouted the man with the brass knuckles. "What are you waiting for? Shoot him!"

The fat man fumbled with the gun for a while and fired. Mikoto easily dodged his clumsy shot and was soon right up under him. "**Wolf Cutter!" **Mikoto dragged his claw against the ground briefly before bringing it up followed by debris straight up into the man's gut. The man doubled over and fell onto the floor, Mikoto grabbed the gun and chucked it into the sea. The other man launched a punch into Mikoto sending him backwards a bit.

"John?" said the man, "you okay, buddy?"

"He's not," said Mikoto, "and neither are you!" Mikoto dug his claws into the man's shoulders. **"Claw Cleave!"** Mikoto rolled onto his back lifting the man up off of the ground and on top of him. Mikoto brought his legs up in between them and tore the man's skin from the man's torso to his pelvis. Mikoto then let the man roll simply off of him and onto the ground.

"Now, I know you guys are still breathing," said Mikoto, "so, which one of you wants to help me?"

The first man to go down, John, quickly spoke up, "it's a big purple ship! Its got fur covered handrails and has numerous gems decorating it! You can't miss it!"

"Thanks," said Mikoto as he started to head off towards the docks again, "your assistance is much obliged."

Mikoto found the ship quickly with the new description it would've been impossible to miss. Mikoto jumped up on to the boat and braced himself against the railing. The entire crew noticed him and drew pistols and cutlasses.

"Heh, it always comes down to guns and swords with pirates, don't it?" chuckled Mikoto as he morphed into his lightweight and faster coyote form. He rushed through the crowd, Mikoto ran straight into one of the pirates toppling him over with his momentum. The man smashed into the railing and fell overboard making a large splash in the water.

The other men aimed with their pistols and fired. The gun shots echoed on the boat as they drove themselves into fellow crewmember and the floor boards as Mikoto ran about dodging their bullets and chomping down on the crew members he could get close enough to.

One by one the men started to grab their legs and they were soon knocked over board by the coyote. The men made a loud splash as their bodies collided with the water. Mikoto chuckled as soon he was the last man standing on top of the boat. Time to go down another floor.

(-With Hiro-Shu and Zesiro-)

"I still can't believe that mutt left us," said Zesiro fuming over their captain.

"Deal with it, shark face," said David from the next room over, "I'm trying to work over here." The sound of sawing and cutting coming from the room.

"There's no place like home," muttered Corra from a corner, "there's no place like home." Hiro-Shu was hunched over next to her trying to comfort her.

"Huh," said David stopping the cutting, "that's not normal."

"What's not?" asked Zesiro.

"Let me check again," said David he started to cut again. "Yeah, its doing what I think its doing, come in here!"

Zesiro entered first, followed by Hiro-Shu, and finally Corra came in last huddled over, ready to bolt on the notice.

"You cut his leg open!" shouted Zesiro, "nothing's wrong with his leg! He was just unconscious!"

"I know, I figured I'd take one of tendons as a souvenir, but watch!" said David. He took out a much larger scalpel then he had originally and started cutting into Enma's bone. When he had cut all the way through he backed up.

"A souvenir?" said Zesiro, "you are one twisted little kid."

"WATCH!" shouted David.

Zesiro returned his attention to Enma's leg to see what David was talking about. The bone was healing. It was reattaching itself to its other half. "That is freaky."

"Coming from a Fishman," said David.

"In a mad doctor's office!" replied Zesiro sharply.

Enma coughed briefly, "Alice."

* * *

**The White Devil Dreams of Alice!**

**Mikoto versus the Drunken Swordsman!**

Thanks to everyone who read this and reviewed last time (a total of eight) I was hoping for more then ten, oh, well. Anyways, yeah, you have seen David's and Corra's back-story so it is only fitting if Enma gets his turn in the spotlight! Don't worry Kira will, too! I already have her whole entrance planned out. Also I'm surprised nobody seems to be mentioning what happened to Sage or what happened to Ridley! You are all heartless!


	42. Pimp Arc: 42 The White Devil Dreams

**The White Devil Dreams of Alice!**

**Mikoto vs. the Drunken Swordsman!**

Enma's eyes fluttered open. He sat up immediately to the sound a girl screaming outside his window. Enma was only 11 at the time and he didn't have his signature tattoos decorating his body. He knew immediately his father would be downstairs taking care of the house and getting ready for work. His mother had disappeared off the face of the Earth, without an explanation, when Enma was three. Not to say that Enma's father lived the rest of his life alone, no he remarried to a widow. A widow with a girl one year younger then Enma. And that would be who was screaming outside. She was a bit of hothead, but Enma liked her all the same, except when she…

He didn't get to finish the thought, because Alice jumped through the window sensing that Enma was up. She knocked him straight down to the ground and pinned him. She smiled at him from her spot of superiority. "Looks like I'm winning this fight," she mocked.

Enma flipped upwards using his superior strength and his step-sister's lack of knowledge around effective pins and soon he was on top of her holding her down by the hands. "Nope," said Enma confidently, "I'm still ahead. That makes 1,467 wins for me and 0 for you."

Alice struggled and tried kicking out, but Enma had her pinned very effectively. She finally admitted defeat with a pout. Enma let her up and stretched. He wasn't used to fighting this earlier. He went over to the window and closed it, he will never sleep with the window open again.

"Still planning to be a pirate?" asked Alice with a coy smile on her face.

"Yup, one of the best," replied Enma as he took a quick inventory of the room. "Still planning to be a Marine?"

"Uh-huh," she said, "that way we can fight!" Enma chuckled her naivety. Alice coughed sharply.

"You okay," asked Enma. She had been coughing a lot lately, she'd also sleep in on some days till noon. Enma had been growing worried about her, but she'd never let him stop fighting her long enough to show it.

"Yeah," shouted Alice she jumped at Enma leaping at him. She knocked him back and onto the ground. The girl had amazing stamina. This time she copied Enma's pinning technique and held Enma down to the ground. Enma struggled for awhile, he was just planning to flip her off when he grip lightened and she collapsed on top of him. Her body felt heavy on his and…hot. He rolled off and he searched over her body.

Her face was red, beet red. She was sweating all over and she still let a cough out every few seconds. Enma stuck his hand to her forehead and immediately released it due to the heat. She was sick. "DAD!" shouted Enma at the top of his lungs.

His father rushed up to his room and immediately ordered Enma to help him carry her to his bed. The two did so carefully. Enma looked over her, worried about his little sister, while his father ran out to get the town's doctor. It was a small town and they only had one doctor and even he was an hour away. Enma waited by her bed worrying about her. That was the worst hour of Enma's life so far to sit there in front of his dying sister. He was panicking. The next hour dragged on until Enma was sure a week had passed. He heard his father run up the stairs with the doctor in tow.

The doctor examined her over and made some small checks up in his notebook. He made her left her arm, breathe in and out, and even did some urinary check. When he was satisfied with the tests he laid back and let out a breath. He turned to Enma's father and said, "good news, its treatable."

His father let out a sigh, "okay. Come with me, we'll go downstairs and discuss payment."

Enma smiled. He looked over at Alice, "He…hear that Alice," said Enma through tears, "you…you're going to be better soon."

Alice smiled back, weakly, it didn't reassure Enma, but it was a start. She'll just have to smile even more brightly at him when the doctor treats her. Enma couldn't stop smiling until he heard his father shout.

"That much! That's more then I make in a year! That's more then this house!" it then went quiet, but Enma could swear he heard someone weeping. The front door quietly shut.

"Wait, here Alice," said Enma, "I'm going to go get you some juice." Enma slowly headed towards the door. Juice is one of nature's medicine it seems. Juice and chicken noodle soup always seems to make a sick person feel better. The door opened and his father was standing there. His face was as white as a ghost. He limped over to the bed and collapsed in front of it, he grabbed Alice's hand.

"I…I'm so sorry," said his father. He said something else but his voice died in his throat.

"What's the matter, dad?" asked Enma nervously, "the medicine won't get here for another day or something, its okay. Right, Alice?" Alice managed a weak 'yes'.

"No, I can't afford it!" said his father burying his head into the blankets, "I'm too broke to save my own daughter's life."

"We can…we can cut back, can't we?" asked Enma, "not buy juice or steak for awhile, right? That'll save up money for awhile."

"It won't make a difference its two years pay," said his father, "the…the doctor says she won't make it through a week."

"No!" shouted Enma, "we can afford it somehow…somehow we can afford it, take out loans, sell some things, maybe…maybe even rob some pirates…we can make it still. Alice can make it long enough, right Alice?" Alice nodded from her bed to weak to even talk.

"No," said his father, "I'll save up what I can…but I won't make enough fast enough. Alice, I'm…I'm so sorry!"

The next week was a blur to Enma. He still can't remember what happened, he can't remember eating, sleeping, talking to his father, he doesn't even remember Alice. He can't even remember what his hometown was like during that week. It was all just a blur. He did remember one thing, a doctor coming to the island at the end of the terrible week.

The doctor was nothing special. Small built, thin, almost sickly looking. He wandered into town and had mistaken their house for an inn. How that's possible is a different story in itself. Anyways, the doctor had wandered upstairs into Alice's room where Enma was sitting and praying.

The doctor walked straight up to Alice and sat down next to Enma. He joined in with his prays. When Enma finished he looked over at the man. The man looked back and asked, "so, who are we praying for?"

Enma, sniffling, replied, "My sister…my dad doesn't have enough money to pay for her medicine."

"A dying sister, a broken dad, and still hopeful brother," said the doctor, "that really pulls at my heart strings."

"She ain't dying," said Enma.

"Isn't dying," corrected the doctor. He put his hand to her forehead to examine her temperature. "Get your daddy, boy."

Enma returned moments later followed by his father. The doctor was sitting there and he asked, "I want to stay here."

"This isn't an inn," said his father sternly, clearly upset that a stranger was upstairs with his daughter alone.

"I want free room and board for a year," said the doctor, "then I'll be out of your hair."

"We aren't a charity either," said the father.

"I'm not asking anything for free," said the doctor, "I just think free room and board for a year is a small price to pay for your daughter's life. I can cure her."

"You can?" asked Enma.

"I'm not falling for your tricks," said the father, "you look like rundown hobo. Have you played this trick before?"

"I'm a doctor, not a magician," said the doctor, "no tricks, only cures."

"Come on, dad, trust him," said Enma, "please! He can save Alice."

His father flashed the man an angry look, "if you save Alice, I will let you have free room and board…but if you're tricking me, I'll hurt you something terribly."

The doctor cackled. "Sure, sure." He got up and started to walk out the room.

"Hey, mister," shouted Enma, "aren't you going to give her some fancy medicine."

"Already done did," said the doctor, "she'll be better in three days if she stays in that bed no matter what!"

Enma was grateful to the doctor, but something felt funny. His leg. It felt as if the skin was being peeled off. It hurt, but he was just to grateful to scream in agony. Then he woke up.

(-Present time-)

Enma shot to attention. Long white spears exploded from his body in all directions pushing Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, and David away from him by another good few feet.

"Holy crap!" shouted David ducking for cover, "I didn't know he would do that!"

"Where's…where's Alice at?" asked Enma.

"No idea," replied Zesiro, "you were knocked out when we found you on some random dude's back."

Enma looked at his arm, he had those tattoos all over him. His memories flooded back to him and breathed out. It was a good twelve years after that incident. "Oh, okay." Those long white spears retreated back into his body.

"Now time for my question," said Zesiro approaching him with his sword drawn, "where is Mikoto?"

"Mikoto?" asked Enma searching his mind for a face. It hit him, "he went to Pimp's ship to prevent him from capturing Sage."

"Pimp's ship?" asked Zesiro, "this island just keeps getting weirder. Where can I find it?"

"Hold on and I'll go with you," said Enma, he spun around and was about to get up when he caught sight of his eye. "What the hell happened to my leg?"

"He did," said Zesiro pointing at David, "Stay here and have him bandage you up. Just tell me where Mikoto is and me and that big guy back there will handle the rest."

"Yeah, sure, okay," said Enma, "its down by the dock. Big, purple, you can't miss it."

"Cool," said Zesiro, "come on Hiro-Shu, let's go." Hiro-Shu grunted in agreement.

"I'll come, too," said Corra picking up her bag.

"Don't," said Zesiro, "so, far from what I've seen, there's nothing you can that can possibly help us. Stay here and stay out of our way." With that Zesiro and Hiro-Shu left leaving Corra there, depressed and alone with a mad doctor.

(-With Mikoto-)

A sword sailed above Mikoto's head cutting into the wood above him. Mikoto briefly yelped. He looked up at the large man. The man had on a dirty poncho and his sombrero wasn't much cleaner. He had a large sake bottle next to him from his he had produced his long blade. He hicced as he took another swing at Mikoto. Mikoto avoided the blow, but he quickly lost his balance. He was feeling odd. Something was definitely wrong with him. He didn't do anything out of the ordinary. He had exchanged a few blows with this man, but that was it. He smelled the air, but only thing he smelled was pure alcohol.

"I am Ovid," said the man, "Ovid the drunk! And I ams huving sum fun!" He nearly fell over with that last statement, but he quickly righted himself.

"Yeah, drunk, sure suits you," said Mikoto morphing into his half-beast form, "do you mid if we take this fight inside, I don't wunt tu be seen on a purple ship."

"Aye!" said the man, "I wuldn't wunt to be seen on un eider."

"You are on one," said Mikoto he felt tipsy. He doesn't remember ever feeling like this before. Maybe once before, but only once.

"Tis sheep needs more sake!" shouted Ovid. A colossal man came up from below the deck he had to be at least 7 feet. "Go gard da duck! I'll tak care uf dim." The man nodded and jumped down from the ship and onto the dock to await for more enemies.

"Sheep?" asked Mikoto, "where's da sheep?"

"Yus are on her," said Ovid. Mikoto looked around himself and when he looked back up Ovid had thrust his sword at him driving him backwards, barely nicking his underarm but the sword broke straight through the railing.

Mikoto nearly fell off, but he quickly grabbed onto the railing. He collapsed back onto the ship. He looked up at Ovid, or should he say Ovids. He was seeing three identical men, three brown haired, pink eyed, sandal wearing men. He rubbed his eyes. Something was definitely wrong with him.

**Blades versus Blades and Fists versus Fists!**

**Hiro-Shu and Zesiro Arrive!**

Well, that was fun. And in case you were wondering, yes, Mikoto is getting drunk. I will explain how though…soon. And don't you worry I won't leave the Ridley cliffhanger going on for much longer. At least I don't plan on it, but you know how it is. And don't worry, the doctor's fighting capabilities, namely Enma's, will be displayed shortly. Also, I would like to this time to apologize to the readers who did remember that Ridley is missing and that Sage was kidnapped, for those of you who do deeply care, I apologize.


	43. Pimp Arc: 43 Swords versus Swords

**Swords Versus Swords! Fists Versus Fists!**

**Zesiro and Hiro-Shu arrive on the Scene**

Mikoto tried to stand up, but his legs felt like jelly beneath him. The putrid smell of alcohol was still in the air and Mikoto was fighting every urge to go to sleep.

"Feelin' ligt-'eaded, yet," inquired Ovid, "me blade, the Sakeyama, is me weapon. I've been figtin' for years!" He paused for a second and looked at his blade, "this sword needs more sake!" He dunked his blade back into the large bottle of alcohol he had next to him and pulled it out. "More sake!"

Mikoto shook his head trying to come back from his drunken state, but it wasn't working. "Tis is not goin' tu end well ish it?"

"For I it is," said Ovid, "for me guts me a nuw drinkin' pardner!" He swung his blade out at Mikoto once again. Mikoto rolled over to one side to avoid the blow, not having any other option at this point. He still felt sick and unable to move.

"Yus are goin' down," said Mikoto finally finding out how to stand up while drunk (with some help from the railing behind him). He was leaning heavily on it and knew he probably wouldn't last very long without it. He bared his teeth and let loose a menacing growl, or tried to…its hard to sound menacing when you are drunk after all.

Ovid let out a laugh at Mikoto's pathetic attempt, "yus du not scare me! I am Ovid! Ovid, the Drunk!" Ovid charged at Mikoto with his sword high in the air he began to bring it down.

Mikoto couldn't quite find his footing enough to dodge to either side and he wasn't sure that if he fell down if he would be able to get back up. He decided to just take this hit and hit Ovid back, his claws grew as he leaned forward to stab Ovid. Just as Mikoto knew the sword would dig into his back he felt himself being lifted off of his feet and tossed into the air like some rag doll.

Mikoto glanced up and saw Zesiro leaning over him with his blades crisscrossed catching Ovid's blade in the middle. Ovid was just about as surprised as Mikoto was to see the Fishman.

"Whos are yus?" asked Ovid drawing his sword back as he prepared to defend.

"I'm an old friend of the dumb mutt you are trying to kill," said Zesiro.

"Whut happuned to our gard?" said Ovid, "big guy wus supposed to gard da sheep!"

"Let's just say another old friend is dealing with him right now," said Zesiro, "Mikoto get going. I don't quite understand why you are here, but I believe you are doing something important."

"Rught!" shouted Mikoto from his place on the ground, "thunks, Ridley." He started to crawl towards the door that goes downwards.

"Can't you walk!," shouted Zesiro, Mikoto ignored him and kept crawling, "please tell me Sage is going to be alright with him."

"You killt big guy!" shouted Ovid charging at Zesiro again this time with his sword downwards in more of lance-like position. He thrust his sword outwards at Zesiro's chest. Zesiro blocked the blade with this sword pushing it away from him and then ending it with a quick cut to his chest.

"I didn't kill him," said Zesiro, "our big guy is fighting your big guy and if I was going to bet, I'd place one million belies on our guy."

"Un…milloun belfries…yus uwn a lot of churches," said Ovid.

"Not belfries! Belies!" shouted Zesiro back, "I should've taken on the big guy."

(-With Hiro-Shu-)

Hiro-Shu's fist flew outwards and into the large, probably 8 foot man's gut. The man, however, only merely stumbled backwards. He had a cruel smile on his face, "that felt great. Let me return the favour."

The man fired his own punch at Hiro-Shu's face and knocked him over. The man had superhuman strength at the least not only that but he was wearing some kind of iron gauntlet with some kind of jewel embedded into the front, if Hiro-Shu was going to guess he'd say diamond. Other then those gauntlets and the man's size he wasn't very impressive. He was wearing leather pants and a tight leather shirt that showed off his muscles.

Hiro-Shu was surprised at not only this man's superhuman strength and endurance, but also his superhuman bravery. It takes a brave man to wear something like that in public. Hiro-Shu launched another punch square at the man's chin, he did absolutely nothing to stop it. The man was lifted off of the ground and into the air. Hiro-Shu wasn't going to let this prime chance get away from him, he pulled back his arm.

"**Fists of Iron! Golem's Fury!" **shouted Hiro-Shu as he blasted his fist straight into the man's stomach. The man was blown backwards and crashed into the side of the ship, denting it. Hiro-Shu smiled, the fight was over and he could head up top to see how quickly Zesiro had finished his opponent.

Hiro-Shu was shocked out of his victory when the man was back up and firing another punch at him. Hiro-Shu's body quickly became coated in armor. The force of his punch still made Hiro-Shu lose his footing and threw him back some, but the actual force onto Hiro-Shu's body remained at an all time minimum.

Hiro-Shu launched another punch at the man's face, but the man actually caught it and threw it aside. The man brought his fist down and into Hiro-Shu causing him to brieflybe lifted up into the air. The man continued his relentless stream of punches straight into Hiro-Shu each punch with the same devastating power as a cannon. Hiro-Shu needed to turn the tables as fast as possible.

"**First Stage! Golem Brawler!" **said Hiro-Shu, even though he doubted the fact that he would win the fight in this stage. His arms and legs quickly became coated in iron. His body was brought straight down and Hiro-Shu quickly regained his footing. Hiro-Shu smashed his iron encased hand into Ulysses and sent him backwards with the impact. His punches were having results on the man's body as he could see the bruises, but he seemed perfectly content with it. He even had a smile on his face! Was this man just immune to damage?

"The name's Ulysses," said the man, "I don't mind getting hit. I haven't felt any pain from punches for quite some time now, maybe even a decade or two. So, if you want to you can punch me again." He spread his arms open and stepped forward, a smile on his face.

"With pleasure!" said Hiro-Shu, he launched another iron-solid punch at the man with again little reaction. The man just stood there smiling his arms still spread wide open. Hiro-Shu swung around his other arm and aimed for his head with another devastating attack, but again the man didn't react, not even a twitch. As a matter of fact it seemed like his punches were doing less damage then before. Not even a bruise materialized on his head.

"No, the pleasure is all mine," said Ulysses. He reached back and the gems on his gauntlet sparkled in the light as he fired another punch into Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu jumped back and nearly fell into the water behind him. Not much room to maneuver on this small dock, then he weighed too much to fall into the water and worst of all at this point he was even too heavy to move. He was between a rock and hard place.

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro struck out with his sword barely blocking another slice from Ovid's blade. Zesiro leaned with his blade with a clear intent to slice Ovid's stomach in two, but Ovid brought the hilt of his blade straight down and blocked the second sword. Ovid was successfully fending off both of Zesiro's swords simultaneously with only one sword. Zesiro was the one to break off the contact between their blades.

"Dis fight neads mur' sake!" shouted Ovid as he brought his blade down with such power, Zesiro dashed forward and he pumped his blade through Ovid's large belly and kept going. Zesiro smirked as he felt the sheer power behind his cut, now he'd just go out and help Mikoto. Zesiro hit the deck the instant he felt the metal blade dig into his shoulder. He murmured something intelligible as he spun around to see Ovid, giant gut in his belly and all, standing above with his sword drove into the ship beneath him.

"What the? I just drove my blade through you! What's wrong with you?" shouted Zesiro pointing at the large gnash in Ovid.

"Oh, lookie dere," said Ovid just now noticing the cut, "I wus cut!" He was obviously to drunk to feel any real pain.

"Yes, you were!" shouted Zesiro. He felt it, a wave of lightheadedness, now he saw how Mikoto got drunk. "Nice. That sword of yours…the alcohol on it isn't just for show or personal amusement. When you cut me the alcohol on your blade seeped into my wound."

"Thus making yu…ah…whut's the wurd? Drunk!" said Ovid, "drunk, dat's the wurd." He nearly lost his balance and started to tip over.

"I'm going to have fun shredding you," growled Zesiro as he made another run for Ovid. Zesiro braced himself under Ovid and brought both of his swords around and above him. **"Cascading Cuts!" **His two swords unraveled themselves as he brought them and delivered several brilliantly executed cuts into Ovid, nearly all of them hit their mark.

Ovid stumbled back and put his hand on his wound. He started giggling like a school girl, "I am drunk! I din't feel that at all…" He brought his sword out and made a swipe at Zesiro's head. Zesiro leaned back and felt the blade breeze just past his throat. Ovid brought the blade back around and pointed it straight at Zesiro. He lurched forward with his blade and brought it straight into and nearly through Zesiro. Zesiro knocked the blade out of him and looked at the wound. Zesiro's confidence was waning. His swordsmanship was far above Ovid's, but he couldn't read the man's moves easily. Ovid's swordplay was so uneasy and the man's footing only made matters worse. Zesiro was having trouble telling a charge apart from a fall. Not to mention the man's immunity to pain.

Zesiro gripped his two katanas and that was when he noticed it. The man's immunity and even his drunken manner were nothing compared to what Zesiro saw. Both of those advantages mean absolutely nothing to what had happened. The first cut Zesiro dealt, the long one straight through Ovid's body was gone.

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto was standing again. He was walking very, very, very, very, VERY slowly down the stairs using the railing for additional support, and boy did he ever need it. Each step brought him closer to the ground and away from the staircase he was on, hopefully by the time he meets Pimp the liquor in his system will be gone.

Mikoto looked up in this groggy state and saw Sage. He was hoping to be able to beat Pimp up before they got Sage, but oh well! Better late then never, right? He began to run forward when the suddenness hit him. He was still on the staircase and he was still drunk. The sudden reaction from his body caused him to lose his balance and fall the remaining ten steps to the floor. Mikoto howled in pain. He grabbed his shoulder and tried to wrench it back into place, fearing he broke it.

He looked up expecting Sage to be giving him a very disappointed look. Either for being drunk or for letting her get kidnapped, whichever was a bigger inconvenience for her. Instead he saw nothing, just light glowing around him. He wondered what had happened, but then remembered he was drunk. He was just having a messed up dream. Either that or Sage was in a lavender dress with a plate of salmon for him and then she mysteriously disappeared from the golden room and left him all alone in the dark dusty dungeon-like room he was in now.

" I spy a pirate, he is just so irate, his death is his fate, compared to me he's deadweight, cause me and my lyrics are first-rate! " rapped a man in the room. Mikoto cursed himself for nearing passing out again.

**Iron Hiro-Shu Fights Invincible Ulysses!**

**A Heavy Handed Display of Punches!**

With Ovid coming into light I want to thank jcogginsa for creating him and letting me use him. The fights have all come to a climax! Hiro-Shu is facing a man who just doesn't feel pain and his punches are doing less and less damage to him, Ovid apparently ignores the pain in his drunken stupor and by some miracle his wounds are healing, finally Mikoto is so drunk he is hallucinating and met a new opponent. And on a last note, YEAH FOR SNOW DAYS!


	44. Pimp Arc: 44 Iron HiroShu

**Iron Hiro-Shu Fights Invincible Ulysses!**

**A Heavy Handed Display of Punches!**

Hiro-Shu took a deep breath, "**Second Stage! Golem Guard!" **The iron armor he was wearing moved all over his body until it safely encased his chest, stomach, arms, and legs. The armor on his head shifted to form a small iron helmet. He was now wearing armor similar to that of the ancient gladiators.

"**Fists of Iron! Iguko's Hammer!" **Hiro-Shu grasped both of his hands together and swung upwards with frightening power and speed. He felt his arms connect with the man's chin and lift him high off of the ground. Ulysses was thrown into the air and landed safely onto the ground. Hiro-Shu chuckled. There is no way he could survive that blow…at least without a broken jaw.

Ulysses stood back up without a problem. His jaw didn't even have a bruise on it not even one of those comedic bumps on it. He smiled. "That was certainly riveting. I thought I might die. Let me return the favor!" He charged at Hiro-Shu, the gems on his gauntlet pulling off a spectacular light show, "**Demolishing Diamond!" **His entire body shuddered as the punch hammered straight into Hiro-Shu's body and forced him back.

Hiro-Shu felt the cold water lap the backs of his feet. He wished he had more room to maneuver…he also wished his opponent could feel pain, but wishing wasn't doing him any good right now. If pain wasn't working or for that matter brute force, he'd have to try a different approach.

"**Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame!"** Hiro-Shu leaned back and inhaled a lot of air. He then let loose a tremendous blast of fire towards Ulysses. He only had enough time to bring his arms up and block the some of the flames, but he was devoured in the brilliant blasé of red and yellow nonetheless.

Hiro-Shu stopped and caught his breath. He looked up and waited for the smoke to clear. If that didn't stop Ulysses he would be out of techniques that might be able to stop him. Darn it, was the only thing that came to mind as Ulysses stepped out of the fire without a single burn mark on him.

"I wasn't expecting you to be able to do that," said Ulysses, "I am quite amazed at it. Now do you have any other attacks I need to catalogue or will that be it?"

Hiro-Shu was starting to worry. He could always step it up one more stage…no, he couldn't. Iguko had full reign in that state and Iguko would smash anything in sight. If he accidentally sent the ship to the bottom of the sea, Mikoto would easily drown. Not to mention Sage if she was also on the boat. Still he was running out of options.

"No?" asked Ulysses again, "well, then I'd guess this will be it then, won't it?" He sighed as if he was very depressed, "I wasn't really hoping to get wounded in battle at least once. Let's finish this fight where I can find a real opponent? **Stone Smasher!" **He unleashed an uppercut straight up and into Hiro-Shu's chin and sent Hiro-Shu reeling. Hiro-Shu felt nearly the full impact straight into his jaw and he could still feel it. It was a lingering and throbbing pain. Hiro-Shu turned to the side and coughed, blood spilled from his mouth.

"Looks like I'm going to be the next one to see David…if I make it out of here alive," said Hiro-Shu. He could just see the maniacal smile of the brat as he dug his scalpel into his body. That's a very good reason to die, he saw what he did to Enma…maybe David would take it easier on him? Corra said something about being a doctor, didn't she? Maybe she'd take good care of him. The thought of a girl who scurried away at a mere shout treating broken bones and fractured rib cages didn't fill him up with that much confidence either.

He tightened his grip and managed to stand up once again. This form gave him increased defense wherever his iron armor was, but not all of his body was covered in iron armor. If it was he would lose basically all of his mobility and it would a very small feat to just push him into the water. As such his joints (elbows, knees, shoulders, etc) and anything that would need to move a lot such as his mouth and hands were kept either uncovered or with paper thin iron protecting them. His chin as a result was a weak spot in this form.

Hiro-Shu braced himself for a second Iguko's Flame as it at least has some impact on him, why else would he have blocked the strike? Hiro-Shu let loose a second torrent flames at Ulysses. To which the later paid it no mind and continued to approach Hiro-Shu. The flames danced eagerly around him as well as on him, but they didn't have the effect that Hiro-Shu was hoping for. Ulysses pulled both of his arms back until his hands rested at his sides. **"Bejeweled Bash!"** He unleashed both punches at the same time with both of them nailing Hiro-Shu simultaneously. Hiro-Shu wrenched back in pain and used his hands to immediately cover up the wounded areas. It seemed like he was the only one getting hurt in this fight.

"**Fist of Iron! Golem's Fury!" **Hiro-Shu fired his punch straight at the man. The sturdy iron slammed into him forcing him back a few feet. Ulysses' hand scrambled to the area to find a big black bruise occupying the area. He touched it gingerly at first, then he covered it up completely.

It took him a few seconds to recover from the blow and the fact he was wounded so heavily. As soon as he did, however, he immediately glared at Hiro-Shu, "you've been holding out on me? That punch had to have twice the impact as the previous ones…if you would've used that strength from the get go you may have broken my ribs." He paused for a few seconds to completely regain his composure, "I want more." Ulysses backhanded Hiro-Shu making sure only the diamonds made contact with Hiro-Shu's cheek. Hiro-Shu stumbled back, but he still managed to hold his ground for the most part.

"You dared to disrespect me?" said Ulysses, "you dared to hit me with only half your strength! OR was it only a third? I challenged you with all more power being used, yet, you hold back on me! Have you no honor!" Ulysses busted straight into Hiro-Shu landing explosive punch after punch. Ulysses was probably only one half as strong as Hiro-Shu was and his punches were having little to no result on the iron gladiator, but after a couple hundred of them Hiro-Shu was starting to feel the pain. His armor was probably cracking from the repetitive blows.

"**Forger's Fire! Shiba's Knuckles!" **commanded Hiro-Shu. He breathed fire straight out of his mouth and onto his hands. He launched his iron hard and blazing fist straight at Ulysses and he felt it connect. He saw Ulysses reel back as he delivered a second punch straight upwards. One more punch sent Ulysses flying back and into a nearby ship breaking a hole into its side. It wasn't the Pimp's ship so Mikoto was still safe, but the same couldn't be said for Ulysses who was probably black, blue, and burnt from his punches, not to mention drowning at this very second. Hiro-Shu wanted to jump in after him and haul him up, but he would drown right after him. Not a good idea, he turned to go back up when someone started to say something.

"Leaving before our fight is finished?" said Ulysses as he hauled himself onto the land. He was still smiling even through his bruised face. "I still haven't repaid your last favor." Hiro-Shu grumbled something intelligible, the fight wasn't over with yet.

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro's eyes remained locked on the cut piece of fabric, but the untouched area of skin. Zesiro took in a deep breath, he must be hallucinating from the large amount of alcohol after all the air was very heavy with it. Enma who was still in half-dead sedated state could probably smell it. Zesiro opened his eyes only to be met with reality, the wound was gone. By some miracle his wound had healed itself…what could of done that?

He had to stop searching for his answer as Ovid had started another attack, he shuffled towards Zesiro with his blade high in the air swinging. Alcohol splattered from it and onto the ground. As Zesiro blocked the blade he noticed it was still covered with alcohol. How? He was spinning it and he had to have splattered at least half gallon onto the ground and the rest of it was in the air. He hadn't dunked it back into his bottle for twenty minutes.

His blade had somehow been refilling his alcohol supply without any conscious thought from its wielder. No, that wasn't it. Zesiro blocked another onslaught of slices as he barely brought his blades up to protect himself. Ovid may be drunk, but he has retained something. His swordsmanship. The man knew exactly how to press Zesiro's weak points and he capitalized on those. It wasn't instincts nor was it muscle memory, neither of those two would adapt at the speed Ovid was and be 100% accurate with every adaptation.

Zesiro shoved away a sweeping blow from Ovid and knocked it to the side. Ovid took this opportunity to lunge with his blade extended and made a clear and malicious attempt at Zesiro's heart. Zesiro fell to the ground to avoid the blow and lifted his blades to block the inevitable downwards slash Ovid would make. Ovid brought his sword straight down as Zesiro predicted and the loud clash of metal against metal could be heard.

Zesiro rolled to his side and stood up and took his opponent in once more. His uneven footsteps and the awkward way he held his blade all added up to one single thing, the man was drunk. But if you added that in to his mastery of his sword, he had to be sober and pretending to be drunk. Or maybe he was something in between? Not quite drunk, but facing the first steps of drunkenness. He blocked another slash. No. The first thing that made Zesiro take in the man's state was his blade. Zesiro had to focus on the blade not on the wielder. How was it still getting this constant and the nonstop surge of alcohol? And more importantly how could he stop it? Zesiro focused intently on the blade. Maybe its center was hollow and held alcohol?

Zesiro charged at Ovid and made a rapid cut with his left and a direct lunge with his right. Ovid twisted his blade in a circular pattern pushing both of Zesiro's blades away in opposite directions. Ovid leaned in and delivered a direct cut straight from the left side of Zesiro's stomach all the way up to his right shoulder. He stumbled back, but the wound wasn't what was making Zesiro upset. He was wrong. He could tell by the way the blades collided how dense his opponent's blade was. It was too dense to have a hollow center. That struck out his only guess.

His eyes trained at the handle next. The tip was too thin to have anything special going on with it, and he just ruled the blade out, so the handle was the only option. No…not the handle. The hand was what kept the blade alcohol infused. The hand was morphed into a light liquid, almost transparent and the liquid flowed all the way up and around the blade. This man was made of alcohol.

"You ate a Devil Fruit?" inquired Zesiro having trouble just breathing at this point from his numerous wounds.

"Whut makes you say dat?" asked Ovid in his usual drunken manner. He put his sword down and his hand returned to its regular flesh form.

"Your hand was made of alcohol," said Zesiro. The pieces started to slide together the more Zesiro thought about it. The fact that the man had been drunk for such an extended period of time, the way his wound healed over, the nonstop supply of alcohol to his blade…even his coordination with his blade in this state.

"Yu must be drunk!" shouted Ovid, "me hand's not made alcohol!" He lifted his hand up to show Zesiro. He then grabbed his belly, "me stomach…maybe. Me hand, no!"

"Not just any Devil Fruit," said Zesiro ignoring the ramblings of the drunken swordsman, "a logia-type Devil Fruit…one that controls alcohol. A Logia-Type Devil Fruit user can heal their own wounds, like you did. You can also probably increase your own blood alcohol level allowing you to stay drunk for a long period of time, finally you force alcohol up and around your sword to help you fight!"

Ovid smiled. His eyes brightened up and became defogged. His stance straightened up and his awkward, if not plain goofy grip on his sword, became much more professional. "You found out me secret, eh? Yeah, I ate the Sake-Sake no mi. I can create, control, and become alcohol. I can heal me wounds by applying alcohol to them and best of all I can add alcohol straight into me body. Effectively raising my blood alcohol level, however, I can also decrease it any given time as well. So I can be sober," his stance suddenly shifted to his previous immoral and embarrassing state he was a few minutes ago, "or me can *hic* be drunk!"

**

* * *

**

**From Bad to Worse!**

**The Doctor's make a House Call!**

Hello, gracious readers! You are all probably wondering what this chapter is doing up so early, right? Yeah, I'm right. I'm always right. Well, not only did the snow day put me ahead of schedule (ten inches, yeah, and guess who had to shovel it!), but I also did some math. I want to do two more arcs before the crew enters the Grand Line. At ten chapters an arc (my usual) and a chapter a week. It would take twenty weeks (five months) to get to the Grand Line, if I don't slack off. So, I'm planning on putting this story into fast-forward! I hope to do three chapters every two weeks (but that probably won't happen)! Yeah for you! Also the doctors make a return! I got to give them more screen time, don't I? I want to make this contest the hardest thing for you guys possible! Aren't I evil?


	45. Pimp Arc: 45 From Bad to Worse

**From Bad to Worse!**

**The Doctor's make a House Call!**

"I'm surprised you are back up after my last hit," said Hiro-Shu as he prepared to exchange a few more punches with Ulysses despite his worn down strength.

"You shouldn't be," said Ulysses as he wiped some of the water off his shoulder. "I'm really not going to go down after a few exchanges with you, especially not when you are finally fighting at your best!" Ulysses charged at Hiro-Shu and launched a quick fist straight into him. Hiro-Shu stumbled back from the blow, Ulysses didn't give him enough time to recover before he threw another punch at Hiro-Shu injuring him further.

"Crap," said Hiro-Shu, "I really don't have many options left…**Forger's Flame…"** Another blow from Ulysses stopped Hiro-Shu's attack mid-blast.

"The same attacks over and over again," said Ulysses, "no originality…or strength for that matter." He twisted around, **"Diamond Destruction!" **He unraveled himself, sending his fist spinning into Hiro-Shu's chest knocking the wind straight out of him.

"Now…for the finishing blow," said Ulysses preparing his fist for another attack. He pulled his arm all the way back behind for the wind-up. "**Diamond! Destruction!" **He lurched forward, but his arm stayed behind him. His fist was wound carefully up in a long iron chain. Despite his bewilderment he followed the chain to the end. He spotted a little eight-year-old boy sitting on the nearby boat with the other end of the chain tied up to the mast of the ship.

"I appreciate you givin' me more business and all, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to stop you there," said David as he untied his chain and pulled it off of the Ulysses' arm.

"Nice to meet ya," said Ulysses, "Name's Ulysses and as you can see I'm in the middle of things."

"Good," said David, "Its always polite to give your name to your opponent." David didn't say anything else after that.

"What's your name then?" asked Ulysses.

"My name?" David tapped his chin with his finger. "Doesn't matter," he replied with a shrug. "What does matter is the girl standing a few feet away on your left."

Ulysses turned his head to see a young girl in a purple one shoulder shirt. She had a slingshot with a small pebble loaded into it aimed at him. "Who are you?"

"The name's Corra," said Corra, "I ate the Tsuchi-Tsuchi no mi (Earth-Earth Fruit). Pleased to meet you." She fired the pebble from her slingshot at him. Ulysses paid it no mind and turned his attention back to David. A large head-sized boulder came crashing into his head as the result.

"What?" shouted Ulysses as he turned his attention to the girl again to see where the boulder came from.

"She said she ate the Tsuchi-Tsuchi no mi, didn't she?" asked David. "The Tsuchi-Tsuchi no mi allows the user to control, create, and become earth, a Logia-Type Devil Fruit. With it she can also drastically change the size of any projectiles she shoots from her slingshot. A pebble becomes a head-sized boulder for example."

"You are so afraid to fight me you are going to use a girl who manipulates Earth to do it instead?" laughed Ulysses, "how pathetic." He turned his attention to Hiro-Shu, "stay put. I'll be done in a few minutes."

"Afraid we can't give you a few minutes of our time," said David as he started to spin the chain around, "when you are a doctor minutes save lives. So, I'm afraid you'll be beaten very quickly."

"Me? Beaten?" said Ulysses, "I'd like to see you try!"

"Not try," said Corra as she loaded another pebble into her slingshot, "we will beat you." She fired it out this time the pebble didn't grow it instead became a long lean narrow needle flying at high speeds at Ulysses. Ulysses swatted it away using his iron gauntlet.

"Come on…the last one caught me off a guard," said Ulysses, "I won't let that happen a second time. Ordinarily I find it insulting to beat the crap out of women and children, where's the fun in it? But I guess I'll make an exception for you too."

Corra gritted her teeth upset that her shot had no effect, David on the other hand appeared to be more upset.

"Child?" asked David, "did you just refer to me as a child! I'll have you know I'm David H. Dreems! The best thirteen year-old doctor the world has ever known! Not only that, but like our friend over there I ate an akuma no mi as well!"

"Really?" said Ulysses, "things are getting interesting! Why don't you both come at me at the same time? Use the power you guys purchased with your ability to swim! Quite a fair trade!"

"First off, let me give you the rundown of my powers," said David, "I mean I want this fight to last as long as possible…I want to see you in pain for awhile at least. So, I'll you a handicap to make this fight more interesting. I ate the Nemu-Nemu no mi (Sleep-Sleep Fruit). I produce pink powder and with it I can force anyone into a coma-like stupor."

"Nice," said Ulysses prepping himself for another attack from the two doctors, "come on, I think its naptime for you."

"I'm thirteen!" shouted David, "**Nightmare Stream!" **A long river of pink dust flowed from David's hand and towards Ulysses. He stood still and welcomed the dust as it collided with his body and flowed upwards into his nostrils. _"Yes! I thought I'd be in trouble as I already used half of my powder up, but it looks like he'll be asleep before I know it!"_

Corra took careful aim with her slingshot and lined it up with Ulysses. "Go!" she shouted as she fired another pebble out at him. This time it manipulated itself into a spinning flat disk that was aimed straight for Ulysses' head. It conked him good upside the head, but he still didn't seem fazed.

Ulysses yawned. "That it?" he mocked, "can't you do anything right? If you would've sharpened it down to an edge you could've taken my head off. So why didn't you? Too weak to do it? Too pathetic? Or do you really value human life so much that you can't stand taking it? I've fought a million people like you…and I've killed every single one of them!"

Corra fell to the ground. "I…I…I can do it!" she said, "I…I can kill…if I have to…" she started to cry.

David remained focused on Ulysses. "That's just not fair."

"What?" said Ulysses, "its not my fault she can't handle criticism."

"Not that!" said David, "I could care less about her ego! I mean its not fair that you are not in pain!"

"What?"

"Its my job to heal wounds, not to heal egos. Until that girl has a broken arm I couldn't care less about her, but you! You just get hit in the head with a plate of solid rock! You should be rolling in pain right now! Where's the entertainment value! I want to see pain!" A wicked smile cracked onto David's face, "and I want to see it now!" He launched a frenzy of wild slashes with his chain at the air.

Ulysses stood there accepting the numerous whip lashes that were aimed at him. He didn't even flinch under the barrage. "Want to me scream in pain? Or would you prefer it if I just flinched?"

"Don't play coy with me!" shouted David as he launched another onslaught of slices with his chain, "I know you can feel it! So show it to me!"

Ulysses chuckled and grabbed onto the chain with one hand. He yanked forward pulling both the chain and the wielder closer to him, "you want pain? Here's your pain!" He fired a punch using his other hand straight at David, when the punch connected David's hand released his chain and he was sent flying. He made contact with the cement. He coughed up blood.

"Now where's my payment?" asked Ulysses, "I gave you the pain you wanted, so I expect to be completely reimbursed…give me what I want!"

"You can expect to be given all the pain you gave him plus interest!" shouted Corra as she fired another pebble at Ulysses. This pebble slowly morphed into drill head and spun straight at Ulysses. He swatted it away with little effort. His eyes widened as he saw another shower of stones flying straight at him. "Did you forget? I can create and control stones. Making multiples copies of one projectiles and firing them all at you simultaneously is a little problem for me."

"I see," said Ulysses he spat to his left, "got anything stronger on you? Or is a rock shower the best you can manage? You ate the Tsuchi-Tsuchi no mi, didn't you? Hit me with your best shot then!" He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Corra bit her lip taken back by the man's imperviousness. She only focused on this one technique she figured it would be better if she completely mastered this one technique instead of only semi-mastering a lot of techniques. Still, she couldn't let herself become distracted…she had to keep her head up and meet her brother one day! She pulled her slingshot up and took careful aim.

"I ain't letting you fire another weak technique on me!" shouted Ulysses as he charged off at Corra the gems in his gauntlet preparing for a second strike. He was a few feet closer when he was forced to stop cold. Something was tugging at his arm. He looked at his arm only to find the chain he had earlier stolen from David was now wrapped and tied firmly around his fist and the other end instead of being attached to David was now attached to the iron golem he had knocked out earlier.

"Give him what he wants!" shouted David, "hit him with your best shot!"

"Right!" shouted Corra, "eat dirt, jerk!" She released her slingshot firing one single pebble that split up into at least ten separate fist-sized missiles all flying towards Ulysses. He grunted with the impact and was thrown downwards and nearly to the end of the dock.

"Now, allow the mad doctor to takes over!" shouted David he grabbed his chain again and yanked pulling Ulysses closer over to him, "**Dreamcatcher!" **Ulysses stumbled over to the pint-sized doctor, "and to follow that up, **Dreamer's Gateway!" **A large cloud of pink powder exploded from David's body enveloping him, Hiro-Shu, and Ulysses with a few puffs getting to Corra. The cloud settled very quickly after that, Hiro-Shu was on the ground sound asleep. Ulysses was still standing but he was barely awake and he was stumbling over himself about to fall over.

"I'll finish this!" shouted Corra, "I'm going to take you out!" She pulled back onto her slingshot and loaded another pebble. "FIRE!" The pebble blasted towards Ulysses changing into a very large watermelon sized projectile. It slammed into Ulysses with enough force to blow him back and into the water. Corra fell to the ground, yawned, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

David stood there for a second and watched Ulysses float back up to the surface asleep. "I won't be much help to the rest of the crew," he said as he was out of his dream powder. His eyes flashed over to Ulysses, "now let's dissect you and see what made you so tough."

(-With Zesiro-)

Ovid smiled. He pulled a match out of his pocket. "I admire the fact that you were able to beat me, but you missed out on one small detail. Whenever our blades clashed they created friction. This friction super heated my alcoholic body and made a cloud of sake that now surrounds you. So, if you add fire to the air around you," he said as he struck the match. "The result is explosive." He tossed the match gingerly over to Zesiro. The flame entered an area and it immediately exploded into flames.

"My secret of eating a Devil Fruit will remain a secret," said Ovid as he walked out to go downstairs, "now to deal with that poor excuse of a captain."

"Really," said a voice, "and here I thought me and you could fight for awhile…leave the captain to do his business and all." Ovid looked at the source of the voice, it was a young man with tattoos of gears and cogs decorating his arm.

**The Dangerous Doctor, the White Devil**

Well, for those of you who wanted to see the doctors there you go! Corra's Devil Fruit power is the kick-butt Tsuchi-Tsuchi no mi, however, she's not very well versed in the wide abilities it provides her so she's got no real skills with it. David ate the Nemu-Nemu no mi. A Devil Fruit that produces a pink sleeping powder that puts anyone in contact with it asleep (but he only haves a limited amount of it and the stronger the opponent the more it takes). Speaking of Devil Fruit users what happened to the two we know and love, Sage and Mikoto? Find out next time (maybe) on the 'Sage of the Infinity Pirates!'


	46. Pimp Arc: 46 The Dangerous Doctor

**The Dangerous Doctor, the White Devil**

Enma smiled at Ovid and extended a hand, "the name's Trafalger Enma, pleased to make your acquaintance." He picked up Zesiro and moved him over to the nearby railing and sat him up.

Ovid looked at the hand as if it was that of an alien, "yeah, back at you. Call me Ovid."

"I hate to interrupt, but that Fishman is a friend of a friend of mine, so I'd be pleased if you stopped fighting and let us pass," said Enma in a very calm voice.

"Sorry, no can do, boss's orders," said Ovid as he glared at Enma anticipating an attack.

"I understand that," said Enma he turned around and walked a few feet away before he returned his attention to Ovid, "however, I hope you also understand that this means we are going to have to fight."

"My thoughts exactly," said Ovid as he brandished his sword, "let's dance." He made a wide swing with his sword, which Enma merely ducked underneath and let it graze the air above him.

"Sorry," said Enma again as he stood up and moved back a few more feet. He opened his hand wide with his fingers splayed out. "I should tell you that I watched your previous fight with him and I know your moves, so to balance things out let me show you what I can do." A white sliver started to emerge of Enma's open hand. It continued to grow out of it until it resembled a four-foot long spear. Enma clutched it. "I ate the Hone-Hone no mi. I can sprout bones from any part of my body; however, once a bone has exited my body I cannot their shape any more. So this spear of mine will remain a spear for infinity."

"Intriguing," said Ovid as his eyes glazed over and his foot started to sink and lose balance, "bery, bery, interbresting!" Ovid had entered his drunken stupor once more and was starting to lose his earlier charisma.

"I'd rather not have a bar brawl, they are very disgraceful," said Enma, "can't you make yourself seem more presentable while you fight?" Regardless of his comments he entered a battle stance with his spear aimed at Ovid.

"Yur speer needs more sake!" said Ovid as he charged off at Enma and brought his blade down with frightening power. Enma ignored Ovid's blade and instead made for a straight-line jab with his spear into Ovid's body. Enma's spear tore through Ovid's gut and passed straight through just as Ovid's blade cut into Enma's shoulder. The two both looked confident as they pulled away from each other.

Enma smiled, "I apologize, but you seem misinformed about my skills. My Hone-Hone no mi also increases the defense capabilities I possess. The bone lying underneath my skill is now nearly as indestructible as steel itself."

"Yus da one thut ees misin…misin…something. My body is composed of alcohol so in udder wurds I can heal meself using alcohol," said Ovid as his body started to drip alcohol and slowly come back together. "Now du yus stell think of me as misinformed?"

"Very," replied Enma as he pushed his spear back into his body where it slowly disappeared. A smile spread across his face and he flung his hand out at Ovid. From the top of his each of his fingers a small one-inch needle shot out of it and flew towards Ovid. Each needle buried itself within Ovid's rotund body.

"Yus du nut understund me, dos yus?" said Ovid as he started to pull each needle out. As soon as a needle left his body his skin melded back over the hole healing it completely. "No weapun can harm me, be it bigs or smalls."

Enma chuckled. "Weapon?" said Enma, "they are just bones. You have over two hundred of them in your body. A centipede has a lot more then that in them, though." A large bone jutted out of Enma's body it had two menacingly large pincers at the front. That bone was connected to another and another over and over again until a large serpent-like bone structure had emerged from Enma's body.

It started to bend and swirl as the front of it launched itself at Ovid. Ovid blocked the bones with his blade and was pushed backwards from the force of the bone. After skidding a couple of feet Ovid caught himself and got a grip on the deck of the ship. He pushed back with all of his might forcing the large bone centipede off of him and away. He made a single swing slicing the bone centipede straight into two.

"Poor execution," said Ovid as his eyes were brightening up, "apparently fighting you drunk would be a grave miscalculation."

"Go ahead and fight me drunk," replied Enma with a smirk, "you are going to lose me to sober, too."

"Let's test that theory," said Ovid as he made another swing with his blade. Enma didn't dodge and let the blade hit him squarely in the shoulder, Enma made a fake punch at Ovid sending out a series of small bone needles each of which pierced Ovid's body squarely and dragged themselves through his body.

Ovid chuckled and several of the bone needles dropped to the floor. Enma stood there intently studying the number of needles that fell to the ground. When Ovid's body started to heal over, Enma smiled, "I know how to defeat you now." He stuck his hand out and his large bone spear started to reform. He swung it around to test its weight and then braced himself for battle.

"Defeat me?" laughed Ovid, "you sure are a cocky one!" He brought his blade down and smashed it into the deck cutting up a large gnash into the board. He lifted his head up at Enma who had barely managed to jump back to avoid the blow. Ovid opened his mouth and spewed alcohol at Enma covering him in the stinky drink.

Enma turned his noise up at it, "I really hope this comes from your Devil Fruit and not your stomach."

"A little bit of both," said Ovid as he brought his blade straight up slicing a large mark from Enma's waist to his neck. Enma howled in pain and leapt back grasping the wound. He barely managed to perceive the next blow from Ovid being a lunge attack. A bone protruded from Enma's body and covered his stomach protecting him from the dangerous and powerful blow.

Enma jumped back. He was starting to feel lightheaded, he knew he couldn't postpone the drunkenness for long and he had to think of a way to speed his plan up. He had to make him bleed more, get his blood worked up along with his heart. It was his best bet to kill a man who can't be hurt.

Enma made another lunge with his spear. Ovid stood still and let the blade pierce him; Ovid chuckled as he brought his blade down with frightening speed something he would've been unable to do if he was still drunk. The blade buried itself into Enma's arm and with the power and speed behind a normal man's arm would've been cut off. Enma was lucky his Devil Fruit hardened his bone. Enma broke his spear up in Ovid's body watching the ivory shards fall to the ground in both the front and the back. Ovid chucked and reached into him and pulled large mass of bone out of his body.

Enma looked down at his arm as bone slid up and over the hole, "got to staunch the bleeding. If it would've persisted I might have bled out and died. Where's the fun in that?"

"You got me!" shouted Ovid as he made another swing with his blade. Enma swung the remained of his bone spear at the blade stopping it could in its tracks. Ovid reached the blade up and brought it down again and again determined to smash Enma's spear to bits, however, his increased rate of attacks only left small scratches around it.

"Keep trying one of these days your worthless efforts might actually dent it," said Enma, "But let me get you a new target to swing at." Enma created a third bone spear from his hand and dropped the old one onto the ground. He lunged forward with his spear making a dive for Ovid's throat. Ovid blocked the spear with the tip of his blade swatting it away to the side. Ovid leaned in and did a concise cut straight to Enma's chest. Enma leaned back.

Enma backed off and pulled a pill out of his pocket and put it into his mouth. "Sorry about that. I was just feeling drunk so I decided to take some carbon created from burnt toast and other burnt materials. Carbon bonds with alcohol soothing any such feeling of drunkenness or for that matter hangovers. Would you like some?"

Ovid gritted his teeth as his idea of getting his opponent drunk shattered. "No, thanks. I'll just take your head off instead. Ovid made a clean and visible stroke with his blade aiming to take Enma's head with the blow, but Enma dodged at the last second letting the blade graze over him. Ovid stopped for a second and didn't follow up his slash with another, instead he stumbled backwards. He grabbed at the hole that the bone spear had created and that he had healed.

"Let me guess you are currently experiencing fatigue, lack of breath, and for that matter a shooting pain near your heart?" asked Enma. Ovid only managed a barely noticeable nod. "See what you are experiencing is my numerous bones that have shattered in your body from my bone needles and my bone spear spreading around and traveling through your bloodstream. These bone shards either block your blood flow resulting in a lack of oxygenated blood and that results in fatigue or they find nice places to poke through your bloodstream and tear it up."

"I can heal myself, did you forget?" asked Ovid, "a small wound. It will take nothing to heal."

"A small wound, yes," said Enma smiling to himself. "You could heal any SMALL wound in a matter of milliseconds. This wound is a microscopic wound located near vital organs. A mistake around that area could result in a much more cataclysmic and for that matter fatal injury. So, what do you say? A rush job would kill you, however, if you take your time you could heal yourself one hundred percent. But I fear that would take an hour to two hours tops."

"I'm not letting you pass!" shouted Ovid. His entire body sloshed into alcohol and the bones started to clatter to the ground.

Enma chuckled, "did you know?" asked Enma as he struck a match. "Alcohol burns?" There was large explosion as the Ovid's entire body was lit into a giant bonfire. Enma turned away and clasped his hands together, "Death Lord please guide this soul to the lowest level of Hell, and make them suffer eternal damnation, Amen."

"You killed him?" said Zesiro shocked as he started to regain his clear thinking.

"No," said Enma, "he ate a logia type Devil Fruit. As much as I would like to think that blow killed him. I doubt it. He just won't show up again, he may have had both brawn and strategy, but my skills and intelligence smash them both."

"Were you serious about the whole body problems you gave him?" asked Zesiro.

"Yes," said Enma, "I'm a doctor. I don't joke about diseases."

"Fine, then doctor," said Zesiro, "come over here and fix me up. My nakama is going to be in deep trouble if I can't help him."

"Who? The Kid Coyote?" asked Enma, "you know as well as I do that fool ain't going to die against these freaks."

"Not him," said Zesiro, "Sage. Mikoto is drunk right now…he runs on pure instinct…he ate a carnivorous Zoan-Type Devil Fruit. If he fights he'll act like a drunken animal, I don't want Sage to be around that."

Enma sighed and agreed with Zesiro and immediately started to fix him up.

**The Missing Note! The Song of the Infinity Pirates Play!**

Mikoto and Sage are going to be reappearing soon! Yah! Maybe…nah, I don't want to spoil the surprises. So, keep reading! And don't forget to review!

Well, guys some good news, some bad news (sort of), and then a question. I had this weekend off and I decided to go back and re-edit some of the old chapters (Namely one through four, yeah! They'll be up soon). However, I realized I hated how I started this story off. So, I t got me thinking about starting a new One Piece OC fanfic, one with a good beginning. But this story has gotten pretty far along and if I try to write a new story, I don't know how much time I could devote to both this one and that one. So what do my fans (yes, you are considered my fans in my book) think, should I?


	47. Pimp Arc: 47 The Missing Note

**The Missing Note! The Song of the Infinity Pirates Play!**

"Git out of me way!" shouted Mikoto sweeping his hand signaling for the man to move out of his way, "all three of ya!"

" I think you must be mistaken. You really are my chagrin. My boss is sleeping in, so let our fight begin " shouted the man in his usually rap-like style.

"Are yus nutz?" said Mikoto, "I can't understand a wurd that you are sayin'."

"Hhmmm!" said the man with an unsatisfactory grunt, "let me introduce myself to you and your pop! My music and me aren't no flop! Me and my crew we evaded many a cop! My name is the one, the only, HIP-HOP!"

"Well, sip-sop," said Mikoto with a slur, "get out of my way or…or…" Mikoto grabbed his stomach as he started to feel nauseous. He could feel his lunch coming up. Great…Sage's cooking tasted great the first time, the second time…not so much.

"Dislike my rap, do you? The sound waves create a lot of noise that they do. They disrupt hearing and make people puke, too!" shouted Hip-Hop keeping up with his usually ranting.

Mikoto crashed to the floor. Vertigo, nausea, loud noise. It reminds him of Ridley, crap, he's going to pass out with that traitor in his mind…what a way to go. As a matter of fact the music sounds kind of like his. Not the rapping beat at all, but the underlying music…it was subtle but it was there. Mikoto's dog-like ears could pick it up…even under the trash of Hip-Hop's music.

"What's with the awful racket?" said a voice as he came in through the window and landed on the ground. A guitar was strapped to his back and a green Mohawk sat on top of his head. "I came here following a mutt. And yet the only thing I hear is a drowning cat."

"A party crasher with a green Mohawk!" shouted Hip-Hop jumping back with surprise, "people may look at you and gawk, but to me you look all walk with no talk!"

"Talking?" asked Ridley with a smile, "I don't like talking, not by far. I joined a pirate crew to become a star. We are here to set the bar, and to be honest you just aren't on par."

"Keep talking me down and you will see," shouted Hip-Hop, "just how frightful I can be! Just wait until after a few rounds with me! Then you'll see, you'll be forced to agree!"

"Keep talking you big ol' wind bag," said Ridley as he bent down next to Mikoto, "I've got a friend here who took your crew on stag. Besides I don't like to go on and brag, but you seem like a total drag."

"The rhyming thing is my shtick," said Hip-Hop with increased fury, "so, sit back with your guitar pick. Cause its your ass I'm about to kick!"

"Sorry, man," said Ridley as he picked Mikoto up and gave him a leg to stand on, "I just need to know something." He turned his attention to Mikoto, "Why are we here?"

"Are you back on the crew?" asked Mikoto as he tried to slump back down onto the floor in a drunken state.

"Ask the crew if they'll have me back," said Ridley, "my answer will be their answer."

"What?" asked Mikoto, "I can't handle…much. I'm drunk."

"I can see," said Ridley as he tapped his chin, "tell you what. I'll say yes now, and no when you ask me again, okay?"

"Sure!" said Mikoto, "but didn't your father poison you…aren't you going to die? Why did you come back?"

"Can we leave the important business talk for a time when we aren't facing down an enemy…or when you are not drunk? Just tell me why am I going to fight this fool."

"Sure!" said Mikoto, "glad to have you back. These creeps took Sage…I think. I don't know…for sure. I think they did."

"You think?" asked Ridley as he sighed and hung his head, "I got into a fight because a drunken idiot THINKS something. Fine. I'll take this fool; I'll join up with you in ten minutes when I kick this guy's butt. We'll find out if they really did take Sage."

"Sage?" asked Hip-Hop, "the young girl about 17 of age? We took off of the main stage, locked her up in steel cage, and threw her backstage." He said pointing over his shoulder and at the door leading to the stairs behind him.

Ridley smiled. "That's all the motivation, I need. Get going, demi-dog." He pushed Mikoto forward, Mikoto broke out into the fastest pace a drunken man can run. Hip-Hop watched Mikoto walk past him and down the stairs. "Thanks for letting him past," said Ridley as he pulled his guitar off of his back, "I appreciate your kindness."

"I don't like to fight drunken men," said Hip-Hop, "its like picking on helpless citizens. There's just ain't any fun."

"Amen," said Ridley, "you want the first note in our battle song? Or should I start us off?"

"I always said ladies first," said Hip-Hop, "so, come on, bring your worst!"

"Might as well, after all my worst is still better then you!" shouted Ridley, "let's start this swan song of yours off on a high note! **100 Decibels!"** Ridley started to play an advance chord of music on his guitar at a very high pitch. The music blasted through the room and slammed into Hip-Hop causing him to be taken back a bit.

Hip-Hop pulled a microphone out of his pocket. He had two large speakers posted to his back. The microphone had long wire that went around and attached to both of them. "My swan song he said! I'm a little afraid that he's got a big head! I'm going to have to put you to bed!" His voice was amplified through the speakers creating a devastating effect of sound that knocked Ridley back. The sound waves were tearing the wood in the room straight off of the floor and the walls.

"Nice sound you got," said Ridley as he continued to play his song through on his guitar, "I'm afraid I might get drowned out, so what do you say if I crank it up a bit! **150 Decibels!" **Ridley cranked his guitar up to the next level and kept playing with an increased vigor.

"Do whatever you want! Go for a run, take a jaunt! You can't beat me, I'm a musical savant!" shouted Hip-Hop into his microphone sending another blast of sound out and careening towards Ridley.

"Try again!" shouted Ridley, "your crap, I mean rap, doesn't even hold a candle to my inferno of artistic vision! **Ballad Melodic Lance!" **A ball of pure focused sound started to form in front of Ridley from his intense playing bouncing off of the walls and reconnecting in one place. With one final strum of his guitar he sent the blast of the pure noise out at Hip-Hop.

Hip-Hop crumpled under the attack and coughed up some blood. "Nice…try. I spent years subjecting myself to my own music at the highest volume to the point an average person's brain would fry! I built up an immunity to it, so now you will die!" He started to do some scat into his microphone which only lead to the further destruction of the room.

"Listening to your music for years…that must've been pure torture," said Ridley with a slight chuckle. "Too bad for you, my artistic ability far outweighs the ability of your pathetic noise making." Ridley continued to play on his guitar trying to find a sound opening in his opponent's defense. As the fight dragged on he started to doubt more and more that he would be able to join up with Mikoto in ten minutes.

"Noise making! Boy, does that sting! You ain't no king of the sing! I'll show you something!" Hip-Hop screamed into his microphone, loud enough that when it was amplified by his speakers that they started to blow the wood on the floor straight off and flung them off at Ridley.

"Stand back and let me take a swing!" said Ridley as he swung his guitar out and at the boards breaking multiple ones in two. One of the boards bypassed his swing and dug one of the nails that were sticking out straight into his left cheek, drawing blood. Ridley cursed and grabbed his cheek, "Its only just a ding."

"There you go, stealing my thing," said Hip-Hip in his usual uproar, "this attack will make your head ring! Here's my music, but just a sampling!" His music blared back over his speakers making the room a dangerous place filled with multiple incoherent sayings and songs blasting around at high speeds. Ridley ignored the noise and charged straight for Hip-Hop.

"The closer you get, the louder the noise that I emit!" shouted Hip-Hop, "but there's no need to fret, this fight ain't over with yet!"

"Wanna bet!" asked Ridley as he swung his guitar aiming straight for Hip-Hop's head. His guitar smashed straight into the man's black glasses, breaking them and shattering the plastic into multiple tiny shards. Hip-Hop was thrown backwards and skidded a few feet across the floor. He only stopped when his head bumped into the wall. "See ya, but I gotta jet!" Ridley turned around and was about to bolt down the same stairs Mikoto disappeared around when the music started to play again.

"Whadda I say about stealin' my shtick?" said Hip-Hop standing up again, "You and your songs make me sick! So, I'm going to make this quick! You may think you are real slick, but you ain't going to save that chick. You are a real dipstick."

"That skull of yours is really thick," said Ridley with a smirk.

"Its harder then even brick," said Hip-Hop returning the smile.

"I'm going to make sure this clicks," said Ridley as he started to pace around the room, "that girl down there, that 'chick', is OUR crew's first-pick. If you wanna stand in our way and be a prick, go ahead you rapping hick, because your butt's the one that's about to get kicked."

"That was a little overdone," said Hip-Hop following Ridley with his eyes,, "you just went ahead and ruined my fun. Because guess what bro, I am number one! No one, and I mean none, is going to walk away from me and say 'I won'!" He ended up starting to follow Ridley around with their eyes locked.

"You little son o' a gun!" said Ridley with a chuckle, "You got me! Boy, was I stunned. I should just pack my bags and run. Leave here while I'm alive, see the sun, marry a nun, call her hun, eat an onion bun, have a son, and most importantly, play a ton!"

"You are a funny guy," said Hip-Hop, "beating you will make me cry, but I'll still leave you high and dry. I guess what I'm trying to imply is that you are going to die. Come on now let me hear your reply, or are you just to shy?"

"Naw, I just got something in my eye," said Ridley, "but tell you what I'll try. I'm not just going to comply, I'm going to work my hardest and defy. That's just how I get by. I love to be in the sun and just lie, looking up watching the clouds in the deep blue sky. But other then that only other thing I can say is…" Hip-Hop took one more step to follow Ridley and felt nothing beneath his feet. He fell straight the hole their loud and constant music created by ripping the floorboards straight up and landed onto the next floor, one whole story beneath them. "Goodbye!" The sound of the impact could be heard from even outside the ship. Hip-Hop's body slumped as he fell unconscious.

Ridley spun his guitar around once more and strapped it to his back, "that was way too easy." He looked around to find the stairs that would lead him to the same room Mikoto was in and found it blocked by an unbelievably huge gorge in the floor. "Crap…I wanted to see Sage's face when she finds out I'm back. She'll probably burst into tears and smile, after all I always was her favorite!" Ridley sat down and left his feet hanging off the floor as he chuckled to himself, "I can't even say that with a straight face."

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto stumbled down the last couple steps and onto the floor. He was slumped over, his eyes half-shut about to fall asleep. He groggily looked around from his space on the floor to see Sage sitting in a chair with a man in a purple mink coat on one side and a lady, whose breasts were her most prominent feature, on the other side.

"Mikoto!" shouted Sage from her spot in the chair. Her only answer was Mikoto's legs sprawling out all over the floor in a spastic fashion.

**The Purple Pimp! The Drunken Coyote!**

**The Poor Cook!**

Da Da Da DAAAAA! Ridley is back (or is he?), what happened to him during his week or two by himself, find out soon (not for like two or three chapters)! Also special thanks to A. Fox who sent me Hip-Hop!

Wait, a second…Do you hear that? Get real quiet…yup, its what I think it is. IT IS THE SOUND OF YOU VOTING FOR YOUR FAVORITE DOCTOR! The 'What Doctor Should Join the Infinity Pirates' Poll is now up on my profile page! If you want more details on the pirates (including their full profile, the crew's take on them, and what they are doing right now) message me (preferably before you vote).


	48. Pimp Arc: 48 The Pimp! The Drunken

**The Purple Pimp! The Drunken Coyote!**

**The Poor Chef!**

The pimp slapped Sage straight across her face. "Didn't I mention that if you kept on speaking I would remove something to make it impossible? I'll have to arrange that…right after I beat your friend to a pulp."

"Freed?" said Mikoto as he managed to get himself up into a sitting position. He looked across the room and at Sage, "Hey! Hiro-Shu when did you get down here?"

"I'm Sage!" shouted Sage straining to move around even a little bit, "wait. Are you drunk?"

"Drunk?" said Mikoto glazing over the room in his drunken state, "no, no, no! I just had a little too much to drink." He toppled back over onto the floor, "hey, Sage why are you just sitting there?"

"I'm tied up! Can't you see the ropes holding me to the chair!" Sure enough there were multiple ropes holding Sage to the chair at both her arms, legs, and even chest.

"Uh…wuld yus beleve me uf I said yes?" asked Mikoto.

"Not on your life!" shouted Sage straining against the ropes, she sighed. "Beat this weirdo up and set me free, then we can have a talk!"

"Du we hav ta talk? Can't yus jus' cook fer me?" asked Mikoto.

Sage was about to shout something back, but Pimp shoved a rainbow colored sock into her mouth. "Remember what I just said," said Pimp with a chuckle, "don't disobey me! That sock should do until we set up an appointment with that mad little doctor in this town. What was his name again?"

"Who cares," said the woman next to him, shrugging, "as long as he does what we want him to do. Plain and simple."

"Yes," said Pimp, he looked back over to Mikoto, "ah, right, the male. I have absolutely no interest in you. Female slaves sell for so much more, male slaves cost so much to prepare for the females then they barely cover their own expenses. Most males buying a female slave will make do with any female. Females are so much more picky!"

"Yuh, I got a girl on me sheep," said Mikoto, "her name is Sage…she's annuying sumetimes." Sage tried to shout at him, but the sock made it difficult.

"Yeah, she does seem pretty annoying," said Pimp as he cracked his fingers. He pointed his bejeweled hands out at Mikoto and a small laser beam shot out and burned a hole in the floor where Mikoto was originally lying. "Where did that idiot disappear to?"

Mikoto was a few feet away face-to-face with a wall making stupid faces at it and yelling insults, "yus blasted purple pimp! Yu ar nut even purple, yer PINK!"

Pimp cleared his throat, "please direct your insults this way. I'll feel sad if I kill someone who won't even be able to use his dying breath to insult me correctly." He fired another laser beam from his hand and at Mikoto, burning a second much larger hole in the ground.

"Right!" said Mikoto managing to come to a standing position, "yus are…are…YU THROW LIKE A GURL!"

The woman who was keeping watch over Sage started to laugh. Pimp was fuming, however, he stomped his foot down, "do not relate me to the lower species. I am a completely different level from…them," he said with a sneer. He pointed a finger out at the woman, "and you, Pascia, don't encourage him." A laser beam shot out from his finer digging into Pascia's shoulders and drawing blood.

"Hey!" shouted Mikoto standing up, "don't treat your crew like that!" He ran towards Pimp, but he stopped short and vomited onto the floor. "Gross."

"Crew?" said Pimp, "she is not a part of my crew. She is my property…all women are property of stronger men! Something else that is my property is that rug straight from Alabasta, I do not like it when someone else ruins my property!" He raised his hand up and fired a roulette of beams many of them digging into and cutting Mikoto's skin. Mikoto was about to come back with a smart remark, but the Pimp shut it off by a well aimed laser beam straight to his chest throwing him into the ship's wall.

The ship's wall started to fall apart and bury Mikoto beneath wood and nails, Pimp smiled swirled his cane and returned his attention to Sage. "See? When I get mad, I kill people." He lifted Sage's chin to force her to look into his eyes. He stared at her eyes, but for some reason she didn't seem to be afraid of him, she also didn't seem to be crying. She was happy, no. She was confident. "What's the matter? I just buried your only hope of getting out of here in wood!" He ripped the sock out of Sage's mouth. "Speak!"

"So, what?" said Sage with confidence in her words, "burying Mikoto doesn't stop him. He's insane…he's strong. He's still alive. And he is still going to kick your butt."

Pimp struck out with his cane slapping her hard with its wooden body, "say that again! I dare you! You are nothing more then my property! You are like the latest fashion! I can pick up a replacement for you at any store!"

"Don't worry. I won't say it again," stated Sage, "he will." She motioned behind Pimp. Pimp turned around to see a coyote standing in front of the rubble with nothing more then a few scrapes and bruises.

"You know what to do," he said towards Pascia. She responded with nothing more then a shrug. He turned back to Mikoto, "you alive? How unfortunate…your suffering is going to continue."

Mikoto growled back at him and bared his fangs. He started to pace and circle Pimp continuing to bar his fangs and even make a few fake lunges at him to each of which Pimp responded to with a fake state of over exaggerated panic. Finally one of Mikoto's lunges turned out to be a real one. Mikoto drove forward and expertly dodged one of Pimp's laser beams. Mikoto drove his fangs into Pimp's flesh and ripped a chunk of flesh off of him. Mikoto spat it out and ran back around to continue his circling.

"This ain't as much fun unless you and I are doing some witty banter, don't you agree?" asked Pimp. His response was a low and subtle growl. "FINE! Have it your way!" he fired another blast of energy at Mikoto. Mikoto dodged backwards and avoided the blow.

Mikoto started to growl once again at his opponent. His pearly whites seemed to be much longer then they had been in their previous transformations, or maybe he just showed more of them. More likely the later as his face was twisted into a seemingly permanent snarl. He made another lunge for Pimp this time he aimed lower and sunk his teeth into Pimp's fur coat and some of the underlying flesh and he started to rip and tear it apart. However, the fur coat was extremely well designed and didn't rip apart. Pimp lifted his cane up and pointed the end up and at Mikoto. A loud gunshot could be heard as the tip of the cane exploded into a light cloud smoke.

Mikoto was thrown backwards from the explosion and landed on the ground with a loud and resounding thud. He brought his body back up and made another loud snarl.

"What's the matter? My coat is made Kratch Sorbet. Quite fine and with industrial strength", said Pimp as he fired another shot from his cane only to smile at Mikoto's reaction, "don't like being shot, do you? Too bad for you then!" He brought his cane back up and made several more shots with it, each one ending up embedded into the floor boards hopeless to catch Mikoto's body at the speed he was moving around at.

Mikoto's coyote form slowly started to shift in size and form as it began to move around at even higher velocities on only its two legs leaving Mikoto in his hybrid form. He drove towards Pimp using his slender legs and increased speed continuing to dodge the barrage of bullets he fired. Mikoto extended his claws and cleaved through Pimp's rough and durable coat with one clean and precise cut.

Pimp stumbled back and poked his fingers through the noticeable gash, "this coat cost me a female and a male slave! And you've gone and torn it! How are you going to pay me back for this?" he asked with an accusing tone and at the half-beast that loomed only a few feet away from him, "no response? Well, then how about with your blood!" He pointed his hands out started shooting another array of laser beams at Mikoto.

Mikoto's body disappeared into nothing but a blur again as he started to rapidly pace around his target. His howls and growls could still be heard, however. With another flash of his speed he dug his right hand with all five of its sharpened claws deep into Pimp's chest. He tore them out with a loud ripping noise letting the crimson blood splash to the floor. Pimp pressed the end of his cane to Mikoto's chest and let another shot loose. Mikoto collapsed onto the ground grasping the hole in his chest, luckily for him they were to close for the bullet to positioned well and it managed only to pass through useless and non-vital organs. But the pain was still present.

Pimp took out a small carton of cigarettes and started to smoke, "cigarettes are great things. They can block out some pain, but these cigarettes that are specially made for me and my colleges can completely block out pain. I use a minimal amount, but my 'crew' tend to use more. Ulysses will pack back about a carton or two before a fight, Ovid on the other hand takes none. He blocks out pain in more…common methods."

Mikoto murmured another growl at Pimp. He flashed his teeth. They had turned a bright red color from the numerous bites he had taken out of Pimp. Pimp only smiled at the beast.

"Pascia," said Pimp with an all too confident chuckle, "I don't wish to continue this battle. Take out your gun."

"Yes sir," said Pascia as she reached into her cleavage and pulled out a small black pistol and pointed it at Sage's head.

"Wait! What?" shouted Sage with a loud scream, "this isn't fair! You and Mikoto are supposed to fight over me!"

"I don't fight over women," said Pimp. "I may auction for them and call them trophy wives, but they just aren't worth it. Besides I'm a pirate, he's a pirate, YOU ARE A PIRATE! Fair isn't even in our vocabulary. See, my property over there will take any attack on me as an offense. And if she senses any offense she will blow your girl's pretty little brains out. Understand?"

"Not fair!" shouted Sage. She tried to focus and see if she could summon forth our Devil Fruit powers and pop his head off, but no luck. The chair or maybe one of the handcuffs she had on must have that Kairoseki in them. After a few minutes of straining and some not too lady-like words she resigned herself and gave up. She would be sold to the highest bidder, hopefully he would be nice to her. She didn't count on it, but hopefully. "Well, Mikoto," said Sage, "it looks like we lost this one. You can go now…and thanks."

Her words didn't even register in the half-beast's mind. He charged at Pimp with another flurry of cuts each one raking into the air just above or just in front of the man who was forced to run and dodge the cuts to the best of his ability.

"Mikoto, do you want me to die?" shouted Sage, "stop attacking him! Let me live, goddamn you! I don't want to die with a bullet to the head, strapped to a chair in some pimp's ship! I want to live!"

Her words apparently caught Mikoto's attention as he turned abruptly to her, but his normal friendly (and somewhat stupid) look in his emerald green eyes were gone. They were replaced with something more…animal. A drunken carnivorous animal with only one thing on its mind. Meat. And not baked salmon slathered in a special sauce, but any kind of meat. Cooked chicken, raw beef, or even living human.

He flashed his teeth once more and was about to dive forward when Pimp blasted him with another laser beam, burning a few inches of his fur coat off. "I was serious! Stop attacking me! Or else! Leave her and don't touch anything on your way out."

Mikoto's mind shifted as it refocused on Pimp. He charged forward in a half dog-like, half human-like mad dash towards him. He had just sunk his teeth into Pimp's warm and meaty flesh when a loud and audible gunshot was heard.

**The Battle Continues!**

**The Grave Consequences of Mikoto!**

Sorry about the wait. I apologize. The CSpacian organization was experiencing technical difficulties. They have been fixed for the well foreseeable future, in order to make it up to you I will post the next chapter up on Sunday or Monday. Look forward to it.

Huh? What did you say? You said I killed Sage! No, I couldn't have! *Rereads story plan*. Huh…apparently I did kill Sage…a moment of silence to appreciate her…(silence). Moving on! I just want to bring the poll back to attention! The current winner of the poll is…Enma! But for you Kira/David/Corra fans this fight ain't over with yet! You still have another chapter or two to vote!

Back to the actual story! What did you guys think of Mikoto? I thought about it and I realized something. Drunk people tend to rely more on their instincts to help them (hence why fight a lot more, why they drink a lot more, and why they do a lot of stuff), so Mikoto is acting strictly on his animal instincts. Which to basically food.

Also Disclaimer-topia! Pimp and Pascia are both works of the author A. Fox. Kratch Sorbet (the person who made Pimp's coat) was made by the Mysterious Panther.


	49. Pimp Arc: 49 Grave Consequences

**The Aftermath!**

**The Grace Consequences of Mikoto!**

Mikoto sat up with a speed that put his runs to shame, he slumped down in bed and put his head in hand…paw. He was still in his hybrid form…he knew from the fatigue in his body he had slept with restless fits. His head pounded with such extreme pain he doubted he wanted to know what happened yesterday, which in his memory had been replaced with a very fuzzy blur.

He was back on the ship in the men's quarters, or what looked like it. His pounding head and upset stomach made it impossible to make a good decision. The quietness of the room only reminded him that he told his crew to leave. Why they left him the ship was unknown, but he figured it had something to do with yesterday's events, which remained a very fuzzy blur.

He reached to his bedside and felt a waste basket. He was tempted to peer into it and see what it contained, but with the way he was feeling he was both afraid and grossed out by what he thought he would see. He finally relaxed into back into a slump on his bed, the headache was becoming unbearable and he just didn't have the strength nor desire to get up. He fell back asleep in a few minutes, grumbling.

Up on the deck Ridley sat with his legs crossed, his guitar on his back. Ordinarily he would've been playing it regardless of the crew's condition, but he just wasn't in a playing mood today. He was fiddling with a cookbook instead trying to make heads or tails of it, and failing miserably.

"Having trouble reading, are we?" asked Zesiro who was studying the map of their next destination. He wore a lot of bandages on his waist and shoulders, all of them with blood seeping out from underneath.

"Excuse me for not knowing what a…hers do-over is!" shouted Ridley, "how Sage managed to make heads or tails of this is still beyond me…I think she cheated."

"How do you cheat when cooking?" asked Zesiro putting the map down to join Ridley in the reading of the cookbooks, he took one look at the word and shouted, "That's hors d'oeuvre!"

"It doesn't matter, I still don't know what that is!" shouted Ridley jumping back appalled by Zesiro's comment.

"That's your own fault!" shouted Zesiro, "instead of getting a Mohawk you could've done something that helps us!"

"I think the first thing I'm going to cook for our dinner tonight is shark fin stew!" shouted Ridley.

"At least you can pronounce that!" replied Zesiro.

Hiro-Shu, who had been sitting back minding his own business waiting for the doctors to come up and tell them what was going on, finally became interested in the conversation the two were having. He listened with an intent ear to hear the problems. The argument continued for quite some time without a change in direction or volume.

David was the first doctor to come up from below carrying a large bag of valuables behind him. He saw his opportunity to escape with his newly obtained goods and took it, he was a few feet away from the dock when Hiro-Shu's rough hand grabbed him by the shirt collar and yanked him into the air and held him there dangling.

"I HEALED YOUR ENTIRE CREW! YOU ARE LUCKY I'M NOT TAKING MORE!" shouted David with a few minutes of flailing about in the air involved.

Hiro-Shu grabbed the bag and let the boy fall to the ground with a loud kerplunk. He started shifting through the contents finding it to be surprisingly void of treasure and money. It was filled with candy, Sage's diary, one of Ridley's replacement guitars, a few sharpening stones of Zesiro, some of Hiro-Shu's notes on their journey, and topping it off was a couple of maps.

"Why are you stealing these?" asked Hiro-Shu with pure interest.

"I take what I want!" shouted David, "the bag is full of stuff on the ship that interests me! If something is in their that you want back I am sure we can negotiate another kind of payment…are both of your kidneys working fine?"

Hiro-Shu took the candy out of the bag along with some old outdated maps and handed them to David, "that should cover it."

"Cover it! Its barely enough to cover the money I spent on supplies to make the medicine!" shouted David.

"We're pirates, not saints," said Hiro-Shu as he went back to return the items to their rightful places.

An evil smile crept over David's face as he marched off of the boat, "its good thing he didn't strip search me." He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a golden broach, "This'll fetch me a good ten thousand belies." He started to shuffle through the other items his mysterious jacket contained.

Hiro-Shu knocked onto the female's room doors, knowing full well that no one was in it. Corra had left awhile, get a head start on them in the Grand Line, maybe they'll meet up again she said. He walked in and walked over to the bookshelf and put Sage's diary into it, not knowing where it belonged. She better be happy he was the one who found it, Mikoto would've taken a look inside and who knows what Ridley would've done.

He looked over and noticed the beds, several of the pillows were strewed across the room and the blankets were thrown onto the ground he sighed as he started to clean up the room.

After an hour or two of good work he nearly had the room cleaned when he had to take break since a loud scream broke the silence of the boat. It was coming from the boys room. He got up and immediately broke out for Mikoto's room. He got there after everybody else and he stopped in front of the doorway. Enma was the closest and he was the first one there, probably taking care of his wounds when he woke up.

Mikoto was wide-eyed. He had woken up again and apparently this time his amnesia/drunkenness had worn off. "I'm sorry about that…" Mikoto said breathing heavily, "just a bad dream…what's for dinner?"

Ridley grimaced at his earlier failures, "I think sandwiches."

"Sandwiches?" said Mikoto, "that's pretty low par for Sage. I was expecting something bigger."

"Sage isn't cooking," said Zesiro.

"Oh…" said Mikoto as he scratched his head trying to figure out what was going on, "is she sick? I mean Enma's a doctor he could probably patch her up real quick."

"She's not sick," said Hiro-Shu and then sensing Mikoto's next comment, he added "or injured. Yesterday still not coming back to you, huh?"

"Bits and pieces of it are," said Mikoto, "but not a whole lot."

"Yeah, he was really drunk," said Ridley.

"Sage isn't coming with us anymore," said Hiro-Shu, "no more of her cooking aboard the Infinity Pirates."

"Oh…I've been thinking it over. Maybe quitting the crew like that wasn't my best idea," said Mikoto. He put his feet on the floor and tried to stand but they were like jelly and they immediately gave way beneath him, "as soon as I can stand I'll go talk to her."

"Its not because you broke apart the crew," said Zesiro sternly, "she just isn't coming back."

"Sage?" asked Mikoto the finality of what they were saying sinking in, "Sage…" he fell back to the floor lying down this time, tears started to roll down his face. "Sage! I'm sorry! I wasn't strong enough…I couldn't save you…I'm sorry! I can't believe it…again…I lose someone again…and this time it hurts a lot more! Sage!"

Ridley broke through his crying fit with an uproarious laugh. Mikoto glared at him, his eyes caught the faces of the rest of his crew trying to hold in their laughter. "What is so funny! 'Cause of me…Sage died! I can't even say I'm sorry…"

The rest of the crew bust out laughing which only enraged Mikoto more. Hiro-Shu recovered first, "she didn't die…even though what you said was very moving."

"What?"

"She quit the crew," said Zesiro, "I'll fill you in on what you missed."

Zesiro started to explain what happened…to the best of his ability.

Apparently, a young pale woman with long black hair had been hiding on their ship ever since they fought Karasu. Her name was Kira. She used some form of Haki to conceal herself from the crew and was planning to escape once they reached this island. However, after hearing about Pimp's crew she decided to stay on the ship for another island. When she heard Sage was going to be kidnapped she decided to lend a helping hand.

She stealthy moved along with Mikoto down the floors keeping to the shadows and remaining hidden. When Pascia drew her gun and aimed it at Sage, she intervened with about ten well-aimed senbon needles to the neck, arms, and chest. The gunshot was a reflex on Pascia's part as she had pulled the trigger as she was falling, but this only managed to make the bullet bury itself in Sage's chair.

Zesiro then continued to explain that by the time he had gotten to the bottom through a nonstop slicing through walls and floors. He had found Sage being untied by Kira and Mikoto asleep on the floor curled up in a ball. What happened to Pimp was still a mystery to him. Kira was currently accompanying Sage to get ready for departure.

"So…Sage quit?" asked Mikoto.

"Yup," answered Zesiro.

"And she's not dead?" said Mikoto, double-checking.

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'll be sure to tell Sage everything you said," said Ridley.

"You aren't funny," said Mikoto to Ridley, before returning to the actual problem, "Sage isn't coming back to the crew?"

"Not as far as I know," said Zesiro, "it depends. Kira may be talking her into as we speak or she may just change her mind."

"Or maybe your speech will do the trick…" Ridley cleared his throat, "Oh, Sage! Sage! What can I do without you! How could…" Mikoto bit down hard on his leg causing him to scream.

Mikoto spat Ridley out, "when was the last time you showered?" He spat a few more times to clear his mouth.

"When did we meet again?" asked Ridley.

"You are not going to handle my food," said Enma as he started to walk towards the door, "come on, Mikoto. Let's go find Sage."

"What? Why are you helping me?" asked Mikoto, a bit suspicious, as the doctor had no reason to help. He refused to join his crew, he ended up getting beat up at one point, and finally he also dragged Enma into an unnecessary fight.

"Just helping a friend," said Enma at the doorstep, "You coming?"

"Right! I'll be right behind ya!" shouted Mikoto, "…Hiro-Shu, mind helping a friend get up?" Hiro-Shu sighed and lifted Mikoto up to his feet with one almighty heave. Mikoto soon raced off after Enma. The three remaining pirates all shared equal uncomfortable looks.

"Summer starts soon, doesn't it?" asked Hiro-Shu breaking the silence.

"I hope Mikoto can convince Sage to stay," said Ridley, "It'll be boring on the ship without a girl in a bikini."

(-With Sage-)

Sage lifted a large forkful of noodles into her mouth and chewed quietly. Kira sat patiently across from her. Her red eyes trained on her companion as she ate. Kira was about to start talking when Sage began instead. Sage was currently in a small skirt and a halter top revealing her slender belly.

"Its nice not having to cook everyday for a bunch of rowdy boys," said Sage, "Freedom!"

"You're not going to miss them?" asked Kira.

"I thought about and, of course, I'm going to miss them. But I'm going to be just as happy without them and I'll be safer, I won't be hunted by Marines, and I won't have to put up with Ridley," said Sage as she put her spoon back into her soup. "What more can a girl want?" she added weakly.

"Adventure?" replied Kira, "friends? Dreams?"

"I don't know if I can ever look at Mikoto the same way…" said Sage, "he wasn't the Mikoto I was expecting to come and save me with that goofy smile. He was a monster…a blood-thirsty beast. With that image in my mind…the crew will become unbearable."

"Are you just a scared little girl?" asked Kira, "you were heading to the Grand Line! A place with people three times his strength and five times his monstrosity! Are you nothing more then a little girl who can't face her friend?"

"No," said Sage as she peered deeply into her soup, "no. I'm not!"

"Then go back to your Nakama!" shouted Kira, "ignore your fears! Focus on what you want! What do you want?"

"I want…I want to find how to make Devil Fruits! I want to know the meaning life! I want to be an Infinity Pirate!" shouted Sage.

"Then why are you talking to me?" asked Kira calmly. Sage thanked her and was about to go rush back to the ship and apologize when Mikoto came bursting into the diner.

**Mikoto + Ridley + Sage + Zesiro + Hiro-Shu + ? =**

**Infinity Pirate Crew!**

The poll has not been decided yet (However, only a day or two remains before I close it)! How will they fair with Sage's budding fear of Mikoto? Ridley's return? A sixth crew member? The next Arc appears to be promising! Also just pointing some things out to you, the readers…

1) Romance may be included in this story from this point onwards. I had two, maybe three people ask me about it (some people even sent an OCs with a request of who they should be paired up with). And it is hard completely avoiding romance, so tell me your thoughts on who should be paired up. Please avoid any Yaoi or Yuri pairings…I don't mind them, but I would like to keep this story from becoming X rated.

2) The next crewmember will be FEMALE! Sage is all alone and she needs some companionship. She won't live long on this ship dominated by males (with both the captain and musician being an idiot).

3) Mikoto has some background info, too, you know. More then what I let on…so guess who the next story arc is going to be about? You think its about HIM? Guess what, YOU ARE WRONG!


	50. Pimp Arc: 50 The Infinity Pirate Crew

**Mikoto + Ridley + Sage + Zesiro + Hiro-Shu + Enma =**

**The Infinity Pirate Crew**

The deck of the ship was nearly empty. The captain of the ship was in a foul mood, but he brought along some guests anyways. The crew had hidden themselves underneath the deck and were busily preparing food, beds, and other such commodities for the captain. The captain was Alan Fox. He stomped throughout the captain's quarters with his dreadlocks swaying side-to-side, he was muttering something to himself.

Pimp walked in. His head was hanging low. He did several business deals with this man and one thing he always remembered was 'don't get him angry'. He sat down in a fluffy chair and cleared his throat.

Alan Fox turned his head towards him. His usually normal colored eyes had turned red with his fury. He sat down in a seat across from Pimp and spoke gravely, "a most flamboyant welcome".

"Sure," said Pimp, "I appreciate you taking us away from the fight at that moment to do business."

"Of course, you would. You were losing," said Alan Fox, Pimp was going to protest, but Alan just raised his voice and quieted him, "You were losing. You were going to be killed and eaten by him. I saved you because of two reasons. One, you are most helpful business partner. You are cheap." He sat down and took another sip from his wine glass.

"What's the second?" asked Pimp. Pascia was in the next room over receiving medical attention on the ship. She made him a lot of money, but if he had to he'd leave her here and run.

"I want to know about this crew…the Infinity Pirates," said Alan, "they've been causing me a lot of trouble. My brother had apparently gotten an order to eliminate them. I want to see if they are worth his time."

"Yes," said Pimp he started to tell Alan all about what his crew had picked up from their fights.

(-With Mikoto-)

"There!" shouted Mikoto putting the finishing touches on their flag. He smiled with pride. The flag had been an all day process and he was happy it was done. Enma had been a great help with it. He certainly knew a lot about skulls. Their flag was an infinite sign. Within one of the loops was a normal human skull, classic for a Jolly Roger. The other loop had a dog's skull within it. Mikoto had figured that was the perfect symbol for their ship. Seeing as he was the captain.

He sighed. The crew may have been put back together with both Ridley and Sage coming back. Of course he managed to talk Enma into joining alongside them, but that was a completely different story. The main problem was the ship.

The ship was coming apart at the boards. Zesiro had done a patchwork job, despite his actual job being the crew's swordsman, not to mention navigating when Hiro-Shu needed help. But the ship was weakening all along. It was already a relic when they picked it up, this was after all a hand-me-down ship from the pirates who killed Sage's family…oh, yeah, Sage.

Sage may have come back, but she came back with a few strings attached. First off, she wanted another girl aboard the ship. Second off, for the next two days nobody was allowed to go into her room. Why, Mikoto had no idea. Maybe because it was summer and she didn't want anyone to barge into her room while she was trying on bikini's (its not like Ridley hadn't tried to, yet). And third, she wanted help in the kitchen. Cooking for six people was not a easy thing to do for one person. Finally, no alcohol was allowed on the ship. With that being said Ridley was downstairs fighting off withdrawal symptoms.

Mikoto questioned the reasons for all of these rules, but made it his mission not to question Sage. They have all had their rough spots along the journey, but the important thing was that they were together…for the most part. Ridley's withdrawal symptoms kept him in the cabin, Sage's problem kept her in her cabin, and Hiro-Shu was at the wheel 24/7. That leaves Enma and Zesiro.

Mikoto stood up and shook off and headed downstairs. Between the two he preferred Enma, Enma had that funny quality to him. He was kind, polite, and, yet, Mikoto liked him anyways.

Hiro-Shu watched Mikoto head down the steps to the cabins. "Zesiro!" shouted Hiro-Shu. The half-shark looked at him. He pointed to the flag that Mikoto neglected to take care of. It was made on a flimsy piece of fabric and would blow away if it wasn't tied down. Zesiro shrugged picked it up and headed off with it. He'd hoist it up later when the entire crew was around.

Hiro-Shu was keeping to the track Ridley gave him. Mikoto's directions for Hiro-Shu was 'Go anywhere' while Ridley was a bit more specific and said 'let's head to Arost Island'. Arost Island was away from the Grand Line, but it gave the crew a bit more time to practice for the upcoming fights so it seemed like a good idea. Besides Ridley had already left the crew once, what else could he do?

Mikoto had entered Enma's room with nary a knock. He just opened the door and walked in ignoring the fact that whatever Enma was doing could be dangerous and kill him. Enma didn't seem to care, however, he waved him and pointed out a chair.

"Hey, Enma, what's going on down here?" asked Mikoto taking a seat in the chair.

"Going over our crew's health files," said Enma, "also protecting my stock of alcohol."

"Alcohol?" shouted Mikoto standing up, "Sage is going to kill you if she finds out!"

"Not that kind of alcohol," said Enma quietly correcting him, "rubbing alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, medicinal alcohol. Its makes for great medicine, but it can kill a person if digested. I think Ridley wants to test that out."

"Thank you for keeping my musician alive," said Mikoto. He stopped for a second and leaned back, then an interesting question hit him, "what's in the health files?"

"The crew's history. Where they've been, what they have been doing over the years, when was the last time they were sick, a family medical history, and of course any diseases they have," said Enma.

"Someone has a disease!" shouted Mikoto, "are they going to live?"

"Actually someone does," said Enma, "but not to worry its not a fatal disease. Its just a disease that's going to…make life a little more interesting around here. Also can you go ask Ridley if he can get me his medical file for the past couple of weeks. Its completely blank."

"He left our crew," said Mikoto, "his dad tried to kill him."

"Family problems," said Enma. He paused for a second and then added, "do you think his family has psychopathic issues?"

"Ah…its possible. I mean Karasu didn't seem to be that mentally healthy. Not to mention Ridley's problems." Mikoto stood up, "I'm going to go ask Ridley what happened to him over the last week."

Mikoto exited the room and walked over to boys' room and knocked. A terrible retching could be heard from inside. Mikoto waited a few seconds and his knock was never answered, not to mention the sound of vomiting continued. "I'll come back later." He took a turn and headed towards the kitchen. It was close to dinner time and he figured it would probably be best if he got to work on helping Sage.

The kitchen was a little messy when Mikoto got there. He groaned and started to clean. He hated the kitchen duty, but everyone else was busy so he had to do it. Enma was working on keeping his crew healthy (important), Hiro-Shu was driving the ship (important), Zesiro was keeping the ship intact (important), Sage was working on something in her room (not important, but she scared him), and finally Ridley was throwing up (gross).

Mikoto quickly had the kitchen cleaned. He moved over to the refrigerator. Sage had everything marked. Namely what kinds and how much of each food was in the fridge. She did this to stop people from picking at the food they had. Mikoto missed those days. He flipped the note over. On the back was the recipe for dinner and what was needed. They were having steaks tonight in order to celebrate Enma's joining.

Mikoto got out six steaks and walked them over to the fire pit they used. This ship was a relic, they still had a fire pit. He put the steaks on and started the fire on a low heat. He figured it would be better if he kept the fire on low rather then turning it on high and burning the ship. He waited for Sage.

Sage came in a few minutes later. She was dressed in jeans and a shirt with flower imprints. She seemed surprise to she Mikoto in there. "Mikoto, what are you doing in here?" She prayed that he wasn't in here to steal more food.

"Helping," said Mikoto pointing over to the steaks. They were still red and rare with some meat juices dripping off of them and for some reason Mikoto couldn't take his eyes off of them. They looked delicious.

Sage's face went from her suspicious accusing face to a face of pure and utter glee. "Thank you, Miko-chan!" she said as she threw her arms around him hugging him. "You are so helpful!" Her arms tightened around his neck choking him. "Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU!"

"I would feel better if you didn't try to kill me!" shouted Mikoto. Sage let up her killer death grip and backed away. "AND DON'T YOU EVER CALL ME MIKO-CHAN!" Sage backed up a few more steps and her hand went up to her mouth. She looked like a frightened little girl.

"I'm sorry!" she said as her face brightened up once again. "I know how much you hate it! It just sort of slipped out! Tell you what in order to make it up to you, I'll make you a big ol' helping of fish with dinner."

"Oh, crap," said Mikoto, "you are planning on killing me, aren't you?"

"No, silly!" said Sage, "I'm just trying to…" her face went back to being normal, "nice. Now if you will excuse me. GET OUT OF MY KITCHEN!" She kicked Mikoto's stool out from under him and pointed towards the door. Mikoto walked right of the room with his tail between his legs and closed the door behind him.

"Phew…" said Sage when she was confident he was out of earshot, "I hope they don't get use to me like that. I don't think I can handle it if they thought I acted like that all of the time." Her face changed again to the previous cheerful expression. "Now back to cooking "

Mikoto sulked up onto the deck and continued on his way to the dining room. Well, the room they used as the dining room. It was probably once a gym, but Sage insisted on turning it into a dining room. He sat down in one of the chairs and slumped onto the table.

"How's it going," said Enma. He was moving the tables around for dinner.

"Why are you up here?" asked Mikoto ignoring Enma's question.

"Sage asked me to get Zesiro and have him set up the tables, but I figured I had some free time so I'd do it," said Enma as he pulled a chair up and sat down. "Why the long face?" He pulled out a pack of playing cards and started to shuffle them.

"I'm going to die before the end of tonight," said Mikoto sighing, "Sage is going to kill me. First she was all nice and hugged me, choking me, then she offered me fish with my steak, and finally she kicked me out of the kitchen."

"Aye," said Enma, "you found out about her disease. Seasonal Affective Disorder. See, ordinarily she'd be all peppy and extra happy during the spring time. But due to the weather problems that occur out at sea it occurs during the summer instead." Enma dealt five cards to Mikoto and five cards to himself.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," said Mikoto.

"Seasonal Affective Disorder," repeated Enma, "During the Spring time a person with this disease is overly energetic, cheerful, generous, and nice. This is the Sage you just met. Then during the Summer and Fall periods the person returns to their regular moods, Normal Sage. Finally there is Winter. In Winter Sage will become gloomy, depressed, and all around a real downer. Get it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," said Mikoto eyeing his five cards, "and the weather effects when we are out at sea?" He had a three of hearts, a four of diamonds, a five of spades, a King of Spades, and a two of clubs.

"The sea breeze lowers the temperature of the ship," said Enma, "so, while Summer time will be normally extremely hot, it cools and generates a Spring-like feel. So when it is Spring it feels colder and doesn't trigger this effect."

"Too much science," said Mikoto falling to the table, "give me another card."

**The Man, The Music, the Mystery!**

**Ridley at Sea**

Just a normal day at sea for the Infinity Pirate crew. And yes, that is the crew's flag that Mikoto was working on. They finally got one. Go Infinity Pirates! I'm at Chapter 50 and they just now get their pirate flag…how sad is that?

Sage will be in overly happy and overly energetic mode for the rest of the arc! Enjoy!

Enma likes playing card games and steaks and in case you were wondering he proceeds to beat Mikoto thirteen out of fourteen hands. Also the poll was way in favor of Enma six out of thirteen people voted him. (Three voted for Kira, and then both David and Corra got two votes.

The next chapter will be focusing on Ridley's life on the sea away from the Infinity Pirates crew! Also, another plot twist, possibly two!

Also, a few things relating to how the story is going to progress.

How did you guys like the poll to pick the Infinity Pirate doctor? Should I do it again or should I just stop with the poll idea?

The next crew member will be female. I have already narrowed it down to three contestants. (Two shipwrights and one intelligent tactician)

Due to the fact that I got thirteen votes (and yet I only have five reviewers, odd), I figured a lot of people had to be anonymous readers, so I enabled anonymous reviews on my page.

I am still looking for OCs for those of you who are wondering. I got four Shichibukai's, one admiral, and two Yonkous.


	51. Chapter 51 The Man, the Music

**The Man, the Music, the Mystery!**

**Ridley's Time at Sea!**

Ridley tossed and turned. Sage's ban on alcoholic beverages was really taking a toll on him, it made the pain more prominent. He sat up with a fright. His bed was wet. And not a normal kind of wet. He looked all over, it was smeared with red blood. He fingered the hole in his stomach. It was still leaking.

He stood up and headed up to the deck taking his soiled sheets with him. The deck was quiet and the moon was still high. The rest of the crew must still be asleep downstairs. Ridley went about his business. He lowered the sheets into the water and waited for them to get a nice rinse with the choppy water.

Ridley looked down and noticed the water wasn't even turning a reddish color, yet. He shrugged and started to move about the ship. What he would give for nice cup of…anything alcoholic. His wound from Karasu's attack had ripped itself open, despite the decent stitching the doctor gave him. His mind floated back to when he first took the attack from Karasu and then it drifted off into a few hours later, his first time ever being alone on the sea.

(~Flashback~)

Ridley gripped his stomach in sheer agony. His flesh was ripped open like no man's flesh should ever be. But that wasn't what was driving him insane in pain. The real problem lied in what Karasu told him. His own father had apparently dipped some poison into the flesh. A complicated mix of poison. Diluted puzzle scorpion poison, a couple of death strawberries, and some other random poisons. It created a highly volatile mixture. Or so he was told.

The mixture wasn't meant to be death on the spot. It was designed to be untreatable. An untreatable mixture of poison that would kill the unlucky sap who got stung with it within a week, maybe two if they were strong-enough willed.

Ridley had said his heartfelt goodbyes to his friends. He was ready to die. He may have been dying but he still didn't want to his friends to see him like this. Not dead, not dying. Just upset at his disappearance.

He liked to imagine Mikoto hopelessly ignorant to his passing, Sage dancing on his grave, Zesiro being reasonable and feeling a little sad at his passing, and Hiro-Shu working on getting the entire crew through it. Knowingly though that wouldn't happen.

He looked over at his guitar, or his former guitar. It was smashed. Karasu certainly didn't waste anytime doing that. He wished he could play it, maybe write a song about himself that would become known far and wide. That would've been a piece of work. Nobody would know it by heart because of all the falsettos and baritones it would include, but he would still be known by it.

Onto happier thoughts. The next island was on the horizon already. With the breeze he had it looked only a day or two away. Rowing would've sped it up, but he was injured and was going to die. He wasn't going to spend his last days working.

The shore came up longer then expected. Three, four days tops. Ridley stumbled onto shore. He 'borrowed' some food from Karasu and his crew. But that quickly ran out. Ridley made his way onto the shore and into the village. The idle chit-chat of the villagers quickly made Ridley thankful for being away from the quiet sea. The mixture of fear and boredom nearly drove him insane.

The shops were empty and many people were keeping close to their own doorways. News of some pimp guy running around and kidnapping women was spreading rapidly and it didn't seem like a good idea to be too far from a lockable doorway.

Ridley ignored the news, of course, as one, he wasn't a woman and two, he was going to die. He stumbled around and found a nearby doctor's clinic. The clinic was just a tent as was all the other buildings on the island. A doctor should know where all the good booze was in town, after all, he is a doctor. He must get a lot of business from bar fights and drunken people doing things only drunken people would do.

He stopped inside and looked around. There was only one man and he was busy tinkering with some gadget. He had numerous stitchings covering his face, many of the stitches crisscrossed over each other. He was huddled in the corner with goggles on and his hairdo was nearly twice the size of his head. The man immediately turn around when he saw Ridley. His hands were shaking fiercely.

"I AM HERE TO DO WORK!" he shouted confidently as he turned back around and started back on his gadget. "NOW GO!"

"I'm just looking for some alcohol," said Ridley, "and maybe a girl."

"WHAT?" shouted the man.

"I want some alcohol," said Ridley.

"WHAT?" replied the man.

"A-L-C-O-H-O-L" shouted Ridley.

"AH!" shouted the man, "it is lovely weather, isn't it?" The man swerved around and put the gadget he was working on into his ears, he returned and looked at Ridley square in the eyes. "You sick?"

"Yeah," replied Ridley, "got a wound in my stomach. I'm poisoned."

"Did a girl do that to you?" asked the man, "women are evil."

"Certain ones," said Ridley with a certain female chef in mind. "But no my…crew got into a fight and I lost. I got kicked out of my crew and now I am here, wounded with nowhere to go."

"No one has nowhere to go," said the doctor, "you could always go East, then again I heard a Yonkou has been attacking islands and establishing bases there using the local bandits as leaders. Argost, Windmill, we've lost so many to pirates."

"Argost," repeated Ridley, the name seeming familiar. "Anyways, I just want some booze."

"Booze?" said the doctor, "I thought you were poisoned? Booze is no duplicate for good medical care."

"Huh?" said Ridley, "I didn't really think about getting treated. My plan was to drink myself into a stupor, find a girl, then die of poisoning. Anyways, can I get directions to the bar?"

The doctor slid back, "I'm going to tell you the tale of how I became a doctor. Once upon a time a young boy wanted to be a doctor. He worked very hard and became a doctor. Beautiful, ain't it?"

"Yes, you should be novelist," said Ridley, "now about the bar?"

"What have you learned from my story?" asked the doctor.

"I'm not going to get any alcohol today, am I?"

"Not until you learn a very valuable lesson."

"Fine. I give up."

"Do you have a dream?"

"To get alcohol today."

"No! A real dream! A fantasy that seems so far away from you, you'll never be able to reach it?"

"Right now, that sounds alcohol."

"Be serious!" The doctor struck out with his left hand landing a nice clean karate chop onto Ridley's shoulder. The blow from the chop forced him to the ground.

"I'm injured!"

"You are fine with dying, but not with being hit? Tell me your dream!"

"My dream?" Ridley shifted into sitting up, "its to be a great musician. One that the world will never see again. To carve out my own musical abilities throughout my journey and have people, admire me."

"Oh, well, that's never going to happen." The doctor returned to his work.

"I thought you were going to give me a pep talk!"

"Why would I give a pep talk to some worthless trash like you? You want to die, don't you? So, go on over to a pit and do yourself in."

"That's still no reason to crush someone's dreams!"

"What are you going to do prove me wrong?" A smile appeared on the doctor's face. His sedative was fast-acting and super strong. His operations were number one in the town.

"If I live long enough I will! I'll devote a song to you, I'll call it 'Stupid old dream-crushers'!"

"Oh, if that's the case! SEDATIVE!" The doctor leapt into action he struck out with his syringe and buried the needle deep into Ridley's left thigh.

"What…did…you…dooooo," said Ridley as he fell to the ground with a crash.

"I'm going to fix you," said the doctor. He fumbled around and found his good old needle and thread. "People may comment that my methods to get volunteers is…unorthodox, but what can you do in this world? So few people are willing to subjugate themselves to the advancement of science. Maybe you'll grow to like your NEW body…"

A few hours later. Ridley struggled to wake up. He shifted up. He got up and looked around the room. He had passed out in the doctor's office, but why? The last few minutes with the doctor were a blur. He remembered asking him for alcohol, but nothing more.

The doctor scooted back into the room he had a bottle of wine in his hand, "nice day, isn't it?" He sat the bottle of wine on the table and handed it to Ridley. Ridley murmured something and greedily drank all of the wine straight from the bottle.

Ridley sighed as he downed the last drop. He put the bottle back onto the nearby table and noticed something…different. He didn't feel any pain. His stomach felt as good as new, no harmful toxins floating around in there.

"Happy with my handiwork?" said the doctor as he returned to his work from the day prior.

"It certainly feels interesting," said Ridley. He lifted up his shirt to notice a circle of stitches decorating his abs. "You fixed me up?"

"Free of charge," said the doctor, "your story was quite compelling."

"What story?" asked Ridley.

"Going to be world famous," said the doctor, "I don't much care for music myself, but I may stop and listen to some of yours."

"Right…" said Ridley he stood up and stretched his arms, "anything you need me to do? To make sure I am all right?"

"Nope," said the doctor, "I know if you are alright. I just operated on you after all. And trust me, you are not alright."

"Wait!" said Ridley, "I thought you said you just operated on me."

"I'm a doctor," said the doctor, "if I was a miracle worker, I'd charge even more. Due to my genius I managed to dilute the poison, but diluted poison is still deadly. It will kill you, the only question is when. I probably added an additional year, maybe two to your lifespan."

"So, you mean to say you saved me from dying, but I'm still going to die," questioned Ridley.

"Basically," said the doctor, "now please leave. I have other patients I need to tend to."

Ridley looked around the empty house and noticed no one was around. He shrugged. He went to collect his jumbled guitar, but noticed it was completely fixed. Untouched. It looked brand-new. He grabbed it and left. The doctor was a nice guy, after all.

The people in the city streets were a buzz with new news. Apparently Pimp had captured a new female and was going to leave soon. They were all joyous about it and were just waiting for him to get up and out. He was still clueless as to who this Pimp guy was or why he sold slaves, but he knew it didn't bother him. A doctor just performed a free upgrade on him and he now had two more years left. He had enough time to be famous. Heck, dying would probably make him more popular then ever!

"Quick! Enma said Sage should be in the harbor!" shouted Zesiro as he skidded past not noticing Ridley.

"Sage?" asked Ridley as he watched Zesiro run by.

Hiro-Shu was the next one to run by. "That Pimp better not hurt her!"

"Huh?" said Ridley. He watched his two former crewmates run past him. "Sage is in trouble?" He looked back to where the other two had come from expecting to see Mikoto run by. He must've done left. He wouldn't abandon his crew like that. Ridley sighed. With two more years left, being a pirate may be good for him. He joined in the chase.

(~Back to current time~)

Ridley sighed as he hauled his wet sheet back up onto the ship. His memories distracted him and he wasn't paying attention to how soaked his blankets were becoming. They were clean and void of blood stains. He was thankful to say the least. The crew didn't need to know what was happening to him. He quickly headed back down below the ship and to his cabin.

Hiro-Shu peered up from the book he was reading. He normally would've been downstairs sleeping, but since they were backtracking across the ocean he decided he should be keeping the boat on track on the way to their next destination. He hadn't bothered to call out to Ridley, because he seemed distracted. He had seen everything, however.

**Home, Sweet Home!**

**Arrival at Argost Island!**

Yes, for you slow-pokes out there, Ridley is fatally sick due to his little fight with Karasu. He may die at anytime now (don't count on it). And the only person who knows about this little secret of his is Hiro-Shu, how will this secret fair in the hands of solemn golem? Only time will tell.

The next story arc technically begins in the next chapter! New villains, new story, and some new problems…man, I love my job! (Now only if I got paid for it).


	52. Home Arc: 52 Home, Sweet Home

**Home, Sweet Home!**

**Arrival at Argost Island!**

The ship came into dock at a small island. Its entire perimeter was surrounded by a large wooden fence. The fence was at least seven feet high. Then there was another singular fence cutting the island into two unequal halves. The dock had two doors, one leading to one half of the island and another to the other.

There was a single guard wearing wooden armor standing guard in between the two. He had a long wooden spear in his hands. Zesiro stood at the helm. The dock was empty. Their ship was the only one in the harbor. This island had been abandoned. Enma was the first one off of the boat. He was glad to be able to step onto solid ground. This had only been his second time at sea, but this was his first time on a big boat. Underneath the deck when the ship was rocking made him feel a bit queasy.

Enma approached the guard and saluted him. "We are explorers and we are here to dock on this island for the next few days."

Zesiro walked up behind him and spoke, "We need to recheck our supplies and among other things."

"Hey," said Enma pulling Zesiro aside, "are we planning on pillaging this island? If so, I would like to do a little recon first."

"We haven't pillaged an island at all," said Zesiro. His mind couldn't help but return to their dwindling finances. If they had any foresight at all they would've stole some of the Pimp's money. Too bad they were too focused on keeping the crew together, that they weren't thinking straight.

"Can I see the entire crew," asked the guard.

"Sure," said Zesiro. An organized place this Argost Island must be. He knocked on the ship, "everyone, front and center."

Hiro-Shu touched down on the dock in a few seconds as he was simply resting on the dock. He looked sleepy, as if he hadn't had any sleep in days. He sat down on the dock and laid back against one of the poles.

Sage and Ridley both wandered out onto the dock at the same time. Sage was spinning around in a light blue dress. Ridley was holding his head in pain. "What a wonderful island this is!" said Sage with pure happiness in her voice.

Mikoto leapt from the ship and onto the dock. The dock split open. The wooden fell off right beneath Mikoto's feet and Mikoto fell straight through the newly made hole. Mikoto couldn't even let out a scream for help before he sank.

"I didn't see that one coming," said Zesiro as he leapt from the dock and into the water.

"The dog's luck has finally ran out," said Ridley as he peered down the hole. "Serves him right…" he fell down onto his butt, "can't laugh, right now. Head's throbbing."

"This all," said the guard. "Six people. Five males. One female." He made a quick mark onto the wall. "Females go to right and males go to the left."

"Okey-dokey!" said Sage as she waved goodbye to the crew, "see you all in a hour or so for brunch!" She entered the door and left.

"Wait!" shouted Enma, but he sighed when he found out he was late. "Why are you splitting us up?"

"Boss' order," said the guard.

"Can I speak to the boss?" asked Enma.

"No," replied the guard.

"And why not?" asked Enma.

"Boss' order," replied the guard.

"Lord of Death, I would be very pleased if you took this infernal…" said Enma as he began to pray.

"Glad you guys waited for us," said Zesiro as he brought Mikoto onto the surface. "Where'd Sage go?"

The entire crew pointed to the door on the right. "Males are supposed to go to the left," replied Hiro-Shu.

"So, Sage is going to be all alone on this island?" asked Zesiro as he brought the drowned dog onto the dock. "She'll be alright. She can kill anyone who annoys her."

"You alive Mikoto?" asked Ridley. Mikoto managed a thumbs-up.

"Males go to the left. Females go to the right," the guard repeated.

"Are you alright with this, Mikoto?" asked Enma.

"I still think Sage is trying to kill me, so yes," said Mikoto still not moving from his position. Hiro-Shu grabbed his feet and dragged him into the left door. Zesiro and Ridley followed. Enma decided to stay back and pray for the guard's eternal damnation.

"So, Ridley," began Zesiro as they continued to walk through the time, "why did you come up with Sage? Asking her about something?"

Ridley coughed. "Um…yeah, I asked her about lifting the ban on alcohol…wait. She can't see me drink over here! I can get drunk! Where's a bar? Where's a bar?"

Zesiro caught the back of Ridley's collar. "You are not going to get…drunk?" The tug on his hand vanished as Ridley stripped out of his shirt and went running towards the nearest bar he could find.

"I think I'm going to tag along with our weird little friend," said Enma as he started to trail behind Ridley. "I have a feeling if anyone is going to get hurt, its going to be him. I'll catch up with you guys in time for brunch."

"Okay, see you," said Mikoto, "okay Hiro-Shu. I think I'm ready to stand up again." Hiro-Shu peered down at Mikoto, who he was still dragging due to his lack of usual enthusiasm. When Hiro-Shu let go, Mikoto stood up and patted himself off. He strolled behind the two giants of his crew.

The trio walked along for awhile along the wooden fence's line still worried for Sage's safety. If they stayed close to the wooden wall, then if Sage screamed for help they'd knock it down. Hiro-Shu was positive that it would take little effort on his part or Zesiro's to knock it down.

A small pub soon loomed into view. Mikoto stopped at the sight of it. An eerie feeling washed over him as if he had seen somewhere before. The yellow bricks that merged into the red ones. The sign. Mikoto scratched his head, "Xavier's Pub."

"Calm down," said Zesiro, "we promised Sage that we'd be back in time for brunch. The last thing you want to do is fill up on someone else's food."

"No, its not that," said Mikoto, "I could've sworn I've heard that name somewhere before. Have we ran into a Xavier's Pub sometime during our journey?"

Zesiro paused for a second. "Its possible. We've been to quite a few islands around here. Maybe Ridley knows…if he hadn't ran off to find some drinks. Why did we allow him back on our crew?"

"He's a good guy," said Mikoto as he looked over his shoulders. The more he thought of it, the more the island as a whole seemed familiar to him. The wooden fences stuck out, though.

"Ridley?" asked Zesiro, even Hiro-Shu looked questioningly. "I think you got Ridley mixed up with someone else on our crew. He used us to solve his own ulterior motives with his dad, not to mention he left us soon after that."

"Then he came back and saved us," said Mikoto as he approached the wooden wall, "besides you can't deny he is a good musician." Mikoto crouched and looked closely at the wall. Not scuffs, splinters sticking out, and no weather damage. Either this is an extremely peaceful island or the wall is new.

"Good musician doesn't mean good guy," said Zesiro. "Why are you studying the wall?"

"I know this place," said Mikoto. "But this wall…I can't seem to remember this place, because of this wall. I guess I'll just have to knock it down!" Mikoto leaned back about to fire a punch to break the wall when Zesiro grabbed him and pulled him down to the ground.

"We don't want to cause a ruckus before we have even been on an island for one hour!" shouted Zesiro holding Mikoto to the ground.

"I know this place! This wall doesn't belong here!" shouted Mikoto, "I'm only trying to return this place to how its been originally where I can remember it!"

"It's the worst rainstorm in the history of Loguetown. Its raining cats and dogs on every square each of the place. Roofs are leaking underneath the pressure of the rain. One guy is daring enough to go out on this day," said another voice, not belonging to anyone on the crew, "and yet he does not get wet. How did this happen?"

Mikoto swerved from his spot and looked at the speaker, "I REMEMBER YOU!"

(-With Sage-)

"What a lovely day!" called out Sage to anyone who could hear her. The entire island on this side was basically populated with women. The only men on the island were the guards who seemed pretty lax. They were stretched out in their armor on the ground and in chairs. "What a wonderful island this is! A day away from my entire crew! No antics to slow me down!"

Sage skipped along the grass. She found herself a nice small inn and decided to stop in. The inn was composed of wood, neat wood at that. The inn wasn't painted and there was no graffiti or any other dirt around it. It was one-hundred percent clean! Not a speck of dirt had ever even approached this place.

The inn was quiet and besides from the guards stationed in there the place was basically empty. Sage approached the first person she saw not wearing a guard's uniform. She sighed as she stepped over the man who was passed out on the floor. She was dressed in a green shirt and a long green skirt. Her long brown hair flowed to her waist. "Not again!"

Sage felt unnerved. She hated seeing people in distress! To the rescue! Sage wandered up to the woman and inquisitively asked, "need any help?"

"Oh, yes, please," said the woman as she turned to her, "um…I'm sorry. I don't happen to remember seeing you here before."

"I just arrived on a ship with my crew," smiled Sage.

"A crew?" asked the woman a glimmer of hope spreading across her face, "are you guys Marines?"

"Nope," said Sage she watched as the hope disappeared from her face, "we're… adventurers, I guess."

"You guess?" asked the woman, "oh, well, too bad. At this point I'm fairly certain the people of this island would take help from anyone." She handed Sage a plate full of dirty dishes.

"What do you mean?" asked Sage gracefully taking the plates without a complaint.

"It's a long story," said the woman, "just don't stay here too long. I don't like to impose…wait. Come to think of it, your face does seem familiar."

"People say I look like a movie star!" said Sage as she struck a pose and laughed to herself. She froze. She turned around quickly hiding her face. She just remembered she had herself a bounty in these waters. A big one, too. People might just know her from her face now…she'd have to play it more careful. Especially around this girl, she seemed too smart to be tricked.

(-With Ridley and Enma-)

"Let's see where would a bar be?" asked Ridley as he scanned the area. He saw houses made of wood and the whole thing, but not enough to really interest him. He was on quest to find himself some alcohol. He hadn't any in awhile now.

"Why don't we just stop and ask for directions?" asked Enma as he trailed behind Ridley. "Somebody here probably drinks. Maybe a guard or two." Enma's eyes were trained on the vast majority of the guards that were wandering around the island. The guard out front didn't seem fazed by their brand-new pirate flag, nor did he seem shocked when Mikoto stepped off of the boat. Mikoto had accumulated a pretty big bounty.

"Hey! We'll find it! Asking for directions will only slow us down," said Ridley. He noticed the guards that were walking around, "besides they have these huge walls. They care an awful lot about safety so their guards wouldn't get drunk."

"Interesting point," said Enma. His eyes jumped back to the walls. Big wooden walls, a guard taking roll of a ship's crew, but no one noticing the fact that a pirate crew with a bounty of over 70 million belies just stepped onto the shore? Something was off. He stopped when he noticed a spot void of all plant life. "Hey, Ridley, what's over there?"

The duo walked up to the plot of land. The grass stopped neatly around the edges of the place. There were two gravestones in the center of the place. "It's a graveyard," replied Ridley, uninterested in the death of two people. "I still need to find me a bar."

Enma crouched down and looked over the names. He froze at the sight of the names, "Ridley…I think these gravestones are more interesting then any bar."

**The Island Named Argost!**

**A Welcome Back Party!**

I hate writer's block! I had to power through this one! It's a pain writing! Oh, well, maybe I'll get a genius idea with the next chapter. Let's hope so! In case you are wondering you may know what island they are on. I have given at least three clues throughout this entire chapter! I'll let you know in the next chapter. Who is that man that Mikoto remembers? Will Sage be found out as a pirate all by herself? Whose names are engraved on those gravestones? All that (maybe) and more next time!


	53. Home Arc: 53 An Island Named Argost

**The Island Named Argost!**

**A Welcome Back Party**!

"Xavier!" shouted Mikoto as he looked at the old man. The man was still every bit as big as he was when Mikoto left. "What are you doing here?"

"Me?" asked Xavier, "Uh…Mikoto, you are home." Xavier pointed behind him at the pub clearly labeled, 'Xavier's pub'. "That's me bar, remember? How many fights did you start there?"

"Home?" asked Mikoto, "but I can't be home, yet! I'm supposed to return when I'm famous! I can't be back here now!" Mikoto turned back to his crew. "We got to leave! I can't afford to jinx myself!"

"It is considered bad luck," said Zesiro considering Mikoto's offer.

Hiro-Shu extended his hand to Xavier, "the name's Hiro-Shu. Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine, friends of Mikoto's are friends of mine," said Xavier.

Zesiro realizing his mistake extended his hand next, "Zesiro. I'm the swordsman of the crew. Hiro-Shu's the navigator. You know Mikoto as the captain."

"Nice to know," said Xavier, "this it? You've been gone for a little over half a year and you only got two people to show for it?"

"I got five!" shouted Mikoto, "Ridley, a musician, Enma, a doctor, and Sage, a cook!"

"You got a ship?" asked Xavier. He was trying to make sure his old friend wasn't messing up his one life in this world, "and what about a bounty?"

"I have a ship and my bounty is over 25 million!" shouted Mikoto. "I'm doing better then my old man ever did!"

"That's true," said Xavier, "but you can't compare yourself to the worse pirate who ever lived and expect to be seen as an accomplished fellow."

"You can't even quite count the ship," said Zesiro, "it'll probably fall apart if we try to enter the Calm Belt with it."

"Thanks for telling him," grumbled Mikoto under his breath.

"Really?" asked Xavier, "you are going to drown again? Did you forget you can't swim or do you just not care?"

"The ship won't sink! It'll go strong all the way through the Grand Line!" shouted Mikoto.

Xavier's fist smashed into Mikoto's face sending him down to the ground, "be serious! You don't want to kill your crew, too! Next to a jolly roger the ship is the single most important thing a pirate can have!"

"We just got our jolly roger," said Zesiro. Mikoto shot Zesiro a glare from his place on the ground.

Xavier stomped onto Mikoto's back sending him back into the dirt, "are you a fool? A jolly roger after six months? After you got five crew mates? Are you stupid?"

Mikoto remained silent. Zesiro spoke up in his defense, "our crew is pretty powerful, however. We have three Devil Fruit users, me, and Hiro-Shu here who is as tough as steel."

"I thought you had six people?" asked Xavier, "we did you only mention five?"

"The sixth isn't that great," said Zesiro.

"A worthless man is better then no man," said Xavier, "let's go inside. I'll give you guys a round of drinks." He began to lead the group into his bar.

"Won't Ridley be jealous?" joked Zesiro. Mikoto remained flat on the ground.

"You coming?" asked Hiro-Shu nodding to the inside of the bar.

"Sure," said Mikoto, he stood up, dusted himself off, and headed in. The three of them sat at the bar while Xavier attended to his paying customers. Mikoto remained silent and in deep thought while Zesiro asked questions to Xavier about Mikoto.

Suddenly Mikoto spoke up, "HE WASN'T IN LOGUETOWN!"

"What?" said Zesiro jumping back out of his chair and onto the ground shocked by the sudden outburst.

"The riddle," replied Mikoto, "the answer is the man wasn't in Loguetown."

"Who cares about a stupid riddle?" asked Zesiro standing up. He was met by one of Mikoto's feet smashing into his feet. Zesiro was thrown back to the ground.

"Don't mock riddles!" shouted Mikoto.

"I'll mock them if I want to!" shouted Zesiro his voice rising with anger. Mikoto ignored him and took a congratulatory gulp of lemonade.

"Yeah, that's the answer," said Xavier as he sat down, "wondered how long it would be before you figured it out. Melanie actually came up with that one."

Mikoto spit his lemonade out. "Melanie!" He got up and bolted out of the door. "I got to stop Sage from meeting her!" He was out of sight in a matter of seconds.

"Who?" asked Zesiro.

"An old friend of Mikoto. His teacher to be exact," said Xavier, "they've always had a bit of a strained relationship."

"It's a wonder his parents put up with him," said Zesiro.

"Until they died," corrected Xavier.

Zesiro flinched. "I'm sorry. I had no idea, Mikoto doesn't often talk about his old life here. As a matter of fact…I don't recall him ever talking about anyone other his terrible pirate of a dad."

"He never told you guys?" asked Xavier, "I would've thought he would've told his crew."

"Did you look after him when his parents died?" asked Zesiro.

"Nope," replied Xavier as he swirled the liquids in his cup around, "not many people could afford another mouth around here."

"So, did he go around and beg?" asked Zesiro, noting the irony that Mikoto, the dog, had to beg.

"He tried," said Xavier leaning back, "people don't care that much for a kid. We had mountain bandits down in the hills. Handing out food is a surefire way to get attacked and pillaged."

"Oh," said Zesiro, "how did he manage then? Work odd jobs, steal, or something like that?" Hiro-Shu peeked up from his scarcely touched drink as he finally decided to get involved in the conversation.

"I wish this world was that simple," said Xavier, "Mikoto doesn't have much of an affinity at doing things other then beating people up and answering riddles. Can't make much money for that."

"So, you going to tell us how he did it?" asked Zesiro getting inpatient.

"Sure," said Xavier, "but you didn't hear this from me."

(-With Ridley and Enma-)

Ridley crouched down at the tombstone, "Nothing in this world is as interesting as bars." He looked at the names and shrugged. "So, what a man and a woman. Miyu and Michael Azgard. Probably husband and wife. They died…about 11, maybe twelve years ago. Big deal."

A tick appeared on Enma's forehead, "you really can't put anything together can you?"

"A husband and wife died," said Ridley. He looked around the field, "probably by some kind of fire. Nothing worth getting all excited over. Things like this happen."

"Azgard," said Enma. Upon seeing no reaction from Ridley, he repeated himself, "Azgard."

"You can say his name one hundred times," said Ridley, "still doesn't make him important or relevant to me. Now where's a bar?"

"What about the name Mikoto Azgard?" said Enma, "that name important to you?"

Ridley stopped searching around for a bar and looked back at the gravestones. "He probably doesn't want us to see these. A guy's private life and business life should be kept separate."

"Private and business life?" asked Enma, "we are his crewmates, we are his business life. We sleep in the same room as him, we are part of his private life. I didn't even know his parents died. He never told me."

"I think the only person he actually told was Sage," said Ridley. "Sage's mom died, so it gave them some sort of common ground. I was around when he told her so, of course I know."

"So, you, Sage, Mikoto, and Zesiro all lost your mothers?" said Enma, "what a way to make a guy feel left out. My mom is still alive."

Ridley all of a sudden felt crept out by being with a man with the number thirteen printed on his fingers, controlled bones, and knew a lot about the human skeletal system. The graveyard they were standing in didn't make him feel any better either. "I think I really need a drink."

"You just saw your best friend's parents' graves," said Enma, "and all that you can think about is a drink?"

"Its how a deal with bad situations," said Ridley, "been that way ever since I was three. You coming or should I head out without you?"

"Go on ahead," said Enma as he sat down and closed his eyes, "I'm going to say a prayer for these two souls."

A cold shiver swept up Ridley's spine, "Yeah…you do that." Ridley started to walk away from the graveyard, "tell them 'their son is doing fine'."

"Sure," replied Enma as he continued his prayer.

(-With Sage-)

Sage delicately balanced the plates and cups she had taken from the tables and had staked on top of each other. They leaned a little from one side to the other, but that didn't distract her. She kept up her stride from the dining room and into the kitchen. She carefully deposited the plates into the sink and got to work. Humming as she washed.

The woman, whose name Sage had found out was Melanie, came back into the room. She immediately went back to cooking. "This place has been so hectic after that Yonkou stopped here. I just wished I knew what happened to the mountain bandits. Did that Yonkou's visit empower them or something? They have just been so destructive as of late."

"Yonkou?" asked Sage, the term was familiar to her, "as in one of the four great pirates of the sea?" Melanie nodded, "wonder what he's doing in the East Blue."

"Recruiting," said Melanie, "there are some powerful people in this ocean now. Ever since the last two pirate kings were executed, pirates been coming here to prove their power."

"Wow," said Sage as she started back on the dishes, "at least its sunny outside!"

Melanie smiled, "yes, it is sunny. I just really wish we could get rid of those mountain bandits. I miss my male friends."

Sage chuckled, "yeah, men are nice. But its nice for it to be just women in one place, don't you think?"

"Yeah, and so does Dai Mungi," said Melanie with a sigh, "the king of the mountain bandits here. He separates us as the women are easier prey."

Sage stopped her humming. "Well, I'm sure if you just asked nicely he'd stop," she said as she restarted her humming.

Melanie laughed, "yeah, talking sense to that guy isn't easy. I swear he has two personalities or something. Anyways, he really took precautions against us. He separated the men from the women to decrease our morale, not to mention the simple fact that now we have a constant reminder that he is stronger then us. That wall. He installed it to separate us and now whenever we do anything we see that infernal wall."

Sage stopped her humming. She began to do the dishes in silence. When she returned to her ship, maybe she'd ask the guys if they wanted to stop this. She was sure that they would be kind enough to do it. She knew she couldn't do it herself, but Hiro-Shu or Zesiro could easily defeat them. Not to mention what Mikoto could do.

"We used to have someone on this island that could stand up to them," said Melanie, "He was a pirate. His name was Michael Azgard…he was so strong and so righteous even though he was a pirate. His son was foolhardy and a little bit too dense, but he was made of good stuff, too."

Sage stopped doing the dishes altogether. Azgard? A foolhardy, dense boy? "Say whatever happened to that boy? I sure would like to meet him?"

"Him?" said Melanie, "he went off to become…" Melanie cleared her throat before shouting, "THE NEXT PIRATE KING!" Melanie burst into giggles, "I always find that thought of him so funny. I mean I've known him to fight, but I never actually saw him do it."

"Was his name Mikoto?" asked Sage quietly almost in a whisper.

"What?" asked Melanie, "couldn't hear that. You are going to have to speak up, darling."

"I said…was his name Mikoto?" repeated Sage.

Melanie dropped her dish to the floor. It shattered into hundreds of pieces. Melanie's face turned red and started to pick the pieces up, "yeah, yeah, it was. You've seen his bounty poster or something? He's getting started at it, but he'll be something one day. At least I hope."

"He's something alright," said Sage as she knelt down and stared Melanie in the face, "he's my captain! I'm an Infinity Pirate crew member! The cook!"

Melanie gasped at Sage's proclamation, "Really? I'm so proud of that boy!" Melanie hugged Sage tightly. Sage joyously returned the hug.

**The Tale of a Puppy!**

**Mikoto's Childhood?**

The boy is back! The next two story arcs (not including this one) have just been formulated! I promise to work extra hard to get through this one and keep bringing quality work though.

So, yeah 100 CSpacian points to anyone who guessed Mikoto's hometown! (Remember CSpacian votes are not valid for redemption in the United States, Canada, South America, Central America, any other place on this planet, or the moon. If you ever go to Uranus you are set!)

So, yeah, Mikoto's childhood is coming up in the next chapter. Sound interesting? Remember, he lost his parents at the age of four? So far he hasn't showcased any talent that would allow him to make money. So how did he survive for twelve odd years? Find out next chapter!


	54. Home Arc: 54 The Tale of a Puppy

**The Tale of a Puppy!**

**Mikoto's Childhood?**

"Well," started Xavier, "I guess I'll start off with his parents death. I remember it as the day Hestas Nero came to town. He was a friendly old man he was good friends with everyone on the island."

(~Flashback-Twelve years ago~)

An old shriveled man, called Hestas Nero, stood at the docks. He smiled down at the hundreds of islanders that were seeing him off. "I await my return to this wonderful island." He stood on top of a large ship. He had at least 50 men under his command at this very moment. He was currently in control of the largest inter-island trading company. They would buy items from certain islands and then sell those items to other islands and make a huge profit.

"Aye, me mate. We look for ward to yer return!" said a single man. He wasn't very well muscled, and he appeared to be in his young thirties. He had light auburn hair and was dressed in a light green vest and jeans. He had a small golden-hilt sword strapped to his side.

"Right," laughed Nero, "Michael Azgard, captain of the Legend Pirates. Its always…a pleasure to do business with you. That reminds me, actually. I got a barrel of ale I wanted to give you." Nero snapped his fingers. One of his workers appeared with a large barrel of ale. Nero motioned to Michael with his bejeweled cane.

"You really didn't have to," said Michael as he graciously accepted the barrel, "I don't drink that much. Ever since I had me boy, I cut back. I'll be lucky to finish this within the year. I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can accept this."

"Humor me, old friend," said Nero as he waved goodbye and left. His smile was still present on his face when they were several miles off of the coast.

"Right, right," said Michael, "I do suppose it is the least I can do. Goodbye." Michael turned around and decided to head back home to his loving wife and little boy. He strode home confidently. The sword at his waist was a family heirloom, he had all the intentions to give it to Mikoto when he was eighteen, until then it would remain on his waist. He adjusted the barrel onto his shoulder.

He was just walking by Xavier's pub when the local bandit gang had come running out of the bar. They were being led by their own vicious leader, Hai Mungi. He was a brute with the strength of ten men and the intelligence of half of one. Hai, however, was getting on in years and losing some of his once legendary strength. He came out wielding his signature weapon, a large wooden club.

"Michael?" said the man as he came to a halt, "you're back from your voyage?"

"Yeah, came into dock last week," said Michael, "me and my two trusted friends…and crewmates. Are you going to return what you stole? Or are we going to have to fight?" Michael laid his barrel of ale down onto the ground beneath him.

Hai dropped the stolen stuff onto the ground. "Let's fight." He brought his large wooden club up and held it above his head. "You wanna make the first move."

A third man came up from behind him, "you go on home, Michael, say hello to that son of yours." The man had golden hair that stretched to his shoulders. He was quite large, reaching about 8 feet in height. "I'll handle the bandit."

"You are a good man, Okuso," said Michael as he turned around. He picked up his barrel and started to head back to his house, "make sure you hit him once for me."

"Wait," said Hai as he looked up at the man in front, "Okuso? As in Marco Okuso? The Tyrant of War?" Hai knew this man as his wanted posters were all up over the world, he had earned his first bounty of 60 million just a few years ago.

"Yup," said Okuso as he cracked his knuckles, "the same one that sank five Marine ships in the Grand Line before retiring to the East Blue."

Michael continued to run home and stood confidently on the doorstep. He had gotten into the habit of returning every two years to see his wife and son. He'd stay there for a week or so, and then leave again. It was heartbreaking leaving his son, but he had to get his name out there somehow. The marines mocked him and looked down on him, he was just going to prove them wrong.

"I'm home! Now where is my son?" asked Michael as he burst through the doorway and struck a pose. He just saw Miyu sitting on the chair he had brought home for one of his visits, smiling at him. "Where is…" Michael was met with a young boy swinging from a rope suspended from the ceiling. Michael was thrown to the ground with the force. "There he is!"

That night the house burst into flames. Michael was caught up in the flames and burned to death along with his loving wife. Through sheer luck Mikoto's room was on the top floor. The beams supporting his room broke and his room simply fell to the ground. The room wasn't even touched by the fire until the villagers were able to put it out.

(~Four years later~)

"I'm bored," pouted an eight-year-old Mikoto in his teacher's face. The old woman puffed her chest out. There was a younger girl, Melanie, who sat in the back of the class observing the class as apparently she was going to be the teacher next year.

"Of course, you are bored," she said, "you haven't even touched your math work! How in the world are you going to get a job? You shouldn't really on those bandits forever! They are bandits, they are despicable!"

"Yeah, I can!" shouted Mikoto, "They like me! They were friends wit' my dad. They told me so."

"WITH!" Shouted the teacher as she brought her ruler around and into the back of Mikoto's head, "they were friends with your dad. Please use proper grammar in my presence."

"OW!" shouted Mikoto as he was sent sprawling to the floor. "You are a meanie! Can't you hold back a little bit on me!"

"You have no work ethic or kindness!" shouted the teacher, "Those bandits are idiots. They could easily kill you in a matter of seconds. I really think they should."

"Nuh-uh," said Mikoto, "I fight WITH the boss' little boy all the time! I usually win!"

"You're still going to trust the bandits?" shouted the teacher, "You are a fool! The little boy? He is ten times weaker then the rest of bandits. He has no talent with his weapon! He's weak!"

"Yeah, right," said Mikoto, "you are just jealous of the fact that I can beat them and you can't." He received another thump on the head from his teacher's ruler. "OW!"

"You should train more," said the teacher, "pick a fight with someone stronger then you rather then keep fighting someone weaker then you."

"Fine!" shouted Mikoto, "I'll go fight one of their soldiers and then you'll see!" Mikoto rushed out of the room at high speeds.

Mikoto returned the next day with nary a scrape on him, "told you I'd win! Those bandits were so weak! Maybe I'll be the boss of them one day!"

(~Three years later~)

"Ow!" shouted a eleven-year-old Mikoto as he was thrown across the field. He landed into the muddy field with a loud and wet smack. The mud came up and swallowed Mikoto. Above him stood an older Hai Mungi.

Hai Mungi's body hadn't gone to waste. He was still incredibly fit and well-shaped. The only indicator of his age was his white, crisp hair. He looked down at Mikoto, Mikoto could stare up and see his bony rib cage in all of its glory.

"Hey there, kid," said Hai Mungi as he brought his wooden club back around and onto his back. He had lost some strength as the years passed and his wooden club was significantly smaller then it was before, "your father was a powerful and brave man, I really wish that fire hadn't done him in…because I wanted to!" Hai Mungi's large wooden club was brought straight up into Mikoto's gut lifting him up off of the ground and a few feet into the air.

Mikoto gasped for air as he collided with the solid ground once more. Mikoto rolled onto his side and tried to crawl about but a Hai Mungi's heavy boot stomped into his back slamming him into the ground.

"Me and all my bandits hated your pa," said Hai Mungi as he started to twist his foot and Mikoto's face deeper into the mud, "but we couldn't. Not to mention he had a friend, one Marco Okuso, a bloody pirate. This Marco Okuso had paid us a annual fee not to kill you or hurt you in anyway. He's a month late!" Hai Mungi brought his club down onto the back of Mikoto's head. Blood seeped from the back of Mikoto's head.

"You can't kill me!" murmured Mikoto through the mud, "if you kill me…my pa's friend…will kill you!"

"Him?" said Hai Mungi as he brought his head down closer to Mikoto's ear, "he went to the Grand Line. You are now no longer under his protection and more importantly you are the son of my worst enemy!"

The beating continued and could be heard all over the island. No one moved to try and help Mikoto. They stayed inside their houses as the fight continued and Mikoto continued to be beaten silly.

Suddenly hair started to cover all of Mikoto's body, a thick animal-like hair. His five fingers disappeared and were replaced with five sharp claws, the same occurred with his toes. His nose and upper lip merged together to form the top half of a beastly snout. A small wolf-like tail sprouted from his rear.

Hai backed off of the newly transformed kid. "What in the world?" His legs were weakening, "you're a freak…a half-human freak. How befitting for your father!" He lifted his bludgeon up with the intentions of one final blow to the head. As he swung down his club stuck in mid-air a five pronged claw stopped it. Mikoto looked up.

"If Marco Okuso won't kill you," said Mikoto as he staggered to his newly transformed feet, "then I guess I will." Mikoto reached out with his free hand and felt all five claws neatly slice into Hai's ribs. His old and brittle bones nearly collapsed from the force.

"What are you?" shrieked Hai Mungi, he remembered being in a similar position with Michael many years ago, but Michael had never been a killer. This half-human thing may just be the perfect killer. "Are you a werewolf like from the legends?"

"Close," said Mikoto as he swung his right leg around and into Hai Mungi's side. Hai Mungi was thrown back a few more feet, "I was told I ate a Devil Fruit. The something-something no mi: Model Coyote."

"A Devil Fruit?" said Hai Mungi, he heard of these rare and powerful fruits, but never ever saw someone who had consumed one before at least not in person. "You are just what we bandits need. You wanted to be the leader of my bandits when you were little right? Well, with this power you can be! You can lead my bandits to glory and fame among this little island, put it all under your control with ease! You can be the leader of us, of me and my bandits! We will be…" his words were cut short, an impromptu jab to Hai Mungi's throats ended his ramblings.

"Sorry," said Mikoto, "I don't want to associate myself with trash like you." Mikoto pulled his claw out of Hai Mungi's body and let it fall to the ground.

(~back to the present~)

"That was the first, last, and only man Mikoto had ever killed," said Xavier as he wiped some grease off of his hand onto his apron, "I saw him do it, too. When I heard him being battered, I ran to the rescue only to see him transform and kill a man."

"Why didn't you stop him?" asked Zesiro.

"Something about watching a little kid transform into a half-coyote, half-human hybrid and attack a man," said Xavier, "it is petrifying. Afterwards, me and Mikoto talked about things. He got into riddles and we chatted, we became good friends after that."

"You left something out," said Hiro-Shu as he took another sip from his cup, "when did Mikoto eat his Devil Fruit and how?"

Xavier leaned back and pondered this a moment, before shrugging it off. "Things happen. Could've stolen it from his papa's old treasure stash when he was three, could've ran into a Marine and stole it, with Mikoto's luck it could've fallen out of the sky and landed right in his mouth. He never told me about how he got it."

**The Bandit of the Forest!**

**The Vessel of Wood!**

HELLO! How did you all like Mikoto's past? What's that? You want to know how he got his Devil Fruit? I'm not telling (yet)! Also for those of you who noticed a certain reoccurring character who also appeared with the Blackwell Arc and Ridley's past GOOD FOR YOU! I throw little things like this in every now and then…so PAY ATTENTION! ALSO, GO COFFEE!


	55. Home Arc: 55 The Bandit of the Forest

**The Bandit of the Forest!**

**The Vessel of Wood!**

"Mister Mungi?" questioned one of the people gathered around a large wooden throne. A large wooden spear pierced the wall right beside her head, She dropped to her knees and bowed, "I'm…sorry…what did I say that offended you?"

"You called me Mister Mungi," said the large person in the throne. He was extremely muscular, but he was lean as well. He had a large wooden spear in his hand and he twirling it carelessly.

"I'm sorry…Mr. Dai," she repeated herself. The man mad a loud grunt in dissatisfaction. "Missus?" A large spear shot from the bandit's hand gouging her throat in a clean fashion. She collapsed onto her own bowing legs.

"My name is Dai Mungi!" shouted the man standing up from his throne and approaching the body. "I am to be refered to by my full name and nothing less, just as my father was! My father was a great man and I will follow in his footsteps. Any objections?" No one in the room replied. "Now what was so important that she would interrupt my existence?"

"A new female has arrived on the island," said one of the many other men in the room. "She arrived with a group of four men."

"A new female…hrm," said Dai Mungi, "is she attractive?"

"Our sources say yes," said the man, "but they more threatening news is the fact that our sources also said that she and her four partners all came from the same pirate ship."

"What pirate ship?" asked Dai Mungi as he went back to his throne and sat down.

"Our sources do not recognize the flag," said the man, "it must be fairly new. We do not believe any of the pirates have any significant bounties…at least none comparable to your current one of 33 million belies."

"Yes," said Dai Mungi as he stared off into space, "my bounty is something my old man could never have achieved. I made him sorry for not appointing me the leader of this band of bandits in the first place. My skills excel past his old feeble ones."

"Yes, indeed they do," said the man. He didn't want to mention the only reason why he obtained such powerful skills was from the artifact that the Yonkou gave him a few weeks ago. "But we still feel as if the crew is worth looking into they could spark a rebellion if their crimes do not go unpunished, I say we go extract a few belies from them to make our point."

"And what do you suggest we do if they resist our laws?" asked Dai Mungi with a wicked smile on his face.

"We execute them for the masses of course," said the man, "no other punishment would do."

"Very well, dispatch our five best men to the Men's Area," said Dai Mungi, "I'll make a personally visit to the Women's Area." His eyes trailed to the body of the dead woman, "I'm going to need a new woman to keep me company anyways. My old one no longer has that same spring in her step."

"Want us to clean the room while you are gone, sir?" asked the rest of the men.

"No," said Dai Mungi, "I love the smell of blood in the morning." He flipped his spear around and attached it to his back using a harness. He went onto his way to the area where the women of the island resided.

Dai Mungi stopped in the center of the area, "ALL WOMEN FRONT AND CENTER!" he commanded. A large group of women quickly gathered in front of them. The majority of them immediately went into a bow. Dai Mungi quickly lashed out at the ones who didn't.

He scanned the area when he was done with the people, "where's Melanie at? I was meaning to talk to her about a new position that opened up. I wouldn't mind getting some of her fire under my control."

"She's at the hotel," said one of the women, meekly, "a new ship has arrived. She was talking to the new arrival."

"Great," said Dai Mungi as he spun around and headed off towards the hotel, "I can kill two birds with one stone. The new arrivals are apparently pirates, so I'd be careful around her. I'm only acting in your best interest."

The crowd made loud surprised gasps and comments like "I never would have thought", or "she seemed so sweet".

Dai Mungi approached the hotel and walked straight in. His large spear in his hand when he came barging into the door. "Hello! I am here to apprehend a pirate and have some very friendly conversation with her. Where is Mrs. Melanie?"

"Here I am," said Melanie as she wandered up to him in her bright green dress, "do you need anything? Or do you just want my alcohol?"

"No, alcohol for me thanks," said Dai Mungi as he sat down in the biggest chair in the room, "I'm here to talk to the new arrival. I would like to be as sober as possible when I talk to her, where she can take me in with all my greatness."

Melanie smiled, "Yes. I am afraid you just missed her." She was lying, Sage was still in the back of the kitchen doing some last minute clean-up for the next big wave. "She went back to her ship to look after the rest of her crew. She's a cook, too, you know."

"I was unaware of this fact, actually," said Dai Mungi, "when she gets back, please send her to me at my fortress, deal?" Melanie nodded slowly. "Great! Now I have an offer for you. I want you to come with me to my fortress, my last assistant had an…accident."

"I appreciate your offer, but…" Melanie was unable to finish her sentence as at that exact moment Sage came out of the kitchen.

"Melanie, I'm going to need your help soon," said Sage. She had changed out of her previous outfit and was now in a different one. A yellow shirt with a sunflower on the front and a short yellow skirt.

"It looks like she came back just in time," said Dai Mungi. He was well-versed with all of the town's females, so when an unfamiliar face showed up he knew right off the back. "Hello, my sweet." He shuffled right up and put his arm around her, "heard you were new here? Don't you know its good etiquette that when you arrive at a new island you should immediately pay your respects to that island's king?"

"You?" asked Sage, "Oh! You installed that wall didn't you? I think the people of this town would really appreciate it if you could tear that wall down? They miss everyone on the other side." Sage said everything so sweetly that it could melt the heart of a golem.

"Really?" said Dai Mungi, "I would do that, but then people would gather. Gatherings lead to meetings. Meetings lead to riots. Riots lead to revolution. And if there was a revolution I would have to kill a lot of people, I don't want to kill a lot of people. So, that wall is actually there to make it where I don't have to. So, you see that wall is a good thing."

"Okay," said Sage, "but maybe allow them to meet every so often?"

"I said NO!" shouted Dai Mungi as he twisted around and glared at Sage, "when the king says 'no', that means no!"

"But you didn't say 'no', silly," said Sage.

Dai Mungi's eyes flashed over with rage. He picked Sage up by her shoulders and rammed her against a wall. Sage let out a high-pitched squeal. "Listen, cutie, on this island we only have one law. And that one law is 'Do not upset me'. Do you want to know the punishment for breaking this law is?"

Sage managed to squeal a barely audible, "what?" Whether or not it was the beginning of a sentence or just that one word was unknown because as soon as it came out, Dai Mungi tightened his grip cutting off her voice.

"Its death," said Dai Mungi, "you tick me off, I'll kill you or your crewmates. Whichever one gives me more pleasure. And I think killing you would give me a lot of pleasure, you have that scream. Its pleasurable." He tightened his grip causing Sage to scream again, "that's it."

"Wait!" shouted Sage, "you can't do this. I'm a pirate, my crewmates will kill you if you kill me."

"Oh, really, and who are these supposed crewmates of yours that can kill me?" asked Dai Mungi he brought his spear off of his back, "I am the vessel of wood! Watch, any dead wood I'm in contact with I can easily control!" A single needle grew from the side of his spear. These needles soon started exploding from his spear at a rapid pace until he was left with a menacing large staff with numerous needles. "Can any of them do this?"

"No," said Sage, dejectedly, "but Mikoto will still…" she was picked up off of the wall and lifted high into the air. She looked back at Melanie. Melanie was staring at her bug-eyed and full of terror, she was managing to shake her head at Sage and telling her to be quiet.

"Mikoto?" said Dai Mungi, "the half-dog freak!" He dropped Sage onto the ground and laughed. "He's back! That beast! I can't believe it! I always knew he was brain-dead, but to return to the island where he was constantly hounded by us bandits! If it wasn't for Marco Okuso we would've killed him a long time ago!"

Sage stared up at him from her position on the ground scared to death of Dai Mungi's intimidating giant spear. "I'm lost…I don't know why you want to kill Mikoto?"

"Simple," said Dai Mungi, "its justice. Killers deserve to be killed. The Marines have been using that excuse for ages. This is just another way of exercising it. I want you to deliver a message to him for me…You can sweeten it for him if you like, tell him I was kind and bought you some drinks and a dinner before giving you this message. Or you can tell him, I beat the crap out of you, rubbed your face in the mud, and then threatened you to deliver this message. I don't care, I just him to know I plan to kill him and if he could come and see me in my fortress, I'll gladly settle my business there."

Sage watched Dai Mungi as he left the building. She quivered in her place before swallowing her fear, confident that Dai Mungi had left. She stood up and smiled. "Well, it looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I better go tell Mikoto!"

"What are you insane?" asked Melanie, "That Dai Mungi fellow is insanely powerful! He has the strength of twenty men easily! Not to mention that he's the vessel of wood!" Melanie broke off from her rant, "what does that men? The vessel of wood? Is that like a Devil Fruit or something?"

"Close," said Sage, "but don't worry one of our shipmates is a vessel, too. Besides, Mikoto can easily beat that guy into submission. Mikoto is just that kind of guy. Not only that, but if this really is Mikoto's hometown he'd want to destroy anyone that made you guys unhappy. That's the kind of guy he is." Sage left out of the door with a troubled look on her face, something that Dai Mungi had said hadn't matched up correctly.

The ship was parked on the outside of the island in the dock. The guard eyed her suspiciously as she came out, but he didn't seem to be too bothered with her reappearance. She walked onto the deck of the ship steadily. Something was off. The ship didn't…wobble as much as it did before. The ship was stuck in one place. The waves didn't shake the ship anymore. Dai Mungi had trapped them on the island. Not only that, but she smelled smoke and it was coming from below the deck! She bolted around the corner and down the stairs. Had Dai Mungi set fire to their ship to burn their only means of escape?

She was on the second to bottom level where her kitchen was located. She turned and saw heavy black smoke billowing out from underneath the doorway to her kitchen. That was the place they'd set fire too after all. Lots of oil, grease, and other flammable material. She gathered up a bit of cloth and kicked the door down. She was amazed on what she saw on the other side.

Mikoto was standing above the stove with a fan fanning the smoke off of what Sage could only presume was a failed dish. Mikoto smiled sheepishly at her as she ran out of the doorway and grabbed a pale of water. She rushed back into the room and poured the water all over the stove.

Maybe if she was lucky, Dai Mungi would kill Mikoto for her.

**The Invitation to a Challenge!**

**Sage Accepts?**

Buh-buh-BUH! Well, this arc is progressing faster then expected. Anyways, the villain for this arc has finally appeared! Dai Mungi, a man who slaughters people for fun, enjoys the smell of blood, and was able to imprison an entire island. Will Mikoto be able to stop him or will Sage get her wish? More importantly, however, has Ridley gotten his alcohol yet?


	56. Home Arc: 56 The Invitation to a

**The Invitation to a Challenge!**

**Sage Accepts?**

"Hey, listen," said Mikoto, "I'm sorry for burning the kitchen." He was sitting outside the kitchen while Sage frantically tried to recover whatever she could from the kitchen. "I was trying to cook me a salmon…I think its safe to say I failed."

Sage peered into the frying pan that Mikoto was using. Whatever he was cooking was a big lump of burnt crumbs. Failing wasn't exactly what Sage thought…this was way worse then failing. For some reason Mikoto always seemed to be trying to do a nice thing whenever he apologized.

"Its okay!" shouted Sage from the door as she burst out and hugged Mikoto, "I forgive you! Its not like you never did anything that stupid before!" She finished with a smile before returning to the kitchen.

Mikoto sighed. "For some reason that really just makes me think you are going to kill me." He hadn't heard from Ridley or Enma all day since they left in search of alcohol. Something told Mikoto he should've went with them. Alcohol sounds like it might help him dull the pain Sage is going to inflict onto him.

"I'm not going to kill you, silly," said Sage, "unless I can kill you with hugs and kindness!" Sage resumed her cleaning on the ship. She swabbed the kitchen with remarkable speed. She sighed when she stopped and she swung her mop back onto her shoulder and went out to see Mikoto. "Where's Hiro-Shu and Zesiro?"

Mikoto shrugged. He was sure they'd be here soon enough and even if they weren't they could handle themselves. It was Ridley and Sage who might get in trouble if they were attacked. Even though Sage at least had her Devil Fruit she'd live long enough if it came down to it, Ridley only had his music. "They are listening to my life story."

Sage chuckled, "I wish I could be there to hear it." Sage's mind flashed back to Dai Mungi's message. _"Killers deserve to be killed."_ That's what crept Sage out. Mikoto was a nice guy, except when he was drunk. He'd never kill anyone…at least not on purpose.

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "I would like to see Xavier's reaction when he sees that I've been traveling around with a girl like you!" Xavier never had much faith in Mikoto. Whether it was because of Mikoto's intelligence or his awkwardness, Xavier never had much faith that Mikoto would ever EVER meet a girl that would actually be able to tolerate him.

The comment took Sage a bit by surprise, but she'd ask him about when there wasn't a death threat looming above their heads. "I ran into a man today."

Mikoto eyed her suspiciously, "I ran into a lot of men today, too. None of them were good-looking, though."

"His name was Dai Mungi," said Sage with a quiet, yet serious voice.

Mikoto's ears perked up, "I remember him. I used to fight with him all the time. He was a fun little punching bag." Mikoto was only happy that Sage didn't say she met Melanie, he'd be happy as long as those two stayed away from each other. As far as he knew, he and Sage would be friends until their deaths, her meeting Melanie might ruin that.

"_Punching bag," _thought Sage. _"That's not like Mikoto…he fights a lot, but to consider someone a punching bag?"_ Sage was reminded of incident with Mikoto while he was drunk, she swallowed hard. "Yeah, he wants to have a fight with you…a fight to the death, I'm guessing."

"Yeah," said Mikoto. He felt sick to his stomach all of a sudden, "did he give you any reasons why?"

"Yeah, because killers deserve to be killed," said Sage. She couldn't help herself as she blurted out the next line, "but you never killed anyone, right?" She couldn't believe herself! She knew Mikoto! They'd be traveling together for months now! And she asked him if he has killed anyone! Of course he hasn't.

Mikoto looked back at her. He thought about how he should answer this, but the long silence was answer enough. He really wished he would've went with Ridley to get alcohol now.

"Mikoto?" asked Sage, "you said you were a Peace Maine! You said you don't kill people. That was one of the first things you told me! The only thing that you even said before that was because you mistook me for a man!"

Mikoto couldn't reply. How could he? If he said anything about the not killing someone issue, he'd be lying, if he said anything about mistaking Sage for a man, he'd be killed. He remained silent.

"Mikoto!" shouted Sage, "Say something! Say you didn't kill anyone before! Say that you are Peace Maine!"

"I am a Peace Maine," said Mikoto in a low and sullen voice. After that he didn't say anything else. He already knew what this was leading up to and he couldn't change it.

"What about killing a man?" asked Sage as she continued to interrogate him, "have you killed someone before?" Mikoto didn't reply. "Have you?" She looked and Mikoto, her eyes were pleading with him to say something to her.

"Yes," said Mikoto with a heavy sigh, "I have." He realized he just said the one thing that she didn't want to hear, but there was no point in lying.

Sage was dumbfounded, "you…have? But you always acted so self-righteous. You always acted like you hated killing and anyone who has ever killed anyone before! You attacked Dominic Renvont for attacking Zesiro's island! You fought with Karasu because he killed Ridley's mother! You defended me from Oz, the pirate, who killed my mother!"

Mikoto felt like it was unimportant at the time to mention that he lost to both Dominic Renvont and Karasu, and that Sage was the one who beat Oz. "You learn something when you kill someone…you learn that you did something terrible and you made a mistake. I've learned my lesson and I've grown from it, I learned that I can kill a man. Can you?"

"No," said Sage as she stood up and slapped Mikoto's face with all her might, "I could never kill a man." She left the ship of the Infinity Pirates. When she was walking out she saw Hiro-Shu and Zesiro standing on the deck, "I'll be back, don't worry. I have someone I want to talk to."

Hiro-Shu nodded and Zesiro groaned, "what did Mikoto do this time?" The crew was becoming less and less stable and for some odd reason, Mikoto was at the center of it.

"What makes you think its Mikoto's fault?" asked Hiro-Shu. There was a faint scent of smoke in the air, he was trying to figure out what had caused it.

"It always is," replied Zesiro, "it always is." Zesiro decided it was best to leave them alone and let them work it out, but Hiro-Shu was curious what could've set Sage off and if he could do anything to help.

It took Hiro-Shu a good hour of wandering around the ship to find Mikoto. When he finally did Mikoto was in the same spot he was in when Sage left him. Still slumped against the wall, still with a throbbing pain in his cheek.

"What did you do?" asked Hiro-Shu as he sat down next to Mikoto. He settled down comfortably. He was beginning to completely believe that Zesiro was right, it was always Mikoto's fault.

"I killed a man," replied Mikoto in a solemn voice. "I killed a man when I was just eleven years old." Hiro-Shu nodded recalling Xavier's story. "Sage is upset with me for doing so, she has a good reason I guess. I killed a man." Hiro-Shu shook his head in disappointment.

Mikoto glanced up at him, "can you kill a man?"

Hiro-Shu thought about it for a moment, "I suppose I could." Unlike Mikoto he has yet to do so, but Mikoto was already feeling down in the dumps. No point in kicking a man while he is down.

"Good," said Mikoto, "that means you won't. Xavier once told me the people who don't think they can kill a man usually will. You have to understand that you are capable of taking lives in order to be better at saving them."

"Why did you become a pirate?" asked Hiro-Shu. Truth be told, he was thinking about it for awhile. Mikoto didn't seem like the kind of person who would be a very good pirate. He was…kind and he sucked at being cold-hearted.

"I wanted to explore the world, gather riddles, and find the One Piece," said Mikoto.

"Then why be a pirate?" asked Hiro-Shu, "why not an explorer or a Marine?" Even though in all honesty, the thought of Mikoto in a Marine's uniform being a poster boy for hard work and all that is good made Hiro-Shu chuckle.

"My dad was a pirate," said Mikoto, "he gave me life. Then my dad's friend, Marco Okuso, was a pirate and he protected my life. I owe my life to pirates."

"That's not a very good reason," said Hiro-Shu. "I owe my life to a good friend of mine, who I lost awhile go and I don't try to be him. It seems like being a pirate is a bad career choice for someone who wants to save lives."

Mikoto eyed Hiro-Shu. It was uncharacteristic of him to talk so much, normally he'd sit back and watch them while they talked and throw in a word or two, but this time he was directing the conversation. "Marines suck and explorers are lame."

Hiro-Shu chuckled at Mikoto's reasoning. He was such a little kid in his way of thinking, he was about to say something when Mikoto spoke up, "I owe my life to pirates. I love journeys, I love freedom, I love everything that pirates do! I just hate the reputation pirates have. I want to change the image people have of pirates…I want to do my old man proud. I want people to be able to fly the Jolly Roger without fear of being branded a person who is hated and despised just because they are a pirate. Pirates are sailors who can fight and fly the Jolly Roger over their heads with pride. Nothing more, nothing less."

Hiro-Shu nodded. "Interesting take on the idea, but you're wrong. Pirates are pirates. By definition that means someone that steals or murders on the high seas."

"No," said Mikoto, "it means someone who the World Government doesn't like. Marines murder on the high seas, bounty hunters, too. The only difference is both of those get along fine with the World Government."

Hiro-Shu shook his head. Mikoto just didn't understand the fact that the world is made up of more things then people not liking others. Hiro-Shu decided to change the subject, "where'd Sage go?"

"No idea," said Mikoto, "do you know where Ridley and Enma are at?"

"No," replied Hiro-Shu.

"I probably should go and check up on them," said Mikoto as he stood up and patted the dust off of his pants, "turns out the person in charge of this island, doesn't like me very much. He's the one that told Sage I killed a man. Hopefully, Ridley managed to avoid trouble." Mikoto left.

Hiro-Shu was tempted about going back to bed. If the boss on the island hated Mikoto's guts that meant trouble was going to come to them and Hiro-Shu was a lot better of a fighter with plenty of sleep. He was about to get up when Sage's words came back to him,_ "I__ have someone I want to talk to." _Would she have left to fight the boss of the island? She might've. In the mood she was in thinking clearly wasn't going to be easy.

(-At the castle of Dai Mungi-)

"Dai Mungi," said a tall and lanky man, "there is a person at the door for you."

Dai Mungi lifted his eyebrow. It couldn't have been Mikoto, could it? He probably could've bolted from his ship to the castle in the little time he was allotted, but Mikoto wasn't that kind of man, he'd take his time. So, who else on the island would've been dumb enough to challenge him? He stood up and walked down. His feet sloshed through a foot of water on his way to the door. He was planning on Mikoto to come up and fight him, the water was just a precaution.

He swung open the door. He immediately recognized the girl behind it. It was the same girl he 'harassed'. He smiled, "couldn't stay away, could…yyyoooouuuuu?" Dai Mungi suddenly lost his balance with the last word and fell down into the foot of water behind him. The water flowed around his face nearly drowning him, before he was able to regain his balance.

Sage flipped the hair out of her face. "I see a lot of water around here. Planning on fixing your fight with my captain, huh? I don't really much care for trash like you."

**High Pressure!**

**Sage's Strength!**

Uh, yeah, not my favorite chapter, but lends a bit more insight to why Mikoto became a pirate…even if it is according to Mikoto's logic. Next up FIGHT! Bet you all didn't think that Sage would go there and fight him, did you? Oh, well, it wouldn't be a very good plot twist if it was obvious now would it? I really like Sage's powers and I haven't showcased them really since her fight with Marx all the way back in the Marine Base Arc.

Also! I am working on a new story! (Well, two to be exact…but I'm only going to continue one). One is a Soul Eater story and the other is another One Piece story (what can I say I love the idea of One Piece). I'll post one of them up on Fanfiction depending on how everything else goes! If you have any suggestions on which one go ahead and talk to me, I don't bite. I find guns a lot more useful!

Beyond that…90 degree weather is HOT!


	57. Home Arc: 57 High Pressure!

**High Pressure!**

**Sage's Strength!**

Sage avoided the water's edge, but she kept her eyes trained on Dai Mungi. "I see a lot of water around here. Planning on fixing your fight with my captain, huh? I don't really much care for trash like you."

"Yeah," said Dai Mungi, "I flooded the area. Figured a Devil Fruit user like Mikoto would take one step into it and lose all of their advantages. He would've been easy pickings, but why are you here in his stead? Is he a chicken…" Dai Mungi leaned forward and spilled his lunch into the water.

"No," said Sage, "I'm your opponent. Mikoto doesn't have time to mess with you. Besides I want you to pay for making him lie to me."

"Lie to you? About what?" asked Dai Mungi wiping his mouth clean. The smell of already devoured lunch was filling the room and it made him want to gag.

"Mikoto never killed anyone," shouted Sage, "I know him too well! You said that to make me think terrible things about him! Where when I questioned him I automatically assume the worse! That was a dirty trick!"

Dai Mungi was about to move forward when the entire world was flipped upside. He slipped again and fell into the water soiled with his lunch. He murmured something as he stood up again. "What are you doing?"

"I can change the air pressure freely! Anything within a fifteen foot radius of me can be altered," said Sage. "When the air pressure is rapidly changed within the ear or another body part of a person, strange effects occur. Like a lost of balance or nausea."

"Why you!" shouted Dai Mungi as he brought his long wooden staff back out in front of him, "I will kill you!" He thrust his spear forward. It was only three feet long and as such it couldn't cover the five foot distance between him and Sage, but then it grew! The three foot spear shot forward growing up to seven feet long and it pierced Sage's right shoulder.

Sage gritted her teeth, but didn't move from her spot. Dai Mungi quickly went into a kneeling stance. His leg suddenly had a roaring pain in it, like it was about to burst. Dai Mungi looked up and Sage's smile. This was her doing, so the cure to this pain was simple. Kill her.

"Control air pressure, huh?" said Dai Mungi, "interesting ability. I can control any dead wood within my grasp." The hand holding onto the staff tightened and his knuckles turned white. "That's how my staff grew and that's how you will die!"

Sage gasped as the part of the spear that was already in his convulsed and grew large needles from it piercing her shoulder and popping out of her skin. Dai Mungi pulled the spear forward ripping it clean out of her shoulder and causing her to stumble forward. She gasped as she grasped her shoulder and felt the warm blood oozing out.

"You will not make Mikoto seem like the bad guy!" said Sage as she glared down the long wooden staff at Dai Mungi. She had a few more tricks up her sleeve. Manipulate the air pressure in a person's head ever so slightly to…

Dai Mungi's face went blank for a moment, "huh! Where am I? What am I doing here?" He looked around him and saw the water and a young girl and…puke, yuck! "Argh, how much have I had to drink?"

"More then you deserve," said Sage she manipulated the pressure in his ear canal once more causing vertigo. Dai Mungi lost his balance and fell into the pool of his own puke again.

"Argh! Whose puke is this?" shouted Dai Mungi struggling to get up, his memory completely wiped from Sage's Osu-Osu no mi powers.

"When a large amount of pressure is applied and then relieved from the brain," stated Sage, "it can wipe a person's memory of the past couple of minutes completely clean. When pressure is applied to the stomach it can result in a feeling of nausea. Finally, when pressure is applied directly onto someone's skin, the brain mistakes the pressure for…"

Dai Mungi wondered what it was when all of a sudden his skin felt weird. He felt as if thousands of bugs were crawling all over his skin and up to his head. His eyes glanced down to see his body, bug-free.

"a similar sensation as thousands of bugs crawling around the human body," finished Sage. She was running out of tricks, she had dealt very little actual damage to Dai Mungi and so far he had nearly ripped her shoulder out. A sudden and vast increase in a person's head could result in an explosion…no, she refused to kill. That may be her only option of attack, but she wasn't going to use it.

Dai Mungi brought his spear back up and above his head. The tip of the spear was previously just a fine point made for jabbing, but it soon swelled with the powers of Dai Mungi's vessel. The point increased in size until the spear was a hammer. "Now time to crush you like a bug!" Dai Mungi brought his hammer down right on top of Sage. He laughed as he saw her blood gushing out from beneath the hammer. "I killed you! I killed you! You should've sent Mikoto up to fight me, then you'd still be alive." Dai Mungi's gloating would've continued if it wasn't for the purple unicorn standing next to him.

"When pressure is applied," started Sage as she came out from behind the hammer, "to a certain area of the brain that controls visual reception one can hallucinate and believe that they killed someone when really they dodged the attack."

Dai Mungi cursed. He brought his hammer to his side and it shrunk back down to its original spear form. He touched the ground and a large pillar of wood appeared next to him. "Unlike you I've got several more tricks to kill you with! I will not fall for another one of your tricks!" He touched the pillar. "Go, **Wooden Arrow Barrage**!" The pillar sprouted needles on the side closest to Sage. Then the needles sprang from their position all aimed at Sage.

Sage grunted as she dove for the ground to dodge the vast quantities of needles. The only problem was there were too many needles and they were covering too wide a distance. Several needles dug into Sage's body causing her to bleed out as she hit the ground. Sage struggled to get back up. Her shoulder was nearly gone, her body was now a pincushion, her only remaining option was to…kill him.

"_No!" _thought Sage, _"A life is a life. Even if it is one as despicable as his."_ She stood up and tried to think of any remaining attacks she had. Just something to stop him from killing her. She had nothing left…it was either her or him…but…she couldn't…she couldn't kill a man. Her arms went limp at her sides. She stood still. She had no option. She was too weakened to run, she didn't have the ability to attack like Zesiro, and she didn't have the mentality to kill.

"Giving up?" asked Dai Mungi as he made his spear expand back into its previous hammer state, except this time bigger. "No more tricks up your sleeve, I see. Fine! I WILL KILL YOU!" Dai Mungi brought his hammer up and straight back down with Sage directly underneath.

"Man, I bet you are feeling pretty stupid right now," said Enma with both of his hands straight up catching the hammer before it hit Sage. "Don't you just hate it when someone interrupts you just as you are about to kill someone?"

"I hate those bastards," said Dai Mungi as his hammer shrunk down until it was hand-sized. "Who are you, anyways, mister tattoo?"

"Name's Enma," said Enma as he subconsciously rubbed his gear tattoo. "Me and my friend are this girl's nakama. So if you don't mind you have two options. Option one: let us go and live your life, or Option two: spend the rest of eternity in the deepest level of the underworld."

"You and your friend?" asked Sage as she began to look around the area desperate to find who Enma brought with him.

"I choose option two," said Dai Mungi. However both Enma and Sage seemed to be ignoring him to carry out their own conversation.

"Yeah," said Enma, "our good friend, Ridley."

Sage's face fell. "Couldn't you have brought someone…better?"

"I heard that," said Ridley as he appeared from around the corner, "and just so you know no one is better then me. I'm the best."

"I said I choose option two," said Dai Mungi becoming increasingly annoyed due to the fact that the trio was now completely ignoring him.

"Yeah, right, I'm better then you!" shouted Sage, "Zesiro is better then you, Hiro-Shu is better then you, Mikoto is better then you, even Orso, the teddy bear, is better then you!"

"I hope you remember that I beat Orso the teddy bear," shouted Ridley, "I am better then all of those guys you mentioned plus one more!"

"What about me," asked Enma, "I am better then Ridley, too."

"What?" said Ridley, "no newbie is better then me!"

"Newbie?" asked Enma calmly, "I am not afraid to kill you, you know. I have no problems with that."

"I SAID I CHOOSE OPTION TWO!" shouted Dai Mungi. His body toppled over as he slammed his spear into the ground. The spear began to break up and become roots that trailed all the up his body. "**First Stage…Goblin Trapper**!" Soon he was standing a few feet above the ground with his only means of support being a long wooden staff that drove itself into the ground by.

This caught Enma's attention. "What's going on?" asked Enma as he turned around to face the newly mutated enemy. "Something's different about him."

"See, for you late comers I can normally control any wood my body is in direct contact with," said Dai Mungi, "but this wooden pole beneath me has roots that stretches out in all directions beneath the earth allowing me to be technically in contact with all wood! So say hello to **Goblin Trap! Wooden Cage!**"

Ten wooden pillars sprang up from the ground encircling the trio. Enma dove to the side and left the circle, but the other two, being much slower and possessing weaker reflexes weren't so lucky, as the ten pillars then closed up to form an inescapable dome.

"Hah! See that small dome there is a trap that only I can use and worse then that due to it being completely sealed off from the real world no air is getting into it," said Dai Mungi, "in a space that big, I can only promise they'll be alive for another ten minutes."

"Okay then," said Enma, "it is clear what I must do." He sat down and crossed his leg. "Great Lord of the Underworld. I ask that you please kindly guide my friends' spirits to a glorious place after their death."

"DON'T PRAY FOR US!" shouted the trapped duo, "BEAT DAI MUNGI UP!"

Enma didn't move from his position he only opened one eye up and looked out, "see where he is standing. He's in a giant pool of water, I can't touch him with where he is right with my full strength and he will most likely parry any of my blows with ease from his location. I won't be able to destroy the dome that you are in with him being able to recreate it. I think this is checkmate."

"That's right!" shouted Dai Mungi, "This is my true power! ALL HAIL THE KING OF THE BANDITS!"

"**Fists of Iron! Golem's Fury!" **shouted Hiro-Shu as his punch sailed through the air crashing into the small wooden pole keeping Dai Mungi suspended in the air. Dai Mungi lost his grip and was about to fall when he sprouted a second pole into the ground to keep him stable.

Hiro-Shu stood there and looked straight up at Dai Mungi, "sorry, about Mikoto's absence. You know how he can be…he's never there when you need him."

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto was lying on the ground without moving. "Man, Sage was definitely mad at me." He turned over onto his side. "All because of what I did…she'll probably kill me when she returns."

He sighed. "For some reason I think I am forgetting something I am supposed to do."

**Vessel versus Vessel!**

**Awakening of the Demon of Wood!**

MIKOTO! How forgetful can you be? You are supposed to be helping your nakama out, not NAPPING! Man, how did you ever get to be the main character of this fanfic? Anyways, enough about Mikoto. So, it was a nice little showcase of Sage's power, but sadly she does not have a single actual attack aside from blowing people's heads up (yet, new powers are currently under the way for all my characters!)

Hiro-Shu is going to be squaring off against Dai Mungi. Iron versus wood. Iron seems to have the upper hand due to its indestructibility, but with wood's ability to control and manipulate all other wood around him including traps, maybe the fight might be a dead draw.

Also! Ridley still hasn't had a drop of alcohol! Please donate your (unused) alcohol to the Ridley Alcohol Foundation!

P.S. for those of you who still wish to send in OCs I have added a list to the second Chapter (Chapter 2) in this story including the vacant spots on the crew and vacant spots in the Marines/World Government. So please refer to that from now when submitting a character (I will update it when necessary) (There are no limits on the spots of the OC I left out, example: Marine Captain, Marine Commodore, or rival crews).


	58. Home Arc: 58 Vessel versus Vessel

**Vessel versus Vessel!**

**Awakening of the Demon of Wood!**

Wooden spikes erupted from the ground forcing Hiro-Shu to jump back. He skidded a few feet back and barely avoiding the spikes. Dai Mungi smiled. The spikes grew more spikes all of them flying off at Hiro-Shu.

"**First Stage! Golem Brawler!" **Hiro-Shu's arms became coated in a heavy iron along with his legs. He brought up his iron arms to block the wooden attack. The needles all drove into Hiro-Shu's body, but they all broke upon impact. "**Fists of Iron! Iguko's Quake!" **Hiro-Shu brought both of his arms simultaneously down into the ground. Large cracks spread from the impact zone all running down towards Dai Mungi. The pole holding Dai Mungi in place shattered as the massive vibrations ran up it. Dai Mungi fell to the ground, but quickly re-supported himself with multiple wooden pols.

"I haven't been in this kind of predicament for awhile now," said Dai Mungi, "here I thought that being the vessel of wood made me all-powerful, but what do you know someone else is almost as strong as me."

Hiro-Shu didn't move from his position, not like he had much of choice. His arms and legs were weighing him down way too much. Moving his arms around to punch tired him out, running up at Dai Mungi was out of the question.

"Let's see how about a new trick, **Goblin Trap! Arrow Field!" **shouted Dai Mungi as small arrowhead started to sprout from the walls around them, "and launch!" The arrows all shot out at incredibly high speeds all of them aiming at Hiro-Shu.

"**Second Stage! Golem Guard!" **commanded Hiro-Shu as the iron started to coat his entire body giving him an inch thick iron guard on his chest, head, arms, and legs. The arrows all hopelessly bounced off of him and back to the ground. "**Fists of Iron! Golem's Fury!" **Hiro-Shu rushed up towards Dai Mungi and fired a single punch at him. A large wooden platform beneath Dai Mungi sprouted up lifting him into the air causing Hiro-Shu's punch to sail underneath him.

"This is just getting to be pathetic," said Dai Mungi, "I can't hurt you and you can't touch me, guess I'll just have to even the playing field. **Goblin Trap! Petrified Arrows!" **More arrowheads sprouted from the walls. All of a sudden they all came flying out of the walls at an increased speed. They all slipped and drove themselves into Hiro-Shu's armor. Hiro-Shu went down onto a single knee. He reached up and ripped them out. He fingered them for awhile, before throwing it to the ground.

"Figured out the difference, have we?" asked Dai Mungi in a mocking tone. "Its petrified wood. Petrified wood is almost as hard as steel or in your case, iron. Combined with the speed I can throw them at you with they can piece your armor. But enough of me talking, say hello to **Goblin Trap! Petrified Spikes!" **The ground beneath Hiro-Shu gained several spikes poking out of it. Hiro-Shu braced himself before ten large spikes exploded from the ground each of them digging into his skin.

Hiro-Shu fired a single punch into the platform supporting Dai Mungi, destroying it. Dai Mungi fell to the ground only to be caught by another row of sticks supporting him. Dai Mungi look up, a chuckle on his lips, when Hiro-Shu fired another punch straight at Dai Mungi. Dai Mungi closed his eyes and a large wooden wall came up in front of him protecting him from the force of the attack. Hiro-Shu pulled his arm back and readied himself for a second punch.

Dai Mungi laughed and jumped up and off of the rows of sticks. "Let's go **Goblin Trap! Petrified Cage!"** More wooden pillars sprouted up and around Hiro-Shu blocking him into a small area. Dai Mungi chuckled as he approached the caged Hiro-Shu. "It looks like I've trapped me a golem," he said acting like a hunter, "I wonder how he tastes?" Dai Mungi's face twitched all of a sudden and then he went blank.

Hiro-Shu inhaled deeply seeing this as an opening. "**Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame!" **Hiro-Shu let out a his breath sending flames through the cage's bars and straight at Dai Mungi as they threatened to burn him to a crisp. Dai Mungi leapt back avoiding the close call.

"Whoo-hoo!" shouted Dai Mungi as his hand went to his head, "I thought those flames might've burnt me to a crisp! What do you say I'll let ya'll out of me cage?" He snapped his fingers and the cage around Hiro-Shu lowered back into the ground. Dai Mungi's personality took a sudden twist. Hiro-Shu looked back and noticed that he still didn't free Sage or Ridley…they probably only had another five minutes of oxygen in there.

"Iguko?" said Dai Mungi, "is that you?"

Hiro-Shu gave him a weird look, "Iguko's the name of the spirit I inherited, why?"

"It's me, Stuilk?" said Dai Mungi. Hiro-Shu noticed weird changes going about his body. First off, his ears became pointed and leaner. Then his skin had changed colors to a sickly green hue. Finally his teeth became sharper, but also took on a yellowish color. "Oh, well, as long as I am out, I might as well slaughter someone." He looked over at Enma, "you! I think slaughtering you would be a good idea!"

Hiro-Shu twisted around, "be careful he is not the same as before!"

Enma felt the ground rumble as a large amount of wooden spikes exploded from the ground all of them digging into his skin, but stopping at the hardened bone. Enma collapsed to the ground gasping for air. Blood was already starting to pour out of all of the holes in him. He looked up at Dai Mungi, or was it Stuilk?

Hiro-Shu reminded himself about what he heard about vessels and the spirits. Spirits share their strength with their vessel and help them perform powerful attacks, but all spirits want something in return. They want to be able to have a body again. A vessel is continually at risk of the spirit in their body of taking over their spirit…it was a fight between the 100 year old spirit and the new spirit of the vessel. Some people, like Dai Mungi, lost. When that occurred the 100 year old spirit takes over the body and the power, sometimes even reshapes the body to become more suitable to them.

Ordinarily, this wouldn't matter to Hiro-Shu. His friends were in trouble, he'd beat anyone up who threatened them…but there was a difference in their fighting styles. Primarily, the fact that Dai Mungi was inexperienced. He only had his vessel powers for a few days, while Stuilk had them for over 100 years, this made him a much more dangerous foe. Hiro-Shu would have to take his time to beat him.

Second off, Stuilk was a dirty cheat. Dai Mungi was holding Sage and Ridley hostage, but he also never attacked anyone other then Hiro-Shu. Dai Mungi saw fights as a one-on-one fight, he would cheat, but he would never attack someone not involved in the fight. Stuilk had already attacked Enma whose guard was down and was trying to figure out a way to free Sage…this made Stuilk much deadlier then Dai Mungi.

Hiro-Shu charged at Stuilk. He fired a single punch at Stuilk. Stuilk countered by spinning the large wooden staff he had around and using it to deflect the force of Hiro-Shu's punch. Then a small wooden dagger materialized into Stuilk's hand. He drove the dagger forwards and into Hiro-Shu's body. The dagger slid all the way up and through Hiro-Shu's heavy armor.

Hiro-Shu backed up to catch his breath, but Stuilk didn't let him have the breather. He was already on him. Stuilk rushed forward. He jumped up into the air and drove his spear straight down and into Hiro-Shu's shoulders. Hiro-Shu fell backwards and onto the ground. He looked up only to see Stuilk's shadow overcoming him with another downwards jab with his spear. Hiro-Shu rolled to the side avoiding the pole. The spear didn't stop once it hit the ground it kept going drilling itself beneath the rocky bottom of the top layer of soil.

Stuilk got back up and smiled, "Woo-hoo! I am having the best time of me life! I don't want to end, so…" he turned his attention to Enma, "I think I need to take precautions to make sure you don't try to duck out on me. How about another hostage?" Stuilk snapped his finger. Once more wooden pillars popped out of the ground this time, surrounding Enma. They all slid in close and created a large cylinder around him with no openings.

Stuilk smiled, "I want to keep alive, this way when I'm done killing you, I'll have someone to fight afterwards. I want to keep my new body in shape after all. Slacking off will only make my powers dwindle."

Hiro-Shu charged again, "**Forger's Fire! Shiba's Knuckles!" **Hiro-Shu breathed fire onto his iron gauntlets, putting them on fire, and made a punching motion. His flaming punches were dodged by Stuilk. Stuilk responded with a large spike of petrified wood aimed right at Hiro-Shu's heart. The large wooden spike pierced his armor, but didn't dig in deep enough to deal a fatal wound. Hiro-Shu backed up and collapsed onto the ground. His breathing becoming ragged.

Stuilk approached him, his spear in hand. "You know what's just plain sad? When a spirit isn't living up to his fullest potential. You noticed the strength increase I got when I took over Dai Mungi, didn't you? What do you think would happen if you let Iguko take over you? You might be able to save your friends…only thing it'll cost you is…well, you!"

Hiro-Shu shook the thought right out of his head. Stuilk may be right, but Iguko rampaged a lot. If he gave control over to Iguko, Iguko would crush everything in sight, enemies, houses, friends, everything. He had to maintain control over Iguko, if he didn't terrible things would happen. Hiro-Shu was afraid though that this only left him with one option. An all or nothing.

Hiro-Shu took a deep breath. He was a tie with Dai Mungi in his second stage, but against Stuilk second stage wouldn't be enough. Third stage was his best bet, but would he be able to properly control it this time? No, control wasn't what he wanted, entirely. He just needed to aim it, have it avoid attacking Sage, Ridley, and Enma and have completely focus on Stuilk. That's it his mind was made up.

"**Third Stage! Golem Berserker!" **Hiro-Shu armor started to enlarge all over his body. Hiro-Shu's actual body appeared to enlarge as well throughout the continuously layering of armor and increased spirit input. The heavy armor became a whole foot thick, but compared to Hiro-Shu's new size five feet wasn't anything. For he stood a total of three stories tall.

The armor completely coated his body leaving no spot uncovered. His joints were encased in iron, making him almost like a statue. Third Stage was his strongest move. The increased mass made all of his attacks stronger, but more destructive to the area around him. Then of course, Iguko's spirits was at its strongest in this stage. Hiro-Shu could do nothing, but hold Iguko back and let the body go on a rampage. He would still be in charge. When the body tired and fell asleep, it would return to Hiro-Shu's control, not Iguko's.

Stuilk smiled, "still holding on, eh? I'll just have to face Iguko another day. But finishing him off now, has too much promise…I've decided to kill you now!"

(-With Mikoto and Zesiro-)

Zesiro came in onto Mikoto's sulking. "Mikoto! What are you doing down here? There's a fight going on in the middle of town!"

"So, just cause there is a fight doesn't mean I'm involved," said Mikoto sulking, preparing himself for Sage's return.

"But something's wrong," said Zesiro, "there's a giant iron statue in the middle of it! I think something happened to Hiro-Shu. Sage and the others could be in trouble!"

Mikoto's ears piqued up, "what's wrong?"

"Apparently, and this is just what the panicking villagers say, but Sage went to fight some guy called, Dai Mungi. Dai Mungi bested her, trapped her, Ridley, and now apparently Enma. Hiro-Shu is fighting with him and losing, so he's doing something to even the odds."

"Come on," said Mikoto with a smile, "this I got to see. It sounds awesome!"

**Beware the Golem of Iron!**

**Bringing Down a Titan!**

Ta-DA! The mysteriously third stage mentioned during the Blackwell Arc is revealed! Hiro-Shu's power is unstoppable at this point, but will that be the ultimate downfall to his crew? Then there's also Mikoto will he become a casualty? Will he finally figure out that there is actually danger involved in this fight?

Also, I decided to take one of Oda and do a popularity poll. It is currently up and on my profile page (I believe so, with what happened last time it may have disappeared...). So come vote for your favorite crew member.


	59. Home Arc: 59 Beware the Golem of Iron

**Beware the Golem of Iron!**

**Bringing Down a Titan!**

Stuilk laughed from his spot on the ground, "So this is what a full-powered spirit is capable of. I still think I look better then you do. Woo hoo!" He jumped backwards as Hiro-Shu brought his huge iron foot down and smashed the ground. "Goblin Trap! Petrified Cage!" Long streaks of wood exploded from the ground and wrapped around Hiro-Shu's foot holding it to the ground without showing the slightest chance of it breaking.

Enma banged on the inside of his wooden cage. "What's going on out there?" No response. He sighed. He was being left out of the loop and he had only just joined the crew. "Hiro-Shu shout something if you can hear me!" No response.

Hiro-Shu brought his giant iron fist down from his spot smashing the ground beneath him into dust. Once again, though, Stuilk had proven to be a slippery foe and avoided the smashing attack. "Goblin Trap! Petrified Stakes!" Large wooden pillars shot out of the ground and slammed into Hiro-Shu's knee. They pierced a couple inches of Hiro-Shu's heavy iron armor, but didn't get close enough to even hit Hiro-Shu.

Hiro-Shu swiped his arm along the ground destroying the majority of the castle, bringing it down. Stuilk jumped up and on top of the hand and began to run up it towards the head of Hiro-Shu. A large wooden spear appeared in Stuilk's hand. "Let's see you survive this death blow to the head!" Stuilk rammed the end of the spear into the side of Hiro-Shu's head, but it did nothing. Hiro-Shu reached up to his shoulder and grasped the air around it trying to grab Stuilk, but Stuilk jumped down to the ground.

Large wooden pillars began to materialize in Stuilk's hand as he began to throw them at Hiro-Shu's heavy metal body. None of them worked. Stuilk landed on the ground safely and began to catch his breath. Suddenly, Hiro-Shu's foot, that was imprisoned by Stuilk's Petrified Cage, broke free and went into the air. Hiro-Shu brought his foot down right above Stuilk's head.

"Goblin Trap! Petrified Fortress!" Large wooden pillars began to form a dome above Stuilk's head protecting him from the force of Hiro-Shu's heavy iron body. Stuilk then ran out from underneath it. He smiled, he still had an ace up his sleeve. "MEN!"

Large amount of Dai Mungi's men came up and surrounded him. "Yes sir!" they all shouted in unison.

"Get ready to fire upon that beast!" shouted Stuilk, "I don't want to see it standing when we are done!" With his order gone out the men under his control quickly scattered to get to the numerous cannons located across the island. Stuilk smiled, with a body that big it would be impossible for his men to miss.

Hiro-Shu brought his leg down again this time with enough force it created a small earthquake. Stuilk jumped up off of the ground and onto the nearby wooden fence. One flare went off on the island. One man in place. As soon as three more flares went off he'd bring this monster down.

Stuilk jumped up and launched another round of petrified arrows off at Hiro-Shu. They all slammed hard into his arm, but none of them pierced deep enough into his armor to hurt him. Hiro-Shu continued along the way smashing more of the castle and wooden fence down, destroying everything that was in his path to Stuilk.

Another flare went up into the air. Stuilk landed on the ground safely. "Goblin Trap! Petrified Trip Line!" A large wooden pillar came up and snaked across Hiro-Shu's foot. When Hiro-Shu went to move closer to him, the petrified wood held strong and caused Hiro-Shu to lose his balance and fall. His entire body went down onto the castle crushing it beneath his weight. This continued until his entire body rested on the ground. A third flare went off.

Hiro-Shu struggled onto this feet when Stuilk jumped into the air and drove a large wooden pillar into his back. This one actually sunk all the way into his body and into his back causing blood to spurt forward. Hiro-Shu cried out in pain. Stuilk jumped off and looked into the air…had he missed the fourth flare? No, its impossible to miss those with the noise it produced. Would three cannons be enough to take him down? Probably not. He'd better not risk it, yet.

Hiro-Shu's hand reached out and smashed into Stuilk's body sending him careening into and through his own wooden wall. Hiro-Shu brought his entire body back to a stand. He reached back and pulled the wooden pillar in his back out. Iron then went back over the wound, preventing him from bleeding any further. Hiro-Shu scanned the wide open space for Stuilk's body, but saw nothing. He brought his entire body to a stand when a fourth flare went off.

Stuilk's menacing smile grew wider. He would win this fight. Only thing he had to do was send the signal. The signal was simple a long wooden pole straight up into the air with a totem carved into it. He was about to create just that when a furry fist came flying into the air knocking him through the air and onto the ground.

"I WON!" shouted Mikoto confidently as Zesiro caught up, "I was supposed to beat this guy up for Sage! That's what I was supposed to do. I'm glad I finally remembered."

"I don't think that quite counts," said Zesiro as he put his hand on Mikoto's back, "I think you are supposed to give him a fighting chance and not sucker punch him. He's gonna want a rematch. Wait! How did you know that was the guy you were supposed to beat up? Sage just said 'Dai Mungi' wanted to fight you, how do you know that guy was Dai Mungi?"

"That's a really good point," said Mikoto, "I just kind of punched the first guy that I didn't like the looks of…let's just say it was Dai Mungi."

"Sure," said Zesiro, "whatever you need to tell your…self." Zesiro's words trailed off as his eyes trailed up the thirty-foot iron giant. "I think you have your next contender!"

Mikoto looked up at the iron giant. "Hey! Hiro-Shu! I took care of Dai Mungi for you! No worries!"

Hiro-Shu ignored him as he brought his heavy iron foot down and into the ground bringing up rubble. Mikoto rolled to the side easily avoiding the powerful, but slow stomp. Zesiro barely avoided the attack and was standing a mere couple of inches away from the heavy mass.

"I'm sorry!" shouted Mikoto, "I'll let you take care of the next bad guy! Okay?"

"I don't think that's what this is about," said Zesiro as he picked up Mikoto under his arm and ran out of the way of Hiro-Shu's next punch.

(-With Sage, Ridley, and Enma-)

The wooden domes broke down into thousands of splinters. Ridley and Sage were both heavily breathing due to the lack of oxygen. "I never…want to…see…that guy again…" breathed Sage. They probably only had another a minute or so until they passed out.

Enma, who was only trapped for about three minutes was stretching and getting used to the excess of space again. "I guess Hiro-Shu must've taken that Stuilk guy down."

"Stuilk?" asked Ridley, "I thought he was fighting Dai Mungi." He began to stretch too.

"How…are you…already…better?" asked Sage, "I'm…still out…of breath."

"I had a bad childhood," said Ridley, "to you that was torture. To me that was another Saturday night…ah, I miss my old Saturday nights. BACK WHEN I COULD HAVE ALCOHOL!" He glared over at Sage.

"Sorry," she barely muttered out.

Enma glanced over at the two of them, "what were you guys doing in there for the whole ten minutes you were trapped? I was only trapped for three and I was starting to panic."

"Well, since you asked, me and Sage were having a little adult only time and…" started Ridley before Sage roundhoused kicked him a few feet away.

"WE WEREN'T DOING ANYTHING LIKE THAT!"

Enma chuckled and turned his head, what an interesting crew he joined. He stopped laughing when he noticed the giant thirty foot iron giant getting closer, "uh…guys. I think we should go get some help for Hiro-Shu."

"Why?" asked Ridley before he looked up and saw the giant, "holy crap! Is that Hiro-Shu? Who knew he could do something like that!"

"Excuse us! Coming through!" shouted Zesiro as he bobbed and weaved through them with Mikoto still under his arm.

"Hey," said Mikoto, "wait! I think that was Sage back there!" Zesiro stopped and turned around and jogged back to them.

"What's up with Hiro-Shu," asked Enma keeping his eyes on the giant approaching them.

"I don't know," said Zesiro, "I don't think he's thinking straight." He dropped Mikoto on the ground. "It's like he is preset to crush everything."

"How come it was 'I think that was Sage back there'? Why not 'I think that was Sage and Ridley back there'?" asked Ridley crouching down next to Mikoto. He flicked Mikoto's ears.

"Sorry, you look different when you are sober," said Mikoto from his spot on the ground, not caring to stand up at the moment.

"That's your excuse!" shouted Ridley as he stomped on Mikoto's head. "Next time show interest in me!"

Mikoto chuckled despite Ridley's stomp, "I missed you. You need to get alcohol more often."

"I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN ANY ALCOHOL!" shouted Ridley this time launching a much more powerful stomp onto Mikoto's face.

"OW!" shouted Mikoto standing up, "THAT HURT!"

"Focus," said Enma slapping them both across the head. "We have a real problem here…we have a giant golem coming at us. We can't kill him because he's our friend and he doesn't seem to recognize us as his. We got to take him down BEFORE we get crushed."

"Don't worry," said Mikoto, "just give me a Rumble Ball and I'll take care of him." He held his hand out to Enma.

"A Rumble Ball?" asked Enma.

"Yeah, I told you to make me one," said Mikoto.

"No, you didn't!" shouted Enma.

"Well, I'm telling you now so where is it?" shouted Mikoto back.

"I don't have it!" replied Enma. The crew was all…psychopaths!

"Just make do without one," said Zesiro as he brandished his swords, "we'll just have to knock him out. That'll hopefully knock him out of whatever is going on." Zesiro hated this feeling, out of everyone on the crew Hiro-Shu was actually…sane. They had a pretty good friendship up to this point, hopefully this fight won't ruin things.

"Agreed," said Enma calming down first. A large continuous chain of backbones exited from Enma's shoulder until they formed a centipede-looking skeleton. Just a week or so on the crew and he already had to attack his crewmate…great.

Mikoto sighed. "I've been wondering how well I am against Hiro-Shu." He faced Hiro-Shu's huge iron body and smiled. "I guess this is as good as time as any." He morphed back into his hybrid form. He stretched his claws out to their full-size. If only Enma had prepared him his Rumble Ball.

Ridley shrugged it off, "he never did appreciate my music." He took his guitar off of his back and played a few notes to warm up. "I guess I'll just have to change his opinion through this little fight of ours."

Sage shook off the weariness she was feeling from being trapped. "I'm ready, now…let's do this to the best of our abilities." Her body was shaking. Her only offensive attack was to kill someone with an explosion, she couldn't do that to Hiro-Shu. Not to mention the fact that her Devil Fruit only affected a fifteen foot radius while Hiro-Shu was thirty feet tall.

"Ready crew?" asked Mikoto, "this is the test to see if we are made out for the Grand Line. If we fail…we might die, if we win…we might kill our crewmate…so…let's try to…um…not kill him?"

"Shut up," said Zesiro with a smile as he led the charge towards Hiro-Shu's iron body. He launched the first attack two simultaneous slices straight up Hiro-Shu's leg. He couldn't even cut into it due to its hardness. He skidded past him and readied for a second strike. The battle was starting to look bleak.

Hiro-Shu was about to twist around and confront Zesiro when Enma's skeletal centipede wrapped itself around his leg holding him in place. "Thanks, Enma," said Mikoto as he jumped onto the back of the skeleton, morphing into his full beast form. He started to run up the skeleton to Hiro-Shu's leg. He reached out with his claws and sliced straight across Hiro-Shu's leg, again not a single scratch. Mikoto landed next to Zesiro.

Hiro-Shu brought his leg around snapping through Enma's skeletal centipede. He was now facing Mikoto and Zesiro. He brought his arm up to fire another punch when loud music filled the air.

"200 Decibels!" shouted Ridley slamming along his guitar. Hiro-Shu twisted back around kicking the ground sending a large clump of dirt flying at Ridley. Ridley stopped playing his music and dove to the side avoiding the attack.

"Land and Sea Combo! Mako Coyote!" shouted Mikoto and Zesiro as they both ran between Hiro-Shu's leg slicing as they went. Four fresh scratches appeared on Hiro-Shu's leg, but none of the attacks went deep enough to pierce Hiro-Shu's skin.

Hiro-Shu brought his foot down destroying more land with additional force. The ground shattered around his body. Hiro-Shu looked up at his five crewmembers. He was about to launch another severe attack when his leg gave way beneath him and he feel to the ground on one knee.

"When severe pressure is applied to a person's leg," said Sage from the background, "it can cause cramps, pain, and nerve death." She shivered for a second before adding, "I'm sorry about that, Hiro-Shu."

**Fall, Iron Golem!**

**The Master Plan!**

Okay, that was fun to write! Hiro-Shu went on an uncontrollable rampage through the city only his friends can stop him. Sounds like a typical anime chapter. Anyways, with Sage's power being severely limited, Zesiro and Mikoto both unable to do any real damage, Enma's bones being broken, and Ridley…being Ridley will they succeed or will they die at the hand of their own friend.

Next time on the Saga of the Infinity Pirates you will learn some handy tips on how to handle with your friend if he becomes a giant uncontrollable golem. (If you knew what I was planning you would've noticed a pun in this author's note!)

I'm also kind of shocked to find that Enma and Hiro-Shu are the most popular characters among the Infinity Pirates. Honestly, I thought it was going to be more like Mikoto, Hiro-Shu, Ridley, Sage, Zesiro, and then Enma. I was wrong.


	60. Home Arc: 60 The Master Plan

**Fall, Iron Golem!**

**The Master Plan!**

"Nice one!" shouted Mikoto," way to show him up!" Zesiro whacked him upside the head.

"That's our crewmate or did you forget?" asked Zesiro. Zesiro sighed, with a captain like this who needed enemies?

"Zesiro!" shouted Enma," you can kill Mikoto after we calmed Hiro-Shu down." The crew returned their attention to Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu was standing back up, Sage's attack only barely fazing him. Once Hiro-Shu was back on his feet he lifted one of his leg's up and back down crushing the ground directly beneath it. Zesiro gritted his teeth.

"**Ballad Melodic Lance!" **shouted Ridley as he played more on his guitar. The sound waves became heavily compressed into a single sphere of sound and flew through the sky slamming into Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu's hand went up and covered his ear. He brought his foot back up and attempted to smash Ridley.

Zesiro ran underneath it and brought his two swords up. Hiro-Shu's foot slammed onto Zesiro's blade, pushing Zesiro deeper into the dirt. "Get going, Ridley!" Zesiro grunted, barely holding up under the pressure of Hiro-Shu's body.

"Right," said Ridley as he bolted out from underneath the giant foot.

"**Hone Spear!" **shouted Enma as he hefted a large bone spear through the air. The spear slammed into Hiro-Shu's chest and stuck fast. "Zesiro! Get out of there!"

"Don't have to tell me twice," said Zesiro as he gave one of final push causing Hiro-Shu to falter. He jumped out of the hole he was in and back onto the solid land. He was exhausted. He just wasn't prepared to fend off against the heavy weight.

Mikoto morphed into his full beast form and charged off at Hiro-Shu. He grabbed onto Hiro-Shu's leg and began to run up it with increased speed and determination. He got up to his knee cap and began to claw and bite away at it to loosen it. Hiro-Shu swatted him down to the ground.

"Damn," said Mikoto, "I thought his knees would have less iron on them then the rest of his body does to allow him to move easier, but apparently its still super thick there."

"Don't stop!" shouted Ridley, "if we can't do any real damage to him, he'll just have to die the death of a thousand paper cuts." He sped up his playing trying to cause more damage to Hiro-Shu, but he just seemed impervious to the noise.

"Love your resolve on not killing him," said Zesiro as he ran forward and made a wide X mark with his swords across Hiro-Shu's chest. Zesiro landed on the other side of Hiro-Shu, upset that this attack did next to nothing on the heavy iron body.

Mikoto jumped onto Zesiro's shoulders and then jumped off of there and launched another slicing attack onto Hiro-Shu's heavy iron body. Hiro-Shu's attention turned him as he brought his hand down in a devastating chopping motion that destroyed the ground. The air generated from the chop brought Mikoto down to the ground and forced the air in his lungs to come out. He stood there gasping for air as Hiro-Shu brought his foot up.

"Hey! Hold it," shouted Sage, "You can't kill the captain!" She increased the pressure beneath Hiro-Shu's other foot. The pressure built up and exploded, lifting Hiro-Shu's foot into the air and sent him careening down to the ground. He caught himself inches above the rubble of the castle and lifted his body back into the air. His attention now turned to Sage. He fired a single punch.

"**Skillet!" **shouted Ridley as he strummed on his guitar. The vibrations created as the noise shot through the air formed a powerful wall in front of Hiro-Shu's punch, nearly stopping it in its track. Sage took this moment's rest to quickly run to a much safer location away from Hiro-Shu.

"Any more bright ideas guys?" asked Sage from behind the front lines. Her powers wouldn't work all that well from the distance she was at, and she wasn't in the mood to try and get any closer to Hiro-Shu at this point. His last punch would've decimated her if Ridley had blocked it with his sound.

"Sorry," said Ridley, "but I'm afraid I'm out. I always think better when I am drunk and since 'someone' won't let me have alcohol anymore." Ridley launched another glare at Sage. Sage simply ignored him.

Enma remained quiet for a moment and then spoke, "do you know how people used to do metal working?"

"They use pickaxes and flamethrowers, right?" said Mikoto from his spot on the ground readying to charge as soon as a viable plan was made.

"Close," said Enma, "they use a special tool called a swage. A swage is a sharp tool that is held against the work and then repetitively struck with a hammer to break off pieces of metal and cause dents."

Mikoto thought for a second, "the information is helpful, but I don't recall any metal workers living on the island. I don't think there is anybody who we can borrow a swage from."

Enma chuckled, "we don't need an actual swage a makeshift one will do. Say a long bone spear jammed into his chest would work just as well."

Mikoto glanced up and noticed what Enma was talking about. During one of Enma's last hits he landed a single blow in the center of Hiro-Shu's chest. If they struck it hard enough they probably could push it in deeper to deal an excess of damage. "Enma, can you do another one of those centipede things. I'm going to need a ladder."

"On it," said Enma as more ribcages sprang from his body to form another centipede. Soon it was long enough to reach Hiro-Shu's chest. "Zesiro, Ridley, Sage, distract him for us."

Zesiro twisted his swords around, "Sure, give us the hard job." He jumped into the air, "let's go! **Archerfish Edge**!" He spun in a circle in midair releasing a clean swipe that soared through the air and into Hiro-Shu's arm. Again no real damage, but enough to attract his attention.

Hiro-Shu spun around and slammed his fist into the ground near Hiro-Shu's body. Sage approached the fist, but kept as much distance between it as possible. She created a large amount of pressure within the iron-encased fist. Hiro-Shu roared back as the pressure became so grand it started to cause it to swell within the iron armor. Only problem was the iron armor didn't budge to give it the room to swell and caused massive damage.

"**Nature's…"** began Mikoto, in his beast form, as he dashed up Enma's bone centipede staircase and towards Hiro-Shu's massive body, "**RAMPAGE!" **Mikoto jumped into the air using his beast form's superior leg muscles, then he quickly morphed into his hybrid form and punched the Hone Spear jutting out of Hiro-Shu's chest deeper into his body. Mikoto felt the bone give way and sink deeper into his chest. Mikoto landed back on the ground, he quickly jumped back to avoid a retaliatory strike from Hiro-Shu.

"Crap," said Mikoto as he glanced up at the Hone Spear as blood started to spill from the puncture wound, "I sent that spear of yours into his body and he isn't even being slowed. He's still coming at us with all the strength as before."

"Then push it in deeper!" shouted Enma as he started to construct another skeletal centipede. Hiro-Shu launched a fist in his direction this time. Enma slammed the newly constructed centipede into the ground and propelled himself into the air above Hiro-Shu's punch.

Zesiro jumped onto Hiro-Shu's arm. He pushed his two swords into the golem's arm and began to run up his arm and to his shoulder. His swords dragging across the iron arm made sparks fly. He twisted around at the last second and slammed his two heated swords simultaneously into Hiro-Shu's face. Hiro-Shu stumbled back from the force, but was able to quickly come back by grabbing Zesiro's body tight within his grasp.

Zesiro grunted as he felt Hiro-Shu's grip tighten on his body. He tried to bring his two arms forth and escape, but Hiro-Shu's overwhelming strength at this point made it impossible. Hiro-Shu reached back and then flung his arm forward tossing Zesiro clear over the island.

"He's not going to be in a good mood when he lands," said Ridley watching Zesiro's flight pattern as he flew over the island. Ridley turned his attention back to Hiro-Shu when a cannon went off. A large bombshell slammed into Hiro-Shu's body sending him falling to the ground.

(-Next to one the island's defensive cannons-)

"I think that was Dai Mungi's signal!" shouted one of the three men stationed at the cannon. "Load the cannon hurry up! We don't want to be caught slacking off or he might execute us for doing so."

The other two men quickly began to roll a cannonball, the size of a human over. They loaded it into an equally large cannon and covered their ears. The first man produced a match and struck it against the cannon. He then lit the fuse.

(-With Hiro-Shu-)

A second cannon fire went off. Then a third. And finally a fourth. Each cannon ball clearly hit their mark straight into Hiro-Shu body causing him to falter closer to the ground. His heavy iron armor growing dents in it as the battle raged on, but he showed no signs of fatigue. He lifted his body back into the air and headed towards one of the cannons that were firing on him.

"Crap!" shouted Enma, "what are we going to do? He's starting to head through the village!" The cannons really made him worry. If they continued to hammer him with this same strength, they may break his armor and then hit him.

"What options do we got, he's our nakama we are supposed to protect him," replied Sage bracing herself against her own knee.

"Protect him?" said Mikoto in disbelief, "those cannons are barely harming him! I'm more worried about the village! It'll be torn to shreds if Hiro-Shu marches through there! We need to stop him!" He was already starting to breathe heavy he's been running around and landing numerous blows on Zesiro and so far not a single one had shown a scratch.

"Then quit talking," shouted Ridley as he began to rush past the trio and towards Hiro-Shu, "we need to hit him hard before he causes any more damage." Ridley was about to get within attacking distance when a masked figure appeared on a rooftop in front of Hiro-Shu. "Shit."

"Hey!" shouted Mikoto as he morphed into his beast form and sped off, "get off of the damn roof! You will die if you stand there!" he wasn't fast enough to get there and pull him off the roof.

"**Attack Sigil…" **the figure jumped into the air his cloak swooshing around him. He brought both of his hands forward in front of him and formed a circle using his forefingers and pinky fingers.

"Oh! No!" shouted Mikoto, "he's going to shoot Hiro-Shu with a laser beam!"

"Let's hope he doesn't kill him with it," said Enma, doubting the fact that it was a laser beam, but lacked any other ideas.

"**Unconscious," **finished the figure as he landed gracefully on the ground besides Hiro-Shu's foot. Hiro-Shu's entire body shuddered to a halt. His body went limp and began to shrink. His entire body collided to the ground. His body continued to shrink until it was its original size.

The crew gasped and gathered around Hiro-Shu. Enma pressed his head against Hiro-Shu's blood ridden chest. "Is he alive, still?" asked Sage.

"You better not have killed him!" shouted Mikoto, "he's my nakama!" He could've sworn he heard the figure chuckle at that. He gripped the figure's collar and lifted him into the air. His eyes glowing with anger.

"It's okay, Mikoto," said Enma, "he's just knocked out." Enma stared at the figure. He didn't like this man. He showed up out of nowhere, near the end of the fight, and used a mysterious power to knock out his crewmate. Not to mention the mask just made this man untrustworthy.

The man smiled. "I have a proposition for the Infinity Pirates."

**The Proposition!**

**Head for the Grand Line!**

Yeah! The fight against Hiro-Shu is now officially over. The fight ended due to a mysterious figure using a mysterious technique. Then he has a proposition for the Infinity Pirates can things get any more suspenseful? YES! And I will do everything in my power to make it so! Let's have fun with it. But for those of you who actually did notice (and care) Zesiro is okay.

Also, for those of you who remain blissfully ignorant I have started two new stories (this one will continue, no worries). One is a One Piece Fanfic called, The Iron Hammer of Justice, the other is An Unsound Body, A Soul Eater Fanfic.

P.S. I also have an avatar now! It is hand-drawn by me! No, I have no idea what it is SO DON'T ASK!


	61. Chapter 61 The Proposition

**The Proposition!**

**Head for the Grand Line!**

Hiro-Shu laid stretched out on one of the inn's bed. His eyes were closed and his breathing became ragged. His chest was wrapped up in a heavy bandage. He had a similar bandage on his knee. Enma, Sage, and Ridley were gathered around him watching, waiting for some kind of improvement.

"Wow," said Ridley, "I guess his third form takes a lot out of him." He had his guitar in his lap and every so often he strummed a few notes, but in reality he just didn't feel like playing.

"Not quite," said Enma, "our attacks were designed to kill a giant…Hiro-Shu isn't a giant. Then of course while Hiro-Shu was in that armor he wasn't fully aware of what was going on, so when he finally comes to all of our attacks would hit him simultaneously. His body is waiting for a time when Hiro-Shu would be able to survive such a shock without passing out again."

"What if…he wakes up before then?" asked Sage. "What would happen if he wakes up before our attacks heal enough?" She hated this. This moment reminded her of when Mikoto was nearly killed on Zesiro's home island…only they didn't have a doctor then. Thankfully, Mikoto managed to pull through, but its still not guaranteed with Hiro-Shu.

"He could enter a post-traumatic state and go berserk, he could pass out again, or he could…" Enma trailed off. He didn't want say any of the other options.

"Where's Mikoto at?" asked Sage, "shouldn't he be here? I mean, his nakama is in trouble! He should be here to help us out!"

"And do what exactly?" asked Enma as he laid down in a separate bed, "Mikoto has a knack. No matter what he touches, he always seems to make things worse. I'm surprised all of you are still alive so far, especially since you just got a doctor."

"Mikoto does happen to break a lot of things," said Ridley with a chuckle. "Anyways, should we try looking for Zesiro? He still hasn't returned since Hiro-Shu flung him."

"If there is one person who doesn't need worrying about on this crew," said Sage, "its Zesiro." Enma nodded in agreement.

"Fine then I have one more question," said Ridley, "do either one of you two know where I can get some alcohol?" Sage spun around and launched a devastating blow to the back of his head.

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto was lying with the majority of his body against the counter at Xavier's pub. "Xavier, can I have more lemonade?" He lifted up a nearby empty glass and began to swirl the ice in it around.

Xavier chuckled at him and quickly refilled the glass, "how's your crew doing? I still didn't get to meet all of them, yet. Just you, Zesiro, and Hiro-Shu. I want to meet the cook, musician, and doctor of my little bud's crew."

Mikoto didn't even respond. His mind was more focused on the proposition of the masked figure. He told him to meet him at the local café in three hours. One hour had already passed since then. His crew had mixed feelings about it too, after all their bounties were increasing pretty fast and he just knocked Hiro-Shu out, this could be a trap.

Mikoto's mind was jumping around, though. If it wasn't a trap and just something simple like an alliance or maybe just going out for a celebration they'd skip out something good. The guy was powerful and he already had the chance to knock them all out once, why would he wait three hours to do it?

Mikoto sighed and began to drink his lemonade again. He was becoming weaker, he should've been able to stop Hiro-Shu, but instead he had to rely on some random person to protect his crew and his village. What was happening in the world?

Xavier sat down next to him, "wondering what's going on are you?"

Mikoto's ears perked up, but he didn't move from his spot. "Yeah."

"I'm a barkeeper," said Xavier, "I never had any kids, never will, never been married, never plan to go out to sea, never wanted to be the Pirate King, sorry kid. But my ambitions and advice just isn't suited for you. I have an old friend that might be able to help you out, though." Xavier reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black notebook. It was bound by a leather strap on the front of it was golden lettering that spelled 'Valhalla Pirates'. Xavier put the notebook on the table, "read it, the person who wrote it was a good guy." Xavier got up and left.

Mikoto eyed the notebook for a while before grabbing it and stuffing it into his pocket. He's not one very for much for reading, but maybe Sage or Zesiro would like it. Mikoto turned in his chair and faced the door way. He was just going to wait for someone on his crew to come and drag his butt back to the ship. He just hoped it wouldn't be Sage.

Zesiro was the first one to enter. "Nice of you to worry about me," he said as he sat down next to Mikoto, "went flying into the ocean. Lucky for me, I'm a Fishman or I would've drown. The crew said you went somewhere without them, figured you'd be here."

Mikoto looked at the nearby clock. Only half an hour left before he had to make his mind up and go to the café. "Did they tell you what happened?"

"Yup," said Zesiro as he spun around and smiled, "are you going to go see this person?"

"Still making up my mind," said Mikoto, "I don't trust anyone who wears a mask."

Zesiro shook his head. "I say you go. You can beat the crap out of him if he steps out of line, so you might as well see what he wants." Zesiro pulled a sword out of his sheath and chuckled, "or I can beat him up if you are too weak."

Mikoto smiled. "Fine," said Mikoto as he stood up, "let's go." Zesiro nodded and stood up with him.

"Should I go gather the rest of the crew?" asked Zesiro as he put his blade back into his sheath. "Or are we going this alone?"

"I think me and you should be able to handle him," said Mikoto. He didn't want Sage or Ridley get to involved and he'd like it if Enma would stay back and watch over Hiro-Shu. "Wait a second." Mikoto dug into his pocket and pulled out the notebook and tossed it to him, "Xavier gave it to me. I figured if it's a book, you'd like it more then me."

Zesiro smirked. "Just what I always wanted. An old notebook from a barkeeper."

The duo walked to the café. It was small. It was the size of a house and there were only about four tables. Mikoto scanned the area looking for the masked man. He felt Zesiro jab him in the side. He was pointing over to a corner. In it was a man with a mask on. Mikoto wandered over to him, "I'll hear your proposition."

"Wonderful," said the man as he reached up and undid the chains holding his mask onto his face. He took the mask off. His face was well-kept he had windswept brown hair and blue eyes. His smile was brilliant and bold, but it still radiated fear. "I am the 'Mr. Smoke and Mirrors', the Trickster, the Joker, my name is Henry Diduo."

"Mr. S & M," chuckled Zesiro under his breath. The man didn't even pay him any attention.

"I'm glad to see you know a good deal when it presents itself," said Henry, "I guess I'll begin with a small background story of the proposition before I tell you what you are going to be doing."

"Makes sense," said Mikoto as he sat down. Zesiro soon joined him.

"To begin with as a pirate of your caliber," began Henry, "this is probably just a review, but the World Government has established a blockade at Reverse Mountain. This blockade is fully operational with very powerful weapons and defense systems. Only someone who can present proper Marine certification will be allowed to pass. A Jolly Roger would be shot down before the crew got within shooting distance."

"I didn't know that," said Mikoto, "what about you Zesiro? Is this blockade new?"

"First I've heard of it," said Zesiro with a shrug.

"Its been established for two months," stated Henry with a sigh, "anyways! A normal crew would stand little to no chance as the Marines not only established a temporary holding jail there, but also they sent ten top notch warriors to stand guard there. These guys are capable of taking out people whose bounties exceed 40 million with ease. No pirates from the East Blue could take them out, at least not alone."

"So, you want my crew to team up with you as we go through there?" asked Mikoto. The kid was powerful, but he wasn't going to say that he evened the odds. It would be eight pirates taking on ten people who crush someone who was nearly double his own bounty. "Not happening."

"Oh, no!" said Henry, "see that would be suicide for your crew. I've been gathering up a small group of other professional pirates who would be willing to wait until we got a capable attack force. Right now I got three pirate captains on my side waiting for me to say go."

Mikoto leaned back and took this all in. Three pirate captains. That means three crews. If all the other crews were at least as developed as his was that would mean they would have a total fighting force of twenty-nine, counting Henry. "Agreed," said Mikoto, "I have to talk this over with my crew." He got up and left, Zesiro followed after him. This left Henry sitting in his chair all alone grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Mikoto soon arrived at the inn where Hiro-Shu was lying unconscious. Enma was the first to take note of Mikoto's serious disposition. "You went?" he asked, although he already assumed the answer.

"Yes," replied Mikoto sitting onto a cot next to Hiro-Shu. "He wants to team up until we get into the Grand Line."

"Does it have something to do with the blockade?" asked Sage.

"How'd you know," asked Mikoto.

"Its been in the newspaper," said Sage, "it took them a couple of months to complete it. No crew would dare to go in there alone. They basically isolated the East Blue pirates from the Grand Line."

"So," said Ridley, "what's the verdict? Are we teaming up or not?"

Mikoto sighed, he wasn't the tactician of the crew. He had always trusted his gut when it came down to a difficult situation, but his gut was just as confused as he was. Henry seemed decent enough, he wanted to get to the Grand Line safely, nothing wrong there, but he called himself a trickster and a joker. This could be a trap. If they arrived at Reverse Mountain and they were the only ones, they'd be sunk.

"Well, captain?" asked Enma, "your call. We either go all out and place our bets on this man or do we leave him be?"

Mikoto leaned back and lied into the bed. "We do need to head to the Grand Line soon, so why not do it with some help?" Even as those words came out of his mouth they felt wrong.

"I was thinking the same thing," said Zesiro, "we go with him to the blockade and go along with his plan until they inconvenience us, then we ignore them. If we can use these forces he's prepared to serve us, we might as well."

Mikoto nodded, glad that someone agreed with him. Sage and Ridley nodded in agreement soon after. That only left Enma. "I don't trust him is all."

"Don't worry," said Mikoto smiling at Zesiro, "if he does anything we don't like, we can just beat him up."

"Right," said Ridley as he picked his feet up and put them on top of Hiro-Shu's limp body. "Hey! Hiro-Shu makes a pretty decent footrest." The entire crew turned and glared at him. "What? Can't a guy make a joke?" asked Ridley as he pulled his feet off of Hiro-Shu's body.

"NOT ONE LIKE THAT!" shouted Sage as she pulled a frying pan out and slammed it into his face sending him tumbling off of the bed. Ridley laid on the floor for a few seconds. He looked more distraught then angry at Sage.

"Now that that's settled," said Enma, "can you guys continue watching over Hiro-Shu? I've been with him all day, I think I'm going to get a breathe of fresh air. My first one since the fight."

Zesiro nodded and got up. He walked around the room until he got to where Ridley was laying. "Hey, big guy," said Ridley, "mind helping me up?"

Zesiro lifted his feet up and stepped on top of Ridley and stood there for a few seconds, "you know, Ridley, you make a pretty good floormat!"

"GET OFF OF ME YOU UGLY SHARK!" shouted Ridley from beneath Zesiro's weight. Zesiro only chuckled at his distress.

Sage shook her head, "I can't wait until we get another female on our crew. These guys are driving me insane."

Mikoto glanced over at her, "how can you say that? We are your nakama!" Mikoto leapt from his spot on the bed and on top of Sage knocking her to the ground. He sat on top of her for a second with a proud smile on his face.

"Congratulations, Mikoto!" shouted Sage from her position as she pushed him off of her, "you beat up an unarmed girl. What's next?" She couldn't hide the laughter in her voice though as Mikoto toppled to the floor dumbfounded.

"Oh, hey, Mikoto," said Zesiro as he pulled the small black notebook out of his short's pocket, "I think this is much better in your hands then in mine." He tossed it over to Mikoto, who caught it with ease.

"Just like a Frisbee," said Ridley beneath Zesiro, "now get off of me!"

Mikoto looked at the book for a few seconds with a stupid look on his face. "You do know that I am never going to read this, right?"

"You may want to look at the author," said Zesiro, "it might change your mind." Mikoto looked down at the name at the bottom right hand corner of the book and read the small golden print out loud:

"Michael Azgard."

**The Secrets of the Black Notebook!**

**The Goodbye Kiss!**

Buh-buh-BUH! The plot thickens! For those of your who are wondering the importance of Michael Azgard, I'll give you a hint. It's Mikoto's father! What? Too big of a hint? Oh, well! DEAL WITH IT! ITS MY STORY I CAN GIVE BIG HINTS IF I WANT TO! And I will! Well, the crew is finally heading off towards Reverse Mountain so you may want to grab your Sea King repellent and a whole bunch of weapons, because things are going to become hectic! You all better wish Mikoto good luck…go ahead and wish Sage some too actually (she's on a ship with seven males now!)

Please say anything you want to about Henry and your personal thoughts about what he may or may not do.


	62. Chapter 62 The Secrets of the Black Book

**The Secrets of the Black Notebook!**

**The Goodbye Kiss!**

Mikoto opened up the book and the first thing he noticed was a small piece of paper tucked away in the corner. He pulled it out with little difficulty and read it over.

"_Dear Mikoto,_

_Somehow I doubt I'll see you when you become sixteen, whether I die due to the Marines or just old age (Or if I'm just off having an adventure __!), I hope this book will be given to you. This is the logbook of the journey me and my crew took. The islands I visited, the people I saw, and the battles I fought. Here is some things you need to remember when you are about to sail off. Whether or not you choose to become a pirate, marine, or a bounty hunter is fine by me, but always remember these things._

_1. Remember the supplies. I forgot to sail off without food or water on my first journey. Not a pleasant experience. So remember the supplies."_

Mikoto laughed and remembered his first time sailing off. He forgot to bring the food along. Well, he was already doing better then his dad.

"_2. Remember to become strong. There are going to be tough pirates, marines, bounty hunters, and armies out there. They may try to kill you, so I hope you will survive."_

Hope? Hope! He could've been a little more encouraging to his one and only son! Of course, he'll survive!

"_3. Get together a good crew. You'll be out at sea for many, many days. You'll need someone to talk to, whether they are younger, older, funnier, uglier, or female, you'll want someone to talk to."_

Mikoto nodded. He was glad he had his crew gathered. Ridley, Sage, Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, and, now, Enma. He was going to be sailing in some pretty good company. Maybe he'll meet some good guys out there.

"_4. Do something! You are on a journey! A journey across the seas and through the skies! If you are just going to go from island to island taste testing chicken all the way through you wasted a journey! Go do something to make your crew proud!"_

Mikoto nodded. Pirate King. That was his goal. He leaned back and relaxed with the black notebook in his hand. The rest of his crew was boarding the ship. They were heading out today, Henry included. They were sailing for the Grand Line. Mikoto could almost see the treasures laying out in front of him, waiting for him to grab it. He could see the gold, the silver, the rubies! So much money!

Mikoto shook his head clear of thoughts and returned to his book.

"_I know the journey will be tough and you may not win all of your fights, but you will win a lot! I have faith in you! Its hard becoming famous out on the sea and its even harder trying to do something out there. Me and my crew had books (have you started reading, yet? You should!), weights (got to keep in shape), and other stuff to do. But! We also kept track of some very important things that we learned after sailing into the Grand Line. Techniques!"_

Mikoto paused for a second. Techniques? His father was collecting moves? He picked the book back up and read through the line again. Yeah…he wondered what they were.

"_The sea is filled with different techniques. There's Shigan, Gears, Santoryu, Black Leg, Devil Fruits galore! Now, I don't know if you'll have any devil fruit powers by then, so most of these attacks will be out, but in case you have…I've included some of the techniques we collected within this book. Go kick some butt!"_

Mikoto sighed and tossed the book onto the ground. He didn't need any help! He'd be the best pirate out there with or without help from his dad. He walked over the side of the ship and looked down. He saw Ridley walking up. In Ridley's hand was a big cardboard box.

"Hey, Mikoto!" shouted Ridley, "Enma's looking for you! He said its okay to move Hiro-Shu onto the ship now! He's in a deep enough sleep!"

Mikoto nodded and jumped from the railing. "Tell Sage to get dinner ready… I have a feeling I'm going to be hungry after this…" Mikoto knew Hiro-Shu was nowhere near to light and lifting him wouldn't be very easy. On an afterthought Mikoto grabbed Ridley's collar and pulled him close. "Keep a close eye on Henry," whispered Mikoto. Ridley nodded.

Mikoto headed off towards the inn. Ridley went onto the ship. Mikoto was starting to get second thoughts about leaving the ship. Zesiro, Ridley, and Sage may not be able to handle Henry. They still didn't know a thing about his power that knocked Hiro-Shu out, if he used that on them…they may not survive. Mikoto shook his head. He knew he had to trust him if his plan was going to work. If it didn't, they'd all end up in prison.

Mikoto arrived at the inn. Enma, Melanie, and Xavier were all huddled around Hiro-Shu's bed. Mikoto sighed. He really didn't want to deal with these people right now. His mind was already lost in a fog. "Hey! I'm here to help, Enma."

Enma smiled and nodded at the end of the stretcher nearest to Hiro-Shu's feet. Normally, Mikoto would've complained and made a joke, but he didn't want to do so in front of Melanie or Xavier. He was a man! Mikoto bent down and lifted Hiro-Shu's stretcher into the air with Enma at the other end. They proceeded to walk down through the city. The wall was torn down and the island was just like Mikoto remembered it, besides the rubble of a castle lying at the end. Not to mention the four cannons, which the town decided to keep for defensive purposes.

Melanie and Xavier wandered to the ship behind them. Mikoto was the first onboard, carefully stepping on it as not to dump Hiro-Shu into the ocean. They soon gathered in the men's room and laid Hiro-Shu down onto the table to rest. Enma put him down and kneeled besides his bed and began to pray. "Oh, great Death Lord, please allow my friend to continue his existence in this world."

Mikoto was frowning. He turned around and walked up the steps and onto the deck of the ship. Xavier and Melanie followed behind him. Mikoto bent down and picked up the black notebook he had thrown earlier. Hiro-Shu was like this because he didn't fight with Dai Mungi, he couldn't stop him from rampaging before he accumulated too much damage, and now they were entrusting their lives to some stranger, because HE may not be strong enough. Some help from his dad may be just what he needed.

"Hey, Mikoto?" said Melanie as she walked up to him and stood by his side. "Remember the last time you sailed away from this island?"

Mikoto looked over at her and smiled, "yeah. Those were the simple days." Mikoto scratched his head. "Back then I had a bathtub for a boat, no food, and it was only me. Funny how quickly things change."

"Yeah, now we got a junk pile for a boat, no money, and six mouths to feed," said Zesiro as he came up onto the deck, "seven, actually because of Henry. I hope Sage is going to be okay."

"Hey!" shouted Sage as she came up from the kitchen, "I've been cooking for a long time now! I've been cooking for five guys and myself for quite some time! Another guy certainly won't bring me down."

"That and I helped with dinner," said Henry offering a smile to Sage, "Speaking of which, we've came up here to say that is dinner is ready." He turned around to Sage and kneeled. He picked up Sage's hand, "and you, mon cherie, have done such a wonderful job. I've never seen anyone put so many meals together in such a wonderful manner." He planted a single kiss onto Sage's hand before returned his gaze up to Sage. She blushed briefly.

"Urgh," moaned Ridley as he stood up straight. He shook his head, "this really is a pathetic crew." He turned around and walked away, "next time you want to do something romantic make sure to include music. I'm off to eat."

Sage shook her head, "thank you, Henry. Its been awhile since anyone on this ship was as chivalrous as you…and didn't screw it up," she glared over at Mikoto. After a few seconds, Sage quickly stopped. Mikoto normally would've said something in his defense, but he didn't even manage a moan.

"Anyways," said Melanie as she tapped Mikoto's shoulder once more, "last time you left, I never got to see you off properly. So, this time…I'll do it correctly." She planted single kiss onto Mikoto's cheek.

That got Mikoto's attention. "WHAT!" he shouted as he jumped up into the air, "what was that for?"

"I'm just saying good-bye," said Melanie. Xavier was behind her, holding in a chuckle. "That's what happens. The young boy leaves and the young attractive female kisses him goodbye. Besides there aren't girls here who'll get jealous of me."

"I know there aren't!" shouted Mikoto.

"Then who are you worried about being jealous?" asked Melanie, "I mean Sage is the only girl on the ship." Sage let out a loud and deeply depressed moan, since she was once again reminded of her perpetual solitude from females. "Unless…"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Mikoto, "its not like anyone is going to be jealous, its just wrong for you to kiss me! You are like…five times my age!"

A large tick appeared on Melanie's forehead. Xavier piped up and quickly began to edge towards the dock to make a break for it. "I…am…only…" started Melanie in a low voice, almost a whisper, "TWENTY-EIGHT!" Her voice boomed as she brought her right fist over and straight into Mikoto's face sending him flying off of the side of the boat and into the water. Melanie was still fuming.

"Hell hath no wrath like a woman scorned," quoted Zesiro as he got up from his seat, "And now I got to go save our little Devil Fruit buddy."

"No, no, allow me too," said Henry, "its probably annoying for you to continually save him. So let me do it this once." He approached the side of the boat and leapt off and into the water.

Zesiro grunted. "So he's not a Devil Fruit user?" Zesiro was becoming more and more frustrated trying to find out what this guy's power was.

Melanie landed her hand onto Sage's shoulder, "I bet he gives you a reeaaalllllyyy hard time, doesn't he?"

Sage nodded at an extremely fast pace, afraid Melanie would slug her too.

"Don't worry about it," said Melanie as she turned around and began to leave, "he's a man. They are all a little slow." Xavier sighed. Sage let out a sigh of relief. Melanie grabbed onto Xavier's ear and pulled, "we are leaving!"

Henry pulled Mikoto onto the deck a few moments later.

"Is he alive?" questioned Zesiro. He didn't like Henry in the slightest, but he can't say that he didn't trust him. He just had the perfect opportunity to let Mikoto die and he passed it up. With Hiro-Shu out cold and Enma downstairs tending to Hiro-Shu's wounds, Henry would only have Zesiro to worry about right now. Knocking him and Sage unconscious would've been easy job.

"I better go check on Ridley," said Sage, "you two go haul Mikoto down to the men's room, "I'm sure Enma will be happy to have another patient." Zesiro nodded and picked up Mikoto's feet. Henry bowed and lifted up Mikoto's shoulders.

(-In the dining hall-)

Sage entered the dining room all alone. Ridley was sitting at the table. He hadn't even touched the food, yet. In his hand was a large green bottle. He swirled its alcoholic contents around. "Finally got me some alcohol."

"Ridley!" shouted Sage as she rushed up and grabbed the bottle out of his hand, "you know how much I hate having alcohol on this ship!" Her eyes traveled to the table and saw the three already empty bottles that were just laying about.

"Did you know Xavier had a bar?" said Ridley as he snatched the bottle back and began drinking again, "I have already drunk ten bottles, this is my eleventh and I still got nine more to go!"

"Well, go drink somewhere else!" shouted Sage as she crossed her arms across her chest, "I will not have you getting drunk on our ship!"

Ridley smiled. "There goes your big ego." He pushed his chair out and stood up. He placed the half-empty bottle onto the table. "Listen here, Sage. I want you to remember this. You are not as strong as anyone else on the crew. Everyone else on this ship, can beat you, that includes me. So, if I want to drink, I will drink," Ridley took another chug from his bottle, "regardless of your rules. Only reason why that rule even stands is because the rest of the crew feels sorry for you, because of how weak you are."

Ridley wiped his mouth clean of alcohol, "You got two options from here on out! Option One: get strong and stop depending on us to bail you out when things get tough or Option Two: stop getting on me about my drinking."

Ridley smirked as he stood up and left the room, "If you need me to restate your options, I'll be in my room. Drinking. Why? Because I ain't drunk, yet."

Sage sat up on the floor, still shaking. She hated that bastard. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she'll show him who can beat who.

**Finally! Sage and Ridley Fight!**

**The Weakling Duo Duel!**

O_O I am at a loss of words. There is nothing I can say on Ridley's behalf, except…he has a good reason!

Other then that, just the kind of a wacky Infinity Pirate chapter you've come to expect from me. The secrets of the Black Notebook are still to be revealed in depth over the next Arc! Mikoto got a kiss (and a punch) from Melanie! Henry's secret power is NOT a Devil Fruit! Finally, the talk of the ship…Ridley and Sage are going to fight it out! Any bets?


	63. Chapter 63 The Weakling Duo Duel

**Finally! Sage and Ridley Fight!**

**The Weakling Duo Duel!**

It was a bright and shining morning. Sage got up and folded her clothing away and approached the closet. She shuffled through the endless amounts of fluffy and frilly clothing until she settled upon one she liked. A pair of jeans and a nice plain peach shirt. She put both of them on and left her room. She walked through the halls and stopped at the men's room. She banged. Loudly.

Mikoto got up and stretched. He was currently just in his shirt and boxers. He looked around. Zesiro, Henry, and Enma had done left. They transferred Hiro-Shu into the infirmary yesterday after dinner, or so he was told. He ended up passing out due to being knocked off the ship and only got cold leftovers. This left him and Ridley in the room. Ridley had probably eight empty bottles of alcohol next to him. He wasn't going to get up anytime soon.

Mikoto got up and wandered over to the door. He opened and as soon as he saw Sage standing there, with an angry as hell look on her face, he closed it again. "I'm sorry!" was his only response, "whatever I did last night I didn't mean it!"

Sage slammed the door open and sent Mikoto flying across the room, "I'm not mad at you!" She strode over to Ridley's bed.

"He was drunk!" shouted Mikoto, trying to defend his friend, "he didn't mean anything either!" He was going to continue pleading for Ridley's life when Sage kicked Ridley off of the bed and listened to him collide with the floor.

"Damn hangover," said Ridley as he grabbed his head, "it always feel like you got ran over by an…" Ridley soon trailed off back into a fit of sleep.

Sage stood over him and slammed her foot into his groin. Ridley jumped awake at this, his hands instinctively covered his crotch. Tears were welling up in his eyes.

"Drunk yet?" asked Sage with a dark grin over her face as she stared down at him.

"Drunk? No," said Ridley as he rolled about in place, "hung over? Yes. In excruciating pain? Yes. Wondering what the hell you are doing in the men's room at 7 o'clock in the morning? I can take a guess." This last comment earned him another kick to the groin. Ridley didn't even manage a squeak in reply.

Mikoto stood behind a nearby bed and watched all of this happen before his eyes, "looks like the crew is losing a male member…"

"Get up," said Sage as she tossed some of Ridley's clothing at him, "we have a fight to finish."

"I can't move yet," said Ridley his hands still clutching his groin.

"Do you need some more motivation?" asked Sage as she lifted her foot into the air above him.

"No," squeaked Ridley as he started to crawl towards the clothing.

"See you on the deck in five," said Sage. "Bye, Mikoto." With that she left out of the room and started to head towards the deck.

Mikoto stood up and wandered over to Ridley. Ridley's hand were just a couple of inches away from the clothing. Mikoto pushed the clothing closer to Ridley. Ridley's fingers clutched the clothing and was about to drag it closer to him, when Mikoto's foot slammed down on top of his hand. "What did you do?"

"I have a hangover," began Ridley, "and kicked twice in a very…very uncomfortable place. You are going to have to do better then step on my hand."

Mikoto stepped off of the Ridley's hand allowing him to drag the clothing over to him. Mikoto smiled as his body morphed into his hybrid form. He spread his claws wide and looked down upon Ridley's limp body. "I can do better."

Ridley gulped. "Its between me and Sage," he said as he pulled his pants on. "I told` her the truth and she didn't like it. I guess she decided to go with Option One."

Mikoto sighed. "Why did I have to pick out such a dysfunctional crew?"

"Cause you are dysfunctional," said Ridley as he put his shirt on. He stood up, "better not keep her waiting. I have a feeling she already wants to kill me."

(-On the Deck of the Ship-)

"We should be meeting up with the other crews soon," said Henry as he enjoyed the leftover eggs from last night. "From there we will continue our assault on the Marine Blockade. There will probably be very little rest for us during this assault so we will rest for all of today." Every single piece of his master plan was coming together the fact that he ran into the Infinity Pirates and they were willing to help was a bonus, they had quickly become a pretty well-known group of pirates.

Zesiro looked down at the ground. Assault. He didn't like that word. Especially right now. With Hiro-Shu out of commission and with them hopelessly following someone else's command and his command was to assault a whole blockade of innocent and unaware Marines…that was closer to a massacre.

Sage soon appeared on the deck, but she paid no attention to Zesiro's and Henry's helloes. She stood confidently astride on the deck. Henry shrugged her off and returned to his plan. He made numerous marks in a book and was putting the rest of his plan together, the plan of assault wouldn't be rewritten after today, he had to make sure everything was perfect.

Finally, after a few minutes Ridley came up. He swung his guitar around and onto his back. "You really want to see which one of us is stronger? I promise you it won't end prettily."

"I'm surprised Mikoto didn't come with you to protect his precious musician," said Sage with a smirk on her face.

"I'd feel pretty pathetic if I needed help from someone who can't put his pants on," said Ridley remembering leaving Mikoto left downstairs struggling with his pants. "Well, ladies first."

"Are you gonna stand there or are you gonna make a move," replied Sage.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Zesiro as he got up, "I don't think I'm going to like the way this is going to end."

"And neither will Sage," replied Ridley as he picked up his guitar and played a couple of notes. "**100 Decibels!" **Ridley slammed down onto his guitar the air soon filled with a loud and blaring noise of nonstop musical notes. Henry jumped from his spot and into the air, Zesiro covered his ears, but Sage appeared unbothered.

"I know all of your tricks Ridley," said Sage as she took another step forward, "I had more then enough time to prepare for this fight." She tapped her right ear, "high-grade earplugs stop a lot of noise, but there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop sudden changes in pressure!" She waved her hands around in the air. Ridley lurched forward and vomited onto the floor. "Ready to surrender?"

"I puked," said Ridley, "I think that makes four times today. I hate hangovers. But just because your are immune to music doesn't mean you are immune to my guitar!" Ridley swung his guitar out at her and swiped at her sides, but she rolled to the ground and allowed the guitar to graze over her. "Good choice you would've been crushed if that attack would've hit you straight on."

"What?" shouted Sage, "I can't hear your annoying voice because of the earplugs."

"Stop the fight!" shouted Mikoto as he scrambled onto the deck. He fell to the ground, his pants still around his ankles. Zesiro ran over to him and helped him up, "Stop the fight! We can't let this fight continue!"

"I'm sorry, captain," said Zesiro, "but…I think they need this fight. They've been at each others throats ever since I can remember, maybe this is just their way of returning everything to normal. Besides Sage won't kill Ridley, and Ridley can't kill Sage."

"What makes you think Sage is going to win?" asked Mikoto as he calmed down, watching the two people fight it out in front of them. Ridley making multiple swings with his guitar.

"What you think Ridley is going to win?" laughed Zesiro, "that guy can't beat Sage! Sage has her Devil Fruit powers, she's quicker, and Ridley ain't that strong."

"Ridley's guitar is made out of reinforced steel," said Mikoto, "and he totes that thing around everywhere with him. Its not a lightweight wooden guitar, it's a heavy pure steel guitar. Then he has those two amplifiers on his shoulders…he walks around with a lot of weight on him all of the time."

Zesiro looked over at Ridley. Mikoto was right about that. Ridley just might give Sage a run for her money. Besides Sage also has a lack of space…she's restricted to the ship and any water that splashes up onto the boat could drastically hinder her in this fight. Ridley has all the space in the world to win this fight. Maybe Zesiro underestimated Ridley, he may just stand a chance in this fight.

"Come on Sage," mocked Ridley, "why don't we just stop this fight now and make-up? I'd really hate to hurt that pretty face of yours any further."

"Still can't hear you," said Sage raising her voice, "you are going to have to speak up when you trying to insult me."

"Just take out the damn…" Ridley's taunt stopped short as he felt his entire body to become disorientated. He lost his balance and slammed onto the deck. "Wow, I mean, really. You are making me feel drunk all over again. I can't keep my lunch down and I keep falling, where's the buzz at though?"

"Still can't hear you," said Sage.

"Fine," said Ridley, "let me wrap this up!" Ridley charged off at Sage, and made a swipe at her leg with his guitar. She jumped above it, but saw too late what else he had down. His guitar strap was swung around her leg and wrapped around it, holding her tight. Sage slammed back down to the ground with no place to run.

Ridley brought his guitar onto his back and smiled, "sorry it had to end like this." He brought his guitar straight up and around into her cheek. Sage cursed as she toppled over as her leg came free from the strap. She barely managed to get back to her feet. Both of her earplugs had came out when she was hit, but she refused to back down.

"Not as sorry as you are about to be," said Sage. She brought her hands up and formed a circle, "**pressure…"**

"**Gold Acid Curtain."** A large wave of a golden liquid appear in between the two fighters, effectively cutting them off. The crew looked around trying to pinpoint the creator. They soon did. A single man.

"Slash!" shouted Henry, "I'm glad to see you. I'm guessing the rest of the crews are prepared to attack as well."

"Correct," he said as he glanced over the crew, "I don't trust these people." He was a black trench coat with red shorts underneath. He had no hair on his hair, which made his red eyes were the prominent feature on his face.

"Yeah," said Henry, "I introduce you guys to Slash Calico he is in charge of one of the three crews aiding us in the assault on the Marine Barricade. He is an Acid man. He can create acid much like what you just saw, that was his weakest mixture though, am I right?"

"I'd rather not say," said Slash, "The other two crews made it here before you did. We are awaiting new orders."

"Who are the other two?" asked Mikoto. He went over and stood beside Sage helping her up and out of her small rage.

"Didn't you already see Zenmaru?" asked Slash, "he got on this ship before I did."

"I was busy enjoying fight," said a second man as he stepped down from the helm of the ship. He had long black hair, currently tied back into a ponytail. He wore traditional Japanese clothing, including the straw sandals. He had two large and impressive swords on his back. He wandered over to Sage.

"You are a beauty beyond comparison," said Zenmaru on one knee, "this crew certainly does not understand how lucky they are to be in the presence of such a lovely mistress! If I could only be present all of the time to protect such a lovely young lady such as yourself I would throw myself into all of the dangers of the…"

"Be quiet," said Mikoto as he brought his foot back and into his face, "you said there were three of them. Who's the third?"

"He's the Gunslinger," said Henry, "Surely you've heard of him…he's got a bounty of 40 million on his head."

"Gunslinger?" asked Zesiro, "he certainly sounds familiar." Zesiro eyed Zenmaru. He didn't even sense Zenmaru step onto the ship. What kind of demon was this man to silently step onto a ship just to watch a fight?

"He'll probably be their first," said Henry, "he's stronger then the rest of us. He'll clear the way to begin with then we'll follow after him to finish the job and do the clean-up."

"_Still sounds like a massacre," _thought Zesiro. "We appreciate the help. One of our strongest guys is currently out of the fight for the next few days. We don't want him to get involved if we can help it."

Zenmaru smiled, "well, I'M always happy to help the females of your crew." He got up and wandered towards the side of the ship, "I'm going to go take a nap." He vanished from the side of the ship.

Henry chuckled. Both Zenmaru and Slash currently boasted a bounty of over 30 million and they were even stronger then that, with the Infinity Pirates and Gunslinger active in the fight they'd easily turn the tables about. His job would be finished by this time next week.

"I better be going, too," said Slash as he began to leave the ship, "please rest up. Unlike Zenmaru, I don't save strangers…not even the females. If you prove inadequate during the fight don't go counting on me to save your skins."

Mikoto grimaced, "thank you for being honest." Slash didn't bother with a reply before he disappeared. "I'm putting my life in the hands of two psychopaths and someone I never met before."

"If you need any help," said Ridley, "I'll be sure that me, the victor of today's fight, will rush to your side."

"You only won because I didn't get to make my final move," said Sage as she turned away, "but we probably shouldn't continue the fight. I don't want to have to knock you out the day before our assault."

"Dream on," said Ridley with a laugh, "its nice to see that you still think you can hold your own against us…I just hope it isn't all in your head this time."

"I guess this is it, guys," said Mikoto, "tomorrow we start our assault."

"That's it captain?" asked Zesiro, "no words of encouragement? No orders to stay alive? Nothing?

"I got nothing to say," said Mikoto, "I know for a fact that I won't have to worry about you guys. No one will be able to beat us up, we are the Infinity Pirates, right? I'm going to be the Pirate King, right? None of us are going to die before we accomplish our dreams."

"To have my music played all around the world," added Ridley.

"To find the Tree of Knowledge and learn how to make Devil Fruits and find out the meaning of life," said Sage.

"Become a swordsman whose fame reaches the ends of the earth," added Zesiro.

Enma, having heard all the commotion, walked up onto the deck and added, "To find the library within Raftel."

**Start the Assault!**

**Bringing Down the Gates!**

The fight finished! Anti-climatically! Oh, well, I wanted to introduce the two new crews that are going to be joining in on the assault. Zenmaru is the work of DeathAuthor. Slash was brought to you by Snakeboy33. But the real question on everyone's tongue is probably who is this Gunslinger character? Well, that's a secret…even though you might've already figured out who it is.

Hiro-Shu is still unconscious.


	64. Reverse Mountain Arc 64 Start the

**Start the Assault!**

**Bringing Down the Gates!**

"We are going to be the last ones to enter," said Henry, "since you guys have the lowest bounties out of the attacking group. Slash is going in first to use his acidic powers to melt through the heavy steel doors, Gunslinger will be right with him to provide cover fire. Then Zenmaru will enter soon after to start to defeat the enemies. Finally, you guys will arrive last to protect me all the way through as I am the only one who completely understands the mechanisms of the fort. Understood?"

"What about our ships?" asked Zesiro, "while we are running around in that fort our ships will be completely unprotected. Is that right?"

"No, Zenmaru's men will be holding back and staying stationed around the docks to protect the ships from all attacks," said Henry, "so no worries there."

"Its not like our ship can get trashed any more anyways," joked Enma. He bent down and picked a piece of debris up, "how did our ship even manage to get this far into the sea? We don't even have a shipwright."

"Yup," agreed Mikoto, "we got a very special ship. Despite the fact that it is overwhelmingly pathetic, I hand-me-down, and it lacks proper maintenance its still going strong."

"Sure," said Sage, "I'm starting to doubt whether or not this junk heap will be able to climb Reverse Mountain once we break down the fortress. It could fall apart halfway up and with more then half of its crew being Devil Fruit users we wouldn't survive that."

"Just have faith in this crummy ship," said Zesiro, "it'll hold out by some miracle."

"Nice to see that everyone has faith in a ship," said Ridley, "now if only that faith could be the truth. This ship is going to sink eventually and we may be on it."

"Thanks for the pep talk," said Henry, "anyways the ship should hold out for another day or two at least. I'm sure if something was wrong with it Slash or Zenmaru would've pointed it out."

The crew went quiet as a loud gunshot went off. Henry smiled, "it has begun. Start moving in closer!" The ship shuddered forward. Brilliant red flames exploded from the sides of the large compound.

The compound was large and white. The Marine's logo was tattooed all over the place. There were large stairways running down both sides of Reverse Mountain and every couple of yards there was a large, white tower. The place radiated the power and respect that the Marines commanded on several islands. There was a surprising lack of military equipment, such as cannons and warships.

"This place is still brand new," said Henry, "so their defense systems will be at an all time low. There are bound to be more Marines in there then they would be in a couple of weeks though, so prepare for the worst."

"Right," said Ridley with a nod of his head, "I'm more interested in the ten warriors you mentioned. I think those guys will be the most fun to fight."

"Like you could handle them," said Sage with a chuckle.

"Oh, yeah! Well, neither could you then! I won remember!" shouted Ridley.

"It was a draw," said Sage calmly as she focused on the island. She could easily make out Zenmaru's boat, Slash's boat was smaller and less obvious, but what was on her mind was the small rowboat-sized ship in between those two. It must belong to Gunslinger.

The boat soon docked. Zenmaru's men were gathered around the docks already. Sage took note that there were at least 50 of them, most of them men with swords. The dock was already littered with bodies. She was glad these guys were on their side. "Let's begin."

"I think the rest of the crew agrees," said Enma. Mikoto, Ridley, and Zesiro had already left the ship and were charging through the halls. "Watch your back, Sage." Enma began to walk towards the door.

Sage shared a smile with Henry, the only one who bothered to wait for her. "I better get moving," he said, "it's a long walk to the control room." With that he was off.

Sage was about to follow him when something on the horizon caught her eye. A small cluster of ships. They weren't Marine ships, but they didn't seem to have a Jolly Roger. She pointed them out to Zenmaru's men, but they just laughed and ignored her. It seemed like they weren't bother by those ships, so she guessed she shouldn't be either. She went into the building.

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto had morphed into his beast form due to the increase in speed it provided. He sped underneath a man's leg and then used his back as a springboard and launched off of it, sending the man to the ground. He slammed into another man sending it down. He suddenly stopped. He looked down the hall that went down to the right. The hallway was light brown and…squishy? It wasn't made out of a metal like the rest of the building…but he couldn't place his finger on what it was made out of. Suddenly, the material wrapped around his leg and started to drag him down the hall.

The goopy material eventually let Mikoto go, but they dropped him off in a secluded room. There was only one other person in the room. "Kin!"

(-With Zesiro-)

"Dang, that dumb mutt," said Zesiro as he brought another man down with a simple swipe of his sword. He charged forward. "He disappeared." Zesiro brought his sword back around and quickly dispatched another Marine soldier. "Where could that brat have gone?" He quickly came into an split in the hall. He could turn right, left, or continue on straight. He chose straight.

Zesiro had no idea on where to go from here, but he soon found himself in a large room. There were several wooden dummies scattered about. The majority of them were cut up into several pieces. Zesiro ignored the wide path of destruction and wandered through. He kept his eyes open and waited for enemy to jump out of nowhere, but there were none. He continued on his way through.

"Running away, pirate?"

(-With Ridley-)

Ridley was resting up against a wall. He was going to run straight on through, but he heard some screams. He had taken a turn down the hall and wound up in a prison block. He remembered Henry mentioning something about the fact that this place was used to temporarily hold prisoners that were caught in the East Blue before they were transferred over to Impel Down. There was only one guard in the room and he was asleep.

The prisoners immediately saw Ridley and began to beg him to grab the keys. He ignored them all. He walked through seeing if anything was worth his while. He found nothing, nothing except a perfect chance to exploit most of the people in here. He walked back over to the door and picked up the keys.

He wandered down the rows of prisoners once more to find a suspicious person in the end. At first, Ridley had dismissed her as it was just a female with nothing that exceptional about her, a normal girl and a normal bust. Nothing worth him feigning interest over, but then he noticed something…or a lack of something. Limbs.

The girl had long silver hair that swirled around her body just below her shoulder. She moved her head up and stared at Ridley for a brief moment with her purple eyes. She had on a black leather jacket, but the lack of limbs was still evident. She had on prisoner's shorts to cover her lower body. "What do you want, brat? Admiring my pretty body are we?" she said with a sarcastic tone.

Ridley shrugged. "Just amazed they bothered to arrest an amputee. Can't be much of a challenge."

"Hey!" shouted the woman, "I got prosthetic limbs and the Marines took them from me. If they hadn't I would be out of here."

Ridley shrugged and returned to the exploitation plan he had formed. "Who in here wants to break out?" shouted Ridley. The prisoners' immediately began to shout with joy.

"A breakout is a bit too much work, don't you all agree?" asked a man that was sitting behind him. Ridley spun around. He saw no one else, except the man who was asleep. He shrugged and went back to undoing locks. He didn't get very far when a fist was slammed into his face. Ridley spun around and hit the floor hard. He got back up. He still didn't see anyone, but he knew he got punched.

He took his guitar off of his back and began to play a couple of small melodies, "you can't hit me and then pretend that you aren't here."

"Who's pretending?" repeated the voice.

(-With Mikoto-)

"Kin? What are you doing here?" said Mikoto as he approached the young man dressed in a stark white Marine uniform. He glared at Mikoto with his brown eyes.

"I thought that was your ship," said Kin as he approached Mikoto. "I'm glad we could find the time out of our schedule to have another nice chat with each other."

"Yeah, I would've been happier if we never had our first chat," said Mikoto.

"Oh come on," said Kin as he made another step forward, "why are you so sour? You beat me, didn't you? Yeah…I pretty sure that you hit me and then left…it was a great day, but there was one small problem with it." Kin tapped his chin, "oh, yeah, I hate to lose." Dozens of spikes shot up out of the ground and all of them aimed at a different place on Mikoto's body. Another inch or so and Mikoto would've been a pincushion.

"Don't blame me," said Mikoto, "you guys attacked us with no reason." Kin didn't drop the clay spikes, he left them an inch away from Mikoto. Kin began to approach Mikoto.

"Yeah," said Kin, "I'm the bad guy. I was just the guy doing my job and hunting down a pirate who murdered an entire island. Actually, come to think about it…you didn't destroy the island, did you?" The clay spikes retracted a couple of inches from Mikoto's body. "No, the person who destroyed the island was none other then Renvont, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "so are you going to apologize for that?"

"Are you going to continue to be a pirate?" asked Kin, "I can pull a few strings and recall your bounty as you haven't done any real crimes…but if you continue to be a pirate I'll have to kill you."

"Sorry, bud," said Mikoto, "but once a pirate, always a pirate."

"Agreed," said Kin. The clay spikes returned into the ground, "**Claymore." **A long sword composed of clay extended from Kin's hand. "Let your death by an example to the Revolutionaries that broke in with you!" Kin charged at Mikoto, Mikoto rolled to the side letting the drive dig into the wall behind him.

"Revolutionaries?" asked Mikoto, "not a single Revolutionary broke into this place with me. Just Henry, Zenmaru, and Slash. Just pirates came in with me."

"Do you really think I am as stupid as you?" asked Kin as he drove his sword back at Mikoto. The blade screeched in the air just above Mikoto's head. Mikoto recoiled and launched a kick straight into Kin's stomach. Kin's body became clay and Mikoto's legs quickly stuck in Kin's body. Kin simply laughed. "Who am I kidding? No one is as stupid as you are!" Kin brought his blade straight down aimed at Mikoto's throat.

Mikoto brought both of his arms up simultaneously and smashed his sword into pieces. Kin's body opened up and allowed Mikoto the fall to the floor. Kin brought his arm into the air. His hand swelled into a large clay sphere. He brought the heavy sphere into the ground smashing the floor.

Mikoto backed a few feet away and breathed heavily watching Kin approaching him. "I don't know what you are talking about! I just want to get to the other side of Reverse Mountain! I'm trying to get to the Grand Line! The same goes with the rest of the crews that joined me!"

"You are so naïve!" shouted Kin as he brought his wrecking ball of a hand back down into the ground destroying the ground. "Those guys are world famous revolutionaries! How do you suppose that their bounties have already exceeded 50 million?"

"50 million?" asked Mikoto from his spot on the ground.

"They destroyed Marine Bases! They killed our supporters! They are nothing more then murderers!" Kin shouted as he brought his heavy hand into the wall to show emphasis. "They are planning to take over this base and gain control of Reverse Mountain!"

"Yeah, right," said Mikoto, "why would someone want to do that?"

"Think about it," said Kin. "There are only a few ways from the East Blue to the Grand Line, right? The most common is Reverse Mountain, if they control that they can control Marine Flow into the East Blue. Our Admirals wouldn't be able to get in while their strongest soldiers could."

"They would take over the East Blue," said Mikoto out loud.

"Correct," said Kin, "we would've lost one of the four Blues. That's enough to tip the powers in favors of the Revolutionaries right now. It won't matter that Dragon died, their force would triple in a matter of years. The World Government would lose a fourth of their power! It would be the end of the world as we know it!"

"How is that bad?" shouted Mikoto.

"You don't read the newspapers, do you?" said Kin. "When Dragon died the Revolutionaries began breaking up due to a conflict of interest. One of them were people who wanted to replace the modern the government with a 'better' government, another wanted to gain a position of power for unknown reasons, finally, the third group, the one you helped break into this place wants anarchy. They want the government to completely dissolve and bloodshed to break into an all time high."

"Yeah, right," said Mikoto. "None of them want that!"

"You mentioned that 'Hands' Henry, 'The Lazy Demon' Zenmaru, and 'Acid Touch' Slash Calico all broke in with you. Are you aware of who the fourth person who broke in with you is?"

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "Gunslinger."

"Yeah! 'Gunslinger' Renvont!" shouted Kin, "the same man who blew up an island and blamed you! He wants nothing more then bloodshed! That's what all of them want!"

**A Revolutionary Assault!**

'**Hands' Henry's Conquest!**

The crew has gotten themselves into a tough spot already. Just one chapter in! Ridley, Mikoto, and Zesiro already meeting powerful warriors. Also Henry's plan revealed. He is not a pirate, he is a revolutionary whose plan is to eliminate the current government! Also congratulations to those of you who guessed that Gunslinger was in fact Mavrik Zero's character, Dominic Renvont.

Also just to point something out the prisoner that Ridley was having a nice little chat with was an OC who I promise you will see more of as this arc progresses. The OC belongs to Draco Oblivion.


	65. RM ARC: 65 Hands Henry

**A Revolutionary Assault!**

'**Hands' Henry's Conquest!**

Mikoto considered it all. He did remember 'Gunslinger' Renvont. He remembered his colossal strength and skills from their last fight. However, his bloodlust was his most prominent feature. Mikoto considered for a second about the idea to take control of this Marine Base, but it seemed…flawed. After all if that was the case why didn't they just order more help instead of just using three captains? Surely the Revolutionary forces had people to spare.

"Still trying to figure it all out, huh?" mocked Kin, "This Marine Base is one of the most strategically placed locations in the whole world. If this base falls the world will slowly start to degenerate, you can't still tell me you don't believe me, can you?"

"No offense," said Mikoto, "I generally don't trust people who try to kill me."

Kin sighed. "You think you and your crew are going to get out of this alive. The Revolutionaries don't care if you die, especially not this sloppy group. You are nothing more then useless cannon fodder."

"You're saying that they are going to try to betray us?" asked Mikoto.

"Kya ha ha," laughed a voice. Mikoto and Kin turned their attention to see Henry approaching them. His hands in his pockets. "Kill you? Now why would we kill you? You are trying your absolute best to help us. We sincerely want to help you and your crew."

"What about everything else that Kin said?" asked Mikoto, "about controlling the East Blue and letting the World Government dwindle away?"

"Ah, the damn Marines," said Henry as he shook his head, "they always seem to some how give away all the good plot twists."

"'Hands Henry'," shouted Kin, "you are wanted for a three cases of mass homicide, direct opposition of the Marine forces, and refusal to obey the law!" Kin's body returned to its normal figure, before Kin's body slowly began to coat itself in a heavy clay coating. "How do you plead?"

"Guilty," said Henry as he smiled and approached Kin. He slowly began to pull his hands out of his pocket, "guilty of wanting a new world as well!"

Kin charged at Henry, his left hand slowly shifted in a spiked gauntlet. Kin shifted his weight and brought his entire body around to increase the momentum of his punch. Henry laughed and held up a single hand. Kin's entire body halted. "**Trap Sigil. Glue."**

Henry laughed as he walked around Kin's frozen body. "Sad." Henry walked over and pushed Kin to the ground. Kin's heavy clay armor shattered upon impact. Kin's body was still frozen in place.

"How? How did you do that?" asked Mikoto as he stood in place.

"Hypnotism," said Henry as slowly walked around Kin's body, a malevolent smile on his face. "The human body is all connected to the brain. I can utilize certain hand signals to affect the brain's processes and as a direct result the human body performs many tasks at my command without thinking about it. I can knock someone unconscious with it or make all of the muscles in the body tense up."

Mikoto glanced at Kin and then back at Henry, "now what?"

Henry looked at Mikoto and chuckled, "its simple. We kill him and then continue on our way." Henry's attention returned to Kin, "You want the first blow?"

Henry's entire body lurched and flew through the air from Mikoto's blow, "I always have the first blow."

Henry sputtered for a second from the floor as he stood up, astonished. "What was that for? I just want to kill a Marine! As a pirate who destroyed an entire island you should have no qualms with that…" Henry ducked to the side to avoid another punch from Mikoto.

"You don't get to kill someone just because you don't like them!" shouted Mikoto, "however, as you can see I have qualms with hitting someone I don't like."

"I guess this means you are defecting to their side," said Henry as he straightened his back out and brought his hands around.

"No," said Mikoto, "I'm not going to their side, I'm just going to be on yours."

"There are only two sides," said Henry, "you are either on the Marine side or the Revolutionaries' side. Pick one."

Mikoto rushed Henry landing a devastating uppercut to his chin, "guess you didn't know. I'm on the Infinity Pirate side."

(-With Zesiro-)

"Crap," said Zesiro as he ducked under another slice from his huge attacker. His opponent was about twice his size and most of that body mass came from muscles. The man was impossibly huge and his ego matched.

"Shion is the great pirate slayer!," said the man as he tore through another helpless dummy at his side with his long sword. The sword was as tall as the man was so it was least 8 feet long. The blade was similar to that of a rainbow. It had a red loop, then a yellow loop, and so-on and so-forth. It was decorated with numerous jewels all the way from its red tip to its purple handle.

"You are so puny in Shion's wake!" shouted Shion once more as he brought his blade straight down. Zesiro dodged to the side and watched in amazement as the weapon ignored the heavy concrete floor and made a long slice straight through it.

"Nice sword you got there," said Zesiro as he gawked at the crevice. He would've been sliced in two if that sword would've made contact with him. If you combine its sheer destructive force with the fact that it reached 8 feet away it was nearly impossible for Zesiro to approach him.

Shion brought his weapon back up to this shoulder and swung it around. It had a surprising amount of force as it collided with a helpless dummy standing on the sideline. The blade sliced through it like it wasn't even there. "No one can match Shion's might!"

Zesiro charged forward in that instant. The blade was fully extended, Shion's center of balance was off due to the force of his swing, and Shion would have to bring the sword back around to make another slice due to the fact that the sharp part of his blade was currently on the outside.

Zesiro brought both of his swords simultaneously up into the air and began to make a quick thrusting motion when Shion's blade made its return swing. The back of the Shion's blade swung over and into Zesiro's body forcing him through the air and onto the ground. Zesiro softly felt his ribs, they were all still in on piece by some kind of miracle. But that didn't mean Zesiro wanted to get hit again.

"Puny pirate is no match for Shion's magnificent might," said Shion with full-hearted laugh, "maybe crushing him will be easier then Shion thought."

Zesiro charged. ignoring Shion's massive bulk. if he could only have a slight opening Shion would fall. A few quick cuts to Shion's body and he wouldn't stand a chance. Shion brought his blade up and back down aiming for Zesiro's head. Zesiro quickly brought his sword out and around deflecting the downward slash in a different direction from his head. He charged forward with his other sword aiming for the monster's massive gut. Shion chuckled and dragged his sword across the ground and into Zesiro's feet causing him to slip and fall onto the ground. Zesiro collided loudly with the ground.

Zesiro got back up to his feet and brought his two swords around and over this back. _"Getting close would only result in another attack from him, I have to maintain my distance. I only got one chance, the Flying Slash!"_

(-With Ridley-)

Another thrust from the man's hand sent Ridley sprawling to the ground. The man was built like a tank…a tank with one too many donuts, but a tank nonetheless. The man wore a standard Marine uniform…but it was a size too small and his belly protruded out from underneath the bottom of his white shirt. He had a long white beard and his brown eyes kept closing.

The man let out another loud yawn, "I want to go back to bed. I thought it would be an easy job to come here and guard this place, but no…we've had one break-in after…after…" the man drowned off as he fell asleep once more.

Ridley didn't drop his guard this time, instead he ran at him and swung his guitar around and into the man's plushy plus sized stomach. The man's stomach seemed to absorb the impact and it had absolutely no impact on the man.

Ridley cursed once more. He glared at the man's immense stomach and couldn't believe that he could hate a man's fat as much as he hated this man's. He backed up and begun to play his music loudly, the man woke up instantly and screamed.

"WHY WON'T YOU LET ME SLEEP!" The man jumped into the air. "**Bushou's Specialty! Ten Ton Drop**!" Bushou's entire body slammed and shuddered into the ground creating a large cushion of air that blew Ridley back across the small prison lane and into one of the prisoner's doors.

"Long time no see," said the woman with no limbs, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Shut it," said Ridley as he rose back up to his feet. "I'm not going to let no ten ton loser beat me up. I'll take him down you just wait and see. And when I do you are next!" Ridley pointed at the lady.

"I'm so scared. My knees are knocking and my legs are shaking. Oh, wait, I don't have them."

"Shut up!" shouted Ridley once more.

"**Ten Ton Hip Check!" **Bushou's huge mass came flying down the hall, his hip outstretched and aimed at Ridley. Ridley dove to the side, but the force from Bushou's huge body created a huge air wave that dragged Ridley across the floor.

Ridley groaned as he stood back up. The man's attacks were just grazing him, but due to his immense mass the air friction he was creating was enough to blow Ridley around with absolutely no effort on his part. Ridley was starting to see how such a tub of lard was considered one of the ten deadliest warriors in this Marine Base.

"**100 Decibels!" **Ridley began playing once more on his guitar and the music echoed off of every single prisoner's cell and began to fill the room with a loud and nauseating amount of noise.

Bushou whined, "who can sleep with all this racket!" He charged at Ridley once more his entire mass backing himself up. "**Ten Ton Tackle!"** He sprang from his spot and sent his entire body flying off at Ridley. The air was pushed out of Ridley's chest as the man's rock-hard shoulder slammed into his gut forcing him from his spot and across the room. Ridley skidded across the floor and into a wall, gasping for air.

"_How was a man whose body was 70% fat able to deal such rock-solid blows," _ thought Ridley as he barely managed to bring himself back up to his feet. Ridley lurched forward and vomited blood onto the floor. _"Dang it…my body is still poisoned. I can't keep fighting like this…my body is starting to slow down. I should've been able to dodge that blow."_

"Yosh!" shouted Bushou, "you cannot defeat me! My belly fat absorbs all of your blows and then I use toughest bones in my body to fight. The hip, shin, shoulder, and forehead are incredibly tough bones that are located throughout your body so I use them to slam my opponent."

"Not only that but due to your large mass," said Ridley, "the momentum behind each blow is increased."

"Did you just call me fat!" shouted Bushou, "I hate it when people call me fat!"

"But you are fat!" shouted Ridley, "look at all those rolls, you big pig!"

"I know," said Bushou retreating into a corner and sobbing, "its just not nice."

"That's why you have a problem with it?" shouted Ridley.

The man's reply was a bunch of snoring. Once again he had fallen asleep while he was talking to his opponent. Ridley was beginning to get irritated by this. He began to play even louder on his guitar, "**Ballad Melodic Lance!"** The sound waves generated by Ridley's playing created a large and invisible force that drove through the air and into Bushou's body. Bushou was jolted awake and immediately crashed to the floor.

"That hurt!" shouted Bushou as he stood up again. He tried to put his foot down and brace himself for another attack, but he just couldn't. His body felt like it was spinning, he couldn't even put his foot down to regain his balance.

Ridley chuckled as he made another charge at Bushou. He brought his guitar around and into Bushou's body. The guitar slammed straight into Bushou's forehead sending him careening back and onto the ground once more.

Ridley smiled as he returned his attention to the prisoner's cell. If he let out these guys their forces would increase and he would have a small army to help in the destruction of the Marine Base after all these criminals wanted to escape, too. He wandered over to the doors and undid one and then another and another. He was on the fourth door when a hand seized his leg. Ridley looked down and saw Bushou's hand wrapped firmly around his leg preventing him from moving.

"You just can't defeat me." With that Bushou's hand yanked Ridley's leg out from underneath and sent him sailing into the ground. Ridley's body slammed into the ground as Bushou stood up and looked down upon him.

(-With Sage-)

Sage had stopped as soon as she got into the building. She was looking out over the seas. Zenmaru's men may not have been bothered by the appearance of a couple of new ships, but she was. She watched as the ships docked along the way and began to unload. New arrivals of soldiers landed and they began to gather along the shores. Sage swallowed hard. There was at least a hundred new people arriving and either way she knew this did not bode well for her and her crew.

"'Ex-Admiral' Jugo," said Zenmaru's men as they all went down on one knee. Off of the ship stepped a man. He wore a Marine coat, except instead of the ordinary white colors his was black. Then his Marine hat had a purple raven on it rather then a seagull. He looked around and at his men.

"Let this be known as the start of the Age of the Revolutionaries!" he shouted. This seemed to rally the crew as the whole load of them dashed off and through the halls, ignoring Sage. Eventually only thirty men, besides Jugo, remained stationed on the docks to watch the ships.

Sage stood there for a few more seconds watching this 'Ex-Admiral' Jugo stand there and bathe in his soon-to-be victory.

**The Ex-Admiral of Legend, Jugo!**

**Ridley Versus Bushou!**

Kya! Trouble on the horizon! The Revolutionary's Captain 'Ex-Admiral' Jugo is here! (For those of you who are wondering, yes, this is the same Jugo I mentioned several times in the Marine Base Arc). He is technically a Vice Admiral, but 'Ex-Vice Admiral' just sounds kind of long and stupid.

Anyways! Onto important things or seemingly important things! Henry's plans have been revealed! He plans to dominate the East Blue and weaken the Marines! Zesiro's fight has hit an all-time high against his new opponent Shion! Ridley's luck might run out against Bushou!

Also! I'll be leaving to go on a small vacation over the weekend so don't expect any updates on my other stories until at least Monday.

P.S. How about a little quiz? Any guesses about what words Bushou and Shion's names are based after? How about 50 CSpacian points for each correct guess?


	66. RM Arc: 66 ExAdmiral of Legend

**The Ex-Admiral of Legend, Jugo!**

**Ridley Versus Bushou!**

Sage was shaking in her shoes from her location just watching Jugo approach the building. The man had a huge axe-like weapon in his hand, she believed it was called a halberd, but she wasn't sure. The weapon alone dwarfed her in terms of size. Jugo, himself, wasn't so colossal. He was probably only six feet and a half. He wasn't incredibly muscular either, he was just totting around a seven foot pure metal weapon with ease. The man just boasted a powerful aura.

Sage shrank into the corner as Jugo walked into the room. Sage froze. Her entire body told her not to move. That one look from him told her exactly what this man could do and that he wasn't afraid to do it. His powerful aura was still in full effect and Sage was the only one within his range.

"Good luck in the Grand Line, Sage, "said Jugo as he walked by her.

Sage sat there for a little while longer. He knew of her. He must've saw her wanted poster, but if that was the case why didn't he do anything? Help her, kill her, talk to her. He just basically acknowledged her and then left. It was almost as if her 17 million belie head was nothing to him, not worthy of his acknowledgement.

Sage gathered herself up and ran into the building following Jugo. She knew they were being played by these guys, something was up and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. Her attention was so focused on Jugo she didn't notice the figure that was following right behind her.

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro brought his two swords around and deflected yet another devastating slash from Shion. Shion's impressive stature was making Zesiro's blocking of his slices harder and more exhausting. Each time Zesiro blocked his sword he was also blocking the two hundred pound man empowering the shot. And those two hundred pounds weren't from fast, nearly every microgram was sheer muscle.

Shion brought his blade back around and made a large imposing arc through the air his blade dragging itself through the air and into Zesiro's side. Zesiro cursed as he was thrown aside, yet again he had been lucky. Once more it was nothing more then the back of the blade that caught him.

Zesiro stood back up and approached Shion again his dual blades high in the air. Zesiro quickly brought them both down aiming for Shion's shoulders, but Shion brought his blade up and blocked his slashes…with ease. Shion's massive bulk didn't budge under the weight and he remained standing.

Shion chuckled, "another pathetic attempt on me? Can't you do anything more impressive? Shion guesses its no real surprise. No one can harm Shion. Shion's body is an ultimate fortress of defense." Shion brought his blade back around and into Zesiro's legs sending him sprawling to the floor.

"Just keep talking yourself up," said Zesiro, "it'll make you look all the stupider when I cut you in two." Zesiro's normal calm eyes had disappeared. His iris' had became long black slits. This was the eyes of a Fishman when he was furious. Shion wasn't playing for keeps. Zesiro should've guessed it a couple of swings ago. Shion had hit him three out of three times and each hit was with the back of the blade. The bastard was taking it easy on him…he wasn't even trying.

Zesiro brought his swords up and into the air. "Next time you fight, remember to fight your opponent with everything you've got." The air all of a sudden felt thinner. His swords felt lighter. His body felt stronger.

"Shion is not the man who hunts bunnies with cannons," said Shion, "Shion hunts bunnies with pistols." Shion brought his sword out and held it in front of his body.

"Fool," said Zesiro, "you don't treat a shark like a bunny. If you do, you are going to lose a limb very quickly. **Twin Thresher Shark Wave!" **Zesiro brought his two swords down in a rapid fashion. The speed and power of the thrust was sent flying. The air collided with one another in an orderly fashion and through the air.

Shion brought his blade around to block, but couldn't. The flying slash cut into Shion's blade and drove past it. Both of them slammed into Shion's body. He felt his body being thrown from its position and into the air. His entire body twisted in the air as it was sent flying. He tumbled across the dirt and onto the air. His arm landed beneath his body, twisting in an inhuman way. It was probably dislocated, but more probably it was broken.

Zesiro huffed and puffed. His muscles were still firing on full due to the stress of the cut, but despite this he felt extremely tired. His body felt like it wouldn't move even if he willed it to. It felt as if his entire body should collapse onto the ground, but he couldn't stop. He still had his job to do, he stumbled forward with one leg in front of the other. Shion's strike to his bottom leg felt like it broke it, he doubted it, but the stress from his attack and damage from Shion's strike made him consider the possibility.

Zesiro gawked in amazement as he saw Shion stand back up. Zesiro's entire body tensed up. Shion could've killed him and he would've killed him, if he tried to. Now that Shion saw Zesiro's true strength would he still hold back? No, he wouldn't. Zesiro's hand was gripped so hard around his blades, that his knuckles took on an unearthly white color.

Shion lifted his blade up and turned it on himself. His blade was pointed just inches away from his own heart, "Shion was the best. Shion was the champion…Shion should've won."

Zesiro was watching Shion waiting for him to turn his sword back around and aim it at Zesiro, but he didn't. Zesiro realized what happened, the man in front of him wasn't going to attack him. He had accepted his loss, but he wasn't going to live with it. "Don't" was the only thing that Zesiro could think to say.

"Shion should," said Shion, "Shion made a mistake. In Shion's line of work, a mistake means death. If Shion's opponent doesn't kill Shion, then Shion should kill Shion." He brought his blade closer to his heart.

"Don't," said Zesiro still at a lost of words, "you didn't make a mistake…just train and become better then me. Train yourself to kill me. Do something else!"

"In Vidonia," said Shion, "Shion's hometown…death was the only acceptable thing after a loss. Shion lived for thirty years, because Shion was the strongest for thirty years…Shion's death is honorable." Shion's sword traveled a whole foot. It pierced his heart and drove itself through to the other end.

"Vidonia," said Zesiro. Before the name would've meant nothing to him, but now that name was responsible for the death of a great warrior. That name killed someone who could've changed the world. That name was a name that created a burning anger within his body. He hated that name.

(-With Enma-)

Enma was keeping his head low. Not very hard to do. His crew made it pretty easy actually. Mikoto, Ridley, and Zesiro were no doubt fighting with someone causing a racket and attracting attention to themselves. Enma, on the other hand, was just walking through the Marine Base. He didn't have a bounty on his head, so most of the Marines who saw him, ignored him on account that there were at least 5 other people in the building with bounties of 20 million or more.

Enma was making his way through the building when he began to think about his own bounty. The Marines weren't paying any attention to him, was that good? Normally, a pirate would be annoyed that no Marines paid attention to them. Maybe he should try to go around and knock a couple of skulls in.

No real point in it. Enma was just interested in getting to the Grand Line, he could get a bounty in the Grand Line easily. Lots of pirates there to knock around and beat the crap out of. And it'd be easier to boost his bounty. It would probably take him 40 or so low-ranked Marines, but in the Grand Line it would take him one high-ranked Marine. Enma was so wrapped up in his trance that he had instinctively began to follow the scent of Novocain and other drugs. He had accidentally stumbled into the doctor's office.

Enma looked around. No one was around. A couple of empty hospital beds. Enma shared a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't followed, still no one. He sat down at the doctor's desk and grabbed the nearby cup of coffee. It was still warm. Whoever was in here just recently left. Might be good time to do some restocking…

Enma quickly began to shuffle through the drawers in search of medicine. Vials of cough syrup, piles of painkillers, some other drugs…nothing really of medicinal use. These were things that you'd expect to see in a mad scientist's office. Enma had no use of them. He closed the drawer with such force that the drawer located directly above it was thrown open.

Enma was shocked at what was contained in that drawer. But at least now he knew, this wasn't a doctor's office. It was definitely that of a mad scientist.

(-With Ridley-)

Ridley's body was thrust into the air from the Bushou's mass. Ridley hung in the air for no more then a second before he came crashing back down. Bushou didn't waste a minute as soon as Ridley's body hit the ground, Bushou was on top of him instantaneously. Bushou's right foot was placed over Ridley's gut and Bushou's entire body was positioned over it to increase the weight on it.

Ridley could feel his body being crushed by Bushou's heel, his organs either being compressed or squeezed upwards like a bag. All air was gone from his windpipes, his chest couldn't expand to let the air in. He was simultaneously dieing of being crushed and lack of oxygen. His eyesight was starting to fade, right before he passed out a long leg came cutting through the air and into Bushou's chest. Bushou stumbled backwards and onto the ground collapsing into a heap.

The girl's long silver hair flowed around her shoulders. She glared over at Bushou with her purple eyes. She wiped the hair out of the way before bringing her entire body upwards. The limbs that had previously been missing were now attached. She let out a brief sigh as she stretched out once more, "I'm very upset about being locked up in my cell without my arms and legs. I've grown kind of attached to them."

Bushou brought his eyes around and at the girl. All looks of dreariness and drowsiness were wiped away. They were replaced with a cold dead look of seriousness. "Prisoner # 301. Maria Euthanatos. Any reason why you decided to stay back? All the other prisoners he let out ran away."

"I just wanted to thank you for locking me up in a cell," she said, despite the obvious sarcastic tone she had a hint of sweetness to her voice. "Besides a brat like him," she said motioning to Ridley, "needs someone to take the edge off. He's been fighting you for awhile now and I figured I'll just relieve him of his duty."

"Then you can die in his stead," said Bushou. His entire body lunged forward at Maria. He thrust his palm outwards aiming for Maria's head. Maria dodged to the side and avoided the quick thrust of his palm. She braced herself against the tiled floor once more as Bushou made another lunge for her. Maria leapt into the air allowing Bushou to harmlessly glide underneath. She landed behind him, but quickly ducked as Bushou sent a sweeping chop right over her head. She rolled forward and turned around to face Bushou.

"I think you almost got me that time," she said with a slight chuckle in her voice. The man was large. It would be hard to deliver a finishing blow to him. All that belly fat just protects him. If she hit him there she doubted that her blow would have any real effect on him, besides making the fat jiggle and that was something she could live her whole life without seeing.

Bushou laughed as he lunged forward once more. Maria turned to the side allowing the blow to just barely glide by her back. She thought about grabbing hold of his arm and flipping him, but she didn't think she could handle it. Her arms and legs were probably running low on steam anyways, too many unnecessary maneuvers would just drain their battery lives.

Bushou turned around and faced her, "this is just too sad. Maria Euthanatos had a bounty of 18 million in her heyday. Her arms and legs were a mechanic's paradise, both scientifically engineered since the day she lost them. And yet, here you are protecting some worthless bag of dirt against a guard you know you can't win against, why don't you just run along? I've already fought one person, I'm not in the mood to fight another."

Maria felt her legs once more. Despite the fact that life-like skin covered them, she was all too aware of what they really were. They were what cost her her original dream. The damn mechanical enhancements. She got them as a punishment for winning, she hated the guys who did this to her. These damn mechanical legs and mechanical arms! Both nothing more then curses!

**The Curse of Mechanical Appendages!**

**Bushou Finally Falls!**

Kya! Late once more! Sorry, about being late I thought I had this entire chapter written already…I was wrong…sadly. Anyways! Shion finally falls! That's one out of the ten! Wow, that's really not a reason for a sigh of relief. Good news is however, someone decided to join the fight. Maria is free and fighting now! Bushou is bound to have his work cut out for him now.

And what's happening with the Revolutionaries? Find out…probably not next time! So keep on tuning in! Also any guesses on what Shion and Bushou's names stem from?


	67. RM Arc: 67 The Curse of Mechanical

**The Curse of Mechanical Appendages!**

**Bushou Finally Falls!**

Maria dodged gracefully underneath Bushou's next attack, another elbow jab. She was waiting for the perfect opening. Bushou was big, but he wasn't particularly a strong fight. She fought stronger before…she was always fighting it seemed like. But that's what you do, you fight to become stronger. You become stronger to fight. That was Maria's life in a nutshell.

(~flashback~)

It was a quiet day out on the sea. The ship was world-class fighting ship. The Underground Rally Arena hosted a fight out at sea once a year to showcase up-and-coming talent. The talk of the town was one Randolf McKlinin. He had been the champion of the up-and-comers division for thirteen years. He was now thirty six years old. This was described as his prime.

This was his last bout before he was officially recruit into the Arena. This would prove that he had what it takes to compete with the big dogs. He was feeling extremely confident. Why wouldn't he? He was the champion, it was an unarmed fight (his specialty), and his opponent was this silver haired girl. It is a commonly known fact that women aren't as good of fighters as men.

He would draw the fight out, make it interesting, maybe even go down once to add to the suspense. But in the end he would be standing and the girl…well, if she could still move she'd be on her knees begging him for mercy. He wouldn't give her any, though. He would kill her. Just like his contract stated was mandatory.

He was so lost in his daydreams and his thought process he didn't even hear the bell ring. As a matter of fact, Randolf was barely aware when he saw the girl dash towards him. He wasn't even sure that the bell had rung until her right fist had made its way through the air and into his cheek. He was sent sprawling to the ground. He stumbled to his feet. He wiggled his mouth around and felt a tooth that had been knocked clean loose. He spat the bloody bone onto the ground. Forget about his plan, the girl was going to die in round one.

He charged forward, his entire body firing every muscle. He swung wide. Maria anticipated such a hit and ducked beneath it and to the side. A classic beginner's mistake. Even pros would've been unable to strike her now, but Randolf was better then the pros. He brought his leg out and made his punch into a spinning kick. He sent his leg spiraling into Maria's chest. The girl collided with the ground.

Randolf knew immediately that that would be the end. He got above her and prepared a second punch. But Maria was faster and lighter on her normal legs. She brought her heel straight up into the air and into Randolf's chin. Randolf stumbled backwards and landed onto the ground. His hand tentatively touched his jaw. Two blows there, both of them extremely powerful. He was lucky his chin wasn't broken.

The fight continued all the way in to the tenth round. Randolf wasn't prepared for it. He had never fought this long before. All of his fights ended in the fourth round, maybe fifth if he wanted to drag the fight out. This was twice the length he was used to, his legs were buckling under his own weight. He had been fighting at full throughout this entire fight, the fatigue was beyond what it was him in all of his other fights. Maria, on the other hand, was prepared for this. She had been hit a lot more then Randolf, but she still seemed to full of energy. The fight would be over soon.

Randolf shook his weariness off and drove forward for one last attack. The expert fighters watching this fight immediately knew he had lost. When you are tired and out of energy, the last thing you want to do is charge. Your perception rate is decreased, your reaction time is slow, and you are more then likely to get sent to the floor. And that's exactly what happened.

Maria's leg came soaring through the air and into Randolf's chin. The final stroke to an already battered jaw. The jaw gave way. It shattered and so did Randolf's ego. He was sent to the floor and was knocked out instantaneously. He couldn't have moved even if he wanted to. The last thing he remembered seeing was that girl's smug and cocky smile.

He woke up soon afterwards. He was in an infirmary. The girl hadn't killed him. Randolf opened his mouth to speak, but what came out wasn't really what he had been hoping for, "wult huppinnet?" His speech was slurred and distorted, if you could even call it speech. The doctor looked at him and smiled. He said he was glad he was awake, he told him everything that happened. Maria had spared him, his jaw was broken beyond repair, and she was staying at an inn in town. Randolf decided to pay her a visit.

Maria was ignoring the rest of the inn. She was busy tending to her knuckles and ribs. Randolf had done a number on her. She may have broken his chin, but her knuckles and shin were in pretty bad shape too. They would probably break if she took too many more blows to them. She was in her room, the complimentary Den-Den Mushi hidden beneath a pile of pillows when there was a knock on the door. She didn't get visitors often, so she would welcome any friendly face.

Too bad when she opened the door, it wasn't a friendly face. It was Randolf and about eleven other men. "Yu thurght gat ju gut rid oo me?" Randolf slurred as he slammed his fist into Maria's face. She was sent to the floor. Before she could even get up she was attacked on all sides by the men. She laid on the ground for about two hours feeling every single hit, she felt her shins break, she felt her arms break. Her entire body was being destroyed. They left after that. She couldn't move, but she was still alive. She was alive lying in a puddle of her own blood. No way to move and get food or water. She would die of blood loss soon, but until then she would feel every single ant crawling over her body like a boulder. Every breeze felt like a typhoon. It was over an hour when she thankfully passed out.

She woke up strapped to a hospital bed. Her body felt numb. She was thankful for that. Somebody must've put her under. She loved the feeling, or lack thereof. She looked over at her arm. Her broken left hand. She'd miss moving it, but maybe death would…wait! It moved! Her finger moved! She tried it again. It moved again! The same with her other arm! And her legs! Was it all just a horrible dream?

No. Apparently Randolf set fire to the inn, a man in the competition had heard them gloating about beating her up and went in after her. She never did get his name. Apparently he found her laying on the floor and carried her out. He took her to a friend of his, a scientist of sorts. He was able to create artificial legs and arms made of heavy machinery. She was…distraught. Her entire life, she dreamed of being the strongest unarmed warrior in the world. She couldn't be now…machinery is outlawed in hand-to-hand fights. Her dream was dashed.

Since then she had learned how to maintain her arms and legs, how to operate them, how to make subtle improvements, and things like that. She had done to the same to her ship on several occasions. Her ship was now heavily tricked out with weaponry. Her dream, however, was still shattered. Knowing that it will never come back she changed it. Forget about the strongest unarmed warrior. Well, just the unarmed part. With her mechanical parts, she'd just be the strongest.

(~back to real time~)

There! Maria wasn't expecting it, but for a brief instant Bushou left himself wide open. He shifted his weight behind him and to the side to increase the strength of his next punch, it was a wide punch. Maria didn't let this moment go to waste. She leaned forward and sent her fist rocketing forward straight up and into Bushou's skull. It gave way to her fist. She felt it. She probably broke the man's skull and killed him…it was possible. But she didn't care. If he was dead, that just meant he wouldn't come back around later and try to kill her.

She felt strangely happy as she looked at the dead man's body. It reminded her of what she should've done to Randolf. It reminded her that that man feared her and was still out there. Someone for her to hunt down and beat the crap out of. One of the few men around that reminded her of her life before the mechanical upgrades.

She was about to leave, but the brat with the green Mohawk was just laying out on the ground. He was probably halfway dead now…She sighed and bent down. She hefted him onto her shoulder. He helped her get out of the prison cell. He helped her get her life back, just like the man all the way back then. She'd remember to get this man's name.

(-With Enma-)

Enma's hand timidly crept towards the drawer. All of his attention of its 'contents'. Its 'contents' consisted of a tall lengthy young man. His face was contorted into one of fear. A shocked expression, the eyes left open, and its mouth letting loose a final scream. It was dressed in just boxer's shorts. His entire upper body revealed to the elements.

Enma had to admire the workmanship. The body hadn't paled at all. Nor had it begun to reek of death just yet. It had been kept clean, none of its bodily waste spilling out into the drawer with it. Whoever had killed the man and stuffed it into the drawer apparently had some purpose in mind for it and wasn't just messing with it. Enma was about to close the drawer when he noticed that there wasn't any preservatives in the room.

The body had been locked up in a dark space without any light for awhile apparently, but it didn't look aged. Of course, obviously the first idea would be to use preservatives. They would keep the body like this for awhile. But when Enma had his first look around, he saw no preservatives. As a matter of fact, the body didn't smell of the heavy preservatives that would normally be used. The man had apparently been killed not too long ago.

"I see you've discovered my little secret," said another man as he entered the room. He was older then Enma, probably by about twenty years. His body was awkward though. His left arm was slightly tanned, closer to dark then white. His right arm on the other hand was pale white, closer to an albino's coloration. His head was albino colored, but his two eyes were different colors. His left was a dark muddy brown and his right, a deep sea blue. He was in a stark white lab coat.

"I'm sure that if Ridley was here he'd make some crack about necrophilia," said Enma as he studied the man more carefully. The man reeked of heavy painkillers and probably some other medicinal drugs, but he didn't seem affected by them. His eyes were clear, his footsteps precise, his entire body moving in perfect harmony with each other. There was a small ding probably from a clock somewhere in the room.

"Excuse me a moment. I'm afraid its time to take my medicine," said the man as he reached into his pocket and produced a small silver syringe. He pushed the needle into his body and sighed as he depressed the plunger, allowing the green medicine within it to flow into his body. "This Ridley fellow couldn't be farther from the truth. I don't wish for long times alone with the dead, I wish to eliminate the dead. I am the leading scientist in immortality research."

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto had once again been sent careening to the floor. Henry smiled. He barely had to lift a finger. He smiled. "So, Mikoto…rethought my proposition? I mean, so far you can't even touch me thanks to my hypnosis. Got any other thoughts? I'd hate to have to kill you. You have…potential. Someone like you…I mean seriously do you know what you make me think of? The CP9."

Kin's face jumped straight to anger, "how do you know about them? They have been kept secret for the past fifty years at least! No one ever brought them up throughout their entire existence."

"You seem to have forgotten the Nico Robin incident, hm?" said Henry with a smirk. "They failed in their orders, so, yeah, its only natural that the Revolutionaries caught wind of it."

"Excuse me," said Mikoto as he brought himself to his feet once more, "but do you think you could tell me who the heck you are talking about?"

"The CP9," said Henry with a shrug, "They were an expert killing squad used by the World Government to kill people that have gained too much information. They were pretty good Zoan Devil Fruit users as well. You can see why you remind me so much of them. You have the makings of a great killer…what do you say? If you join with me, the Revolutionaries could train you. Make you into the killer that your Devil Fruit was made for. Hmm? What do you say?"

"No," said Mikoto. He brought his two arms up in front of him. He morphed into his hybrid form. His entire body was coated in fur and the ends of his hands became sharp claws. "I'm afraid that offer's just not what I'm looking for."

**The Death of Henry!**

**Down in the Dark Prison!**

For those of you who were wondering (probably 0), Shion's name comes from Shi (which is Japanese for death and pride) and Bushou means sloth.

Maria's past was revealed, but her future remains a mystery. Has the crew found a new crew member or will she join with the Revolutionaries for revenge? What has Enma gotten himself into? What has Mikoto gotten himself into? How is Sage doing? All of that will be answered in the next chapter!


	68. RM Arc: 68 Death of Henry

**The Death of Henry!**

**Down in the Dark Prison!**

Mikoto charged. He disappeared into a blur of brown fur. He opened his claws wide open with every intention to slice deeply into Henry's side and send him falling to the ground. Henry lifted up a single hand. Mikoto chuckled. Only an idiot would believe that they could block him with one hand.

"**Trap Sigil! Glue!"** commanded Henry.

Mikoto felt it. His entire body froze. His muscles tensed to an extreme amount and made him incapable of running any more. He fell forwards and slammed his face into the tiled floor. Mikoto couldn't force his body up to his feet.

"I'm making you the deal of a lifetime," said Henry, "I want you to join the Revolutionaries. We could use you and…about half of your crew. I don't think Sage or Ridley would really be cut out for our kind of work. You get me?"

Mikoto struggled to get up once more, but couldn't. His entire body felt frozen. He couldn't move an inch even if he wanted to. The only muscle that he could actually move was his mouth and even then he only used it to curse at Henry.

"Going to act like a savage, huh?" said Henry as he stood up, "I had high hopes for you. But I'm afraid I'll just have to kill you. But not yet. I believe in order…and every single order seems to put Kin ahead of you. Alphabetical, chronological, annoyance factor, dangerous levels. Sorry, but you'll just have to lie there and watch me kill him." Henry produced a small steak knife, ordinarily it would do absolutely nothing as a weapon, but when the person you are going to use it on is frozen solid…it'll do just fine.

"You are my opponent," said Mikoto. He slammed his teeth down onto his tongue. Mikoto jumped back in pain, his ability to move his muscles returning. Mikoto had no time to lose and quickly brought his claws through the air and into Henry's backside, sending him flying.

Henry collided with the wall and slid down to the ground in a worthless lump. Mikoto stood still for a few more second breathing heavily and letting the blood from his tongue leak out. "Looks like pain overrides hypnosis," said Mikoto through huffs of breath.

"Apparently," said Henry as he braced himself against the wall. "I guess I'll just have to move aside, then." He got up and walked past the doorway. "I have absolutely no way to kill you asides from hypnosis. I've got no way to kill you, so I have no reason to fight you. You are free to go."

Mikoto shared a look at Henry. "Like I'm going to believe anything you say," said Mikoto. "If that's true then I'm going to look like an idiot, but I don't believe you are just going to move aside and let me through."

"Quite…" began Henry before a loud gunshot filled the air. Mikoto swiveled in his spot to the nearby window. He saw through the glass pane and outside. Dominic Renvont waved at him with a smile on his face. Renvont loaded a second shot and blew the window open. He jumped in.

"He talks too much, doesn't he?" said Renvont as he walked over to Henry's dead body. He had a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead. "Just because he was out gunned, he decided to ask for forgiveness. He was a coward, he knew he couldn't kill you so he decided against fighting you. What a waste of his talent…wish I didn't have to kill him."

"Damn you," shouted Mikoto as he shot forward and launched a kick for Renvont's head. He brought his gun up slowly and blocked the kick. Mikoto fell to the ground and made another thrust with his claw, aiming it right at Renvont's chest. Renvont dodged backwards and the claw missed his chest by an inch or two.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," stated Renvont as he brought his gun around and placed the barrel onto Mikoto's forehead, "remember that. For that is the sole reason why I'm not going to kill you today. There's ten warriors in here who are fabled to take down pirates with bounties exceeding 50 million. I've taken down three of them. I hope you can do the same."

"Forget them!" shouted Mikoto as he brought his foot up and into Renvont's head. Renvont couldn't bring his gun around in time to block the kick, and ended up staggering backwards with his head bleeding profusely, "I don't care about those warriors. I want to fight you! You destroyed Zesiro's hometown!"

"You should be thanking me," said Renvont as he touched his bleeding head, "if it wasn't for me, Zesiro would never have joined your crew. You would be short one of your strongest nakamas. He would've stayed on his home island blissfully ignorant of the world around him and of you. Then you would've died.

"Zesiro is the sole reason you made it to the Marine Base and met Hiro-Shu. If it wasn't for him, you and your crew would've been lost at sea. So in summary, I saved your life, I saved Ridley's life, I saved Sage's life, I also probably saved Hiro-Shu's life. Because you guys never would've freed him and he would've been executed. Your entire crew owes me their lives."

"I don't care!" shouted Mikoto as he charged forward at Renvont again. Renvont brought his gun up and blocked another one Mikoto's kicks. Renvont laughed.

"Another worthless attempt," said Renvont, "you can't kill me! I surpass you on every criteria. When we first met, I told you to train and become strong enough to kill me! You still haven't reached my level yet! Do you want to keep trying and end up getting killed in the process or do you choose to live?"

"I'm a pirate," said Mikoto, "I think my honor dictates that I choose option A." He stuck his arm out and began to spin it in large circles, "but that doesn't mean I can't go down with one hell of a fight."

"Suppose not."

(-With Enma-)

"Immortality?" asked Enma. "I suppose you believe in the Easter bunny too."

"Why not?" replied the man in the white lab coat, "eternity exists. The universe exists. So, why not immortality? Something had to have been around forever or else what marks the beginning? I intend to be there at the end, I would love to make it past that, but I highly doubt that would be the case."

"You are a fool," said Enma clutching his forehead, "immortality is just stupid. If immortality existed then everyone would live forever and to be frank that would just cause more problems. Death rates would disappear, birth rates would accelerate, the world would become overpopulated too quickly. It would lead to more wars over provisions like food and water and since people are immortal the wars would never end. Is that the end you would like to see?"

"If it is truly the end then yes," said the man, "I am, Gou Jameson, the man who will discover immortality. The end of the world isn't going to end with peace, love, and happiness. It'll end in one big ol' bloody mess. And I simply want to be there to witness it."

Enma smiled, "I guess then as both a pirate and a follower of the Lord of Death. I can't let you leave this room and complete your research, can I?"

"I guess not," said Gou, "but you see…I don't think this is quite fair I'm in my mid-seventies. My body and my memory isn't quite as good as it used to be, so I think…I think I'm going to be enlisting some help." He snapped his fingers.

Enma looked at the apparently seventy year old man like he was crazy. No one in this room could hear him, they were all dead. At least that's what Enma thought, until the man in the desk drawer sat up and wrapped his arms around Enma's leg. The man howled briefly before biting into Enma's leg. Enma screamed.

"I apologize," said Gou, "I should've introduced my assistant/guinea pig sooner. I've recently injected him with wolf DNA so pardon his ferociousness."

"No problem," said Enma with a slight smile on his face, "I haven't shown my hand completely yet either." His leg exploded with large ivory spikes protruding from his skin. Several of the ivory spikes pierced the man's body ripping it apart effortlessly. The man's jaw unhinged itself from Enma's leg as he fell to the ground, lifeless. "I'm a bone man."

Gou's face transformed into one of pure pleasure. "Wolf DNA was used to boost his recovery levels, reaction time, and blood flow to that of two times a normal human. Yet, you just killed him without a second thought or trouble. Maybe…maybe after I'm done with you…you'll be my new guinea pig."

"Gracious Lord Death," began Enma as he clasped his two hands together and closed his eyes, "as a witness to this man's cruelty and abuse of both science and humanity, I ask for your aide in granting salvation for the man I just killed. Then as your vessel I ask that you grant me the strength to send this man to the deepest level of your hell. Amen." A smile soon covered Enma's face. "My sincerest thanks."

Gou's face split into a smile. "Let's make this quick. I have other patients to attend to. So, I'm afraid I'll only be able to give you…how does five minutes sound?"

"Sorry," said Enma, "but I'M afraid I got to get going. So, I'll kill you in…three."

"You think YOU'll be able to kill ME in three minutes?" said Gou with a chuckle.

"Minutes, who said anything about minutes?" asked Enma, "I meant I'll kill you in three seconds."

(-With Sage-)

Sage was wandering hopelessly lost. Jugo was heading into the basement, but sadly the basement was dark and Jugo had somehow managed to slip away from her. She didn't know which was he turned, if he entered a room. She just wanted to know where he went and where he was hiding. She sighed. How could she get this lost? She didn't even know the way back upstairs.

"Heh, he he," laughed a voice as a man wrapped his arm around her from behind. Sage's entire body went rigid. "Lost here are we girl?"

"Y-y-y-yes," said Sage her entire body shaking with an immense fear.

"That's so sad. Do you know why?" asked the voice, "do you? Cause I'll tell you. I'll tell you why in a heart beat. Especially someone with your body." Sage felt small little claws crawling all over her body. She swallowed hard.

"W-w-why?"

"This facility is built like…like an anthill," said the voice, "the top of the facility is filled with marine soldiers and various mechanisms. The bottom, however, houses criminals…it's a jail. Any criminal who gets sent down here is trapped in complete darkness. They can't see two feet in front of their faces. If they escape they'll just get stuck wandering down here for days until eventually they die of starvation."

Sage smiled, "I guess this goes for you, too, then."

"Me?" asked the voice, "oh, no. I've got night vision, basically, I can see no matter how dark it is. I can tell that you are wearing a peach top and a denim skirt, your hair is black with a blue-ish tint, oh, and from that look on your face I can tell that I am correct."

Sage swallowed. This man could actually see her in this pitch-black darkness, how was that even possible. "Anyone else allowed down here?"

"Only two people in this entire facility can make their way down here and then back out," said the voice. "Me, of course. Then of course Kentan-San can also make his way back out."

"Oh," said Sage, "can you guide me back up to the top?"

"I would love too!" said the voice with enthusiasm on his voice, "but sadly, you are a pirate. I've been ordered to kill all pirates."

"Stop it, Kai," said another much deeper voice, "she's my guest. If you continue to stir things up, I'll kill you."

"Kentan!" shouted Kai, "she's a pirate. You are a Marine. How is she your guest?" Sage felt her body being grabbed from behind by this Kai person's nails. He was shaking. He was terrified of this Kentan person!

Sage felt Kai's body being ripped off of hers. This was followed shortly by a loud scream from Kai. The deeper voice returned, "walk forward." Sage lifted her foot into the air and she began to walk her forward. He was directing her on exactly where to go. Sage was terrified. She couldn't see a foot in front of her face, a large Marine was guiding her on way to go, and this Marine just killed one of his own men. What was she going to do?

"Open the door," said Kentan. Sage fumbled for a couple of seconds in dire panic trying to find the door handle she finally did. She twisted it and pulled backwards. She was nearly in tears when the door pulled way and let light shine all over her body. But the light wasn't entirely why she was crying. Beyond the doors was the biggest, cleanest, most advanced kitchen she had ever seen.

**Entrance to the Feast!**

**The Deadliest Soldier Awakens!**

Dominic Renvont is here! And with him he brought his insatiable desire to kill. Does Mikoto have the strength to finish him off? Or will this be the end? Not to mention the hot water the rest of the crew is in. Enma is fighting someone whose goal is to become immortal and Sage just witnesses a murder of one of the strongest people in the base. The real question on everyone's mind is probably Jugo's plan? Any guesses?


	69. RM Arc: 69 Entrance to the Feast

**Entrance to the Feast!**

**The Deadliest Soldier Awakens!**

"Please pardon my manners," said Kentan as he sat down in a large chair and picked up a bottle of champagne and poured two glasses. He handed one over to Sage, "it's a rare delicacy to have visitor down here." Kentan was large. He wasn't particularly tall, fat, or anything like that. He was probably six foot two, weighed around 190 pounds or something. But he just gave off this giant aire. He was stocky and his hands were large. He had on a Hawaiian-esque shirt and shorts. His hair was styled into dreadlocks and he wore a friendly smile.

Sage timidly accepted the glass. But she didn't drink any of it. She stood there with the hand in her glass and was shaking like a leaf.

"Good ahead drink it," said Kentan with another smile.

"I'm sorry," said Sage, "but…I mean, you are a Marine. I'm a pirate. What if you poisoned it?"

Kentan's smile disappeared. "I'm a chef. Food and drink are sacred. If I was so rotten as to poison another person's meal, I should be tenderized and boiled alive." His smile returned, "so drink up!"

Sage put her lips to the cup and drank. The wine was delicious. She wasn't for drinking and as a matter of fact, this was probably the first sip of alcohol she had had in years. She downed it quickly. Kentan laughed.

"Its nice to see someone else with such an appetite," said Kentan as he poured her another glass.

Something suddenly struck Sage as odd. "What were both you and Kai doing down here?"

"Kai was probably following you and the other guy you were with," said Kentan as he downed his glass. "I, on the other hand, actually had business down here. The prisoners need to be fed."

"So, you were taking care of the prisoners," asked Sage.

"Indeed," said Kentan as he reached around and grabbed a long loaf of bread. He cut into it. "See, despite many people's thoughts, I actually do care for the prisoners left in my care. I feed them, comfort them, anything they need. I sometimes even fetch the paper for them. Just cause they are in prison, doesn't mean they should be treated like its hell."

"I guess so," said Sage. She watched as Kentan prepare a large sandwich.

"There is one specific prisoner I have taken a liking to," said Kentan, "an ex-Revolutionary. Conversation with him is such a delicacy." Kentan picked up an apple from the table along with knife.

"An ex-Revolutionary?" asked Sage, "why is he no longer a Revolutionary?"

"He was a Revolutionary," said Kentan, "until certain events went down within the core. He immediately turned himself in to the Marines. Well, it was too late. He was already branded a criminal…the Marines wouldn't allow him to continue to live in modern society so instead they imprisoned him here."

"Wait!" shouted Sage, "that's not right! He doesn't want to be a criminal anymore! Shouldn't he be allowed to repent for what he's done? Why didn't you guys just give him community service or something?"

"We did, but he's a criminal," said Kentan as he began to peel his apple, "now matter how much spices you add to a dish, there's always the original flavor there."

"I think I'm going to get going now," said Sage as she stood up and turned around. She began to head for the door. A stainless steel kitchen knife whizzed by her head and stuck into the wall just behind her.

"I am one of the deadliest warriors," said Kentan as he stood up, "stationed here in this Marine Base. As you could probably tell from Kai's reaction to seeing me, I am probably the deadliest…actually…make that the second deadliest."

"Second?" whimpered Sage as she backed away into the wall, her hand fumbling for the door.

"Of course," said Kentan, "that ex-Revolutionary I told you about…you asked me if he did community service to atone for his crimes…and I said that he did. He is our clean-up crew. Whenever things get out of hand here, we let him out of his cage. Anyone who we failed to kill or anyone who is not in a sanctioned room is game to him. Marine, prisoner, or uninvited guest."

"But asides from him, you are the strongest," said Sage.

"I'm afraid that won't matter in a minute," said Kentan, "he's about to be let loose. Bushou, Shion, and Kai are all going to be reported as defeated. Then there's another three who have been killed during this day. The place is in a state of panic. Six of the ten undefeatable warriors have been killed. He's going to be let loose."

"So, I got to get going," said Sage. She turned around and grabbed the door handle. Kentan grabbed onto Sage's head and tossed her back.

"I said anyone in a non-sanctioned room will be killed by him," said Kentan, "right now this is one of the sanctioned room. Leaving here will be your death." Kentan wandered over to a chair and sat down. He poured another glass of wine and set on the table next to Sage. "You'll stay in here until tomorrow when the Revolutionaries are dead, then I'll sneak you out on a boat and you can continue living. That's my deal."

"Why?" asked Sage.

"Food gives people life. Chef makes food," said Kentan, "its against my moral code to watch a chef walk off into her death."

"Thanks," said Sage questioningly as she accepted the glass of wine. Something about Kentan seemed off. She'd trust him for now, but…something was just wrong. Then a loud siren pierced the air.

(-With Enma-)

"Crap," said Gou as the siren filled the air. "He's being released already. I wonder how many of my allies have been taken down." Gou quickly dodged to the side as a long ivory spear blasted past him. "Aren't you even the least bit interested in what's going on?"

"No," said Enma as he brought his hand up, "I told I'd kill you in 3 seconds. I plan on seeing that come true."

"Let me start the clock for you, then," said Gou. He bent down and picked up the clock that was laying on the ground. "There. The alarm is set to go off in exactly three seconds starting…now!" Just as the word came out of his mouth Gou felt the ivory spear jam itself deeply into his gut.

Enma brought his entire body around and catapulted Gou into the air and across the room. Gou twisted his body around and braced himself against the wall. "I still feel as if you should know what that siren signifies. It signifies that you and all of your friends will be dead before the day is over."

"But you are going to die first," said Enma. "**Hone Needles!" **Finger-length bones slid out of Enma's hand and in-between his fingers. Enma chucked all four of them at Gou's body. Gou disappeared from sight and reappeared next to Enma. Gou wrapped his arm around Enma's neck like it was made of rope, his leg twisted and wrapped itself around Enma's leg twice, his other hand wrapped itself firmly around Enma's arm.

"Immortality research has led me to notice how many people die of broken bones a year," said Gou. "A surprising amount. So, in order to fix that I had my bones removed and replaced with a much more malleable substance."

"**Hone Spear!" **A long ivory spear exploded out of Enma's back and was aimed for Gou heart. It slipped right in and out of Gou's body, leaving a long ivory stick jutting out of his body. The alarm rang out filling the room. "Looks like my three seconds are up." Enma retracted the bone spear back into his body. Gou's entire body fell off of Enma's. Enma was about to head for the door when he heard a chuckling. He spun around to see Gou standing up with a smile on his face.

"Ruptured organs are another common cause of death," said Gou, "so my body contains duplicate organs. If my heart was too be pierced, I have another one located somewhere else in my body."

"I guess I may need to take the five minutes you offered me," said Enma.

"Too bad," said Gou, "that siren that's been blasting ever since we started fighting. That signifies that the beast has been let loose. We've got maybe two minutes at the most until he comes here and rips us to shreds."

"I thought you were one of the deadliest warriors in this Marine Base," said Enma, "I'm sure you can probably defeat him."

"No," said Gou. "You see, I am probably the fourth strongest warrior here. But him and Kentan are in two separate levels far above me. They could kill me without even breaking a sweat. Kentan has actually tried. He doesn't think very highly of my…experiments."

"Sounds like I might actually like this Kentan guy," said Enma.

"No…he's just…he's just a…I guess the best word to describe him would be…a killer," said Gou, "he's a genius, though."

"Don't take this the wrong way," said Enma, "but I just don't trust you." Enma charged forward with another sweeping motion from his large ivory spear aimed at right Gou. Gou spun to the side and dodged the blow. He jumped out of the way and landed on one the patient's bed.

"Fine," said Gou, "I'll kill you quick then. Let's go, witness the power I possess! The power of the immortal." Gou leaned forward and began coughing. Suddenly a small dagger slid out of his mouth and into his hand. "Forgot what stomach I was keeping it in."

"I'll fix that problem," said Enma, "I'll just cut them all out."

(-on the docks-)

Zenmaru's men laid about, most of them half dead. A tall and lanky man wandered through the mess a smile on his face. He had been waiting for the siren. He didn't suspect many of the warriors stationed here to survive when he saw Jugo. The man was dressed in a black tuxedo. He had a smile on his face as he waded through the mountains of dead bodies. He approached the ships.

The siren had signaled that Daimyo would be let out soon. He would prowl about the base for about an hour before coming out here to destroy the ships. Why? Because in about an hour, he would've killed everyone in the base and would be bored. Destroying ships is a quick way to pass time. This man was sent out here to make sure no pirates decided it was time to flee.

The man reached up and pulled his top hat off of his head. "Death…a tragic thing. Its far from a sweet relief. But still I murder." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long iron chain. "**Steel Chain Ship Sinker. **Keep these boats in their right place. **Iron Rope Ship Jail." **He tossed the long iron chain around all of the ships several times, until each one was wrapped up within its long and heavy body. He pulled tight, tightening many of the knots simultaneously. He slammed the chain deep within the ground. Now the ships were successfully tied in place.

"Such unknown beauty. My knots and chains do create. Bye my audience!" The man turned around and was about to walk off when he saw a figure move on top of one of the boats. He was a stocky man, big and strong-looking. The man looked down at the ground and at his shadows. The sirens hadn't been going off for that long…he still had time. One more dead man wouldn't upset Daimyo.

"Hey you on the ship," he shouted. The man looked his way. "I am the Chain Warrior. My name is Netam."

The big man on the ship reached behind his head and grabbed his neck. He looked tired as if…well, not tired. He looked like he just woke up from a good nap and was slowly going to drift again. He turned all the way over and looked at Netam. "Mine is Hiro-Shu. You know where the rest of my crew is? I seem to have lost them."

**Out on the Docks!**

**The Lack of Immortality!**

Hiro-Shu has finally woken up, but he has woken up without a crew and a powerful Marine is awaiting him. Not to mention that both Sage's and Enma's problems seemed to have been amplified with both Kentan and Gou's strength being higher then they let on. Trouble is brewing!

Also, the poll for 'Who is your favorite Saga of the Infinity Pirates is closed'! The winner? It's a three-way tie. Ridley, Enma, and Hiro-Shu with four each, Mikoto with three, Zesiro with 1, and Sage with 0.


	70. RM Arc: 70 Out on the Docks

**Out on the Docks!**

**The Lack of Immortality!**

"Sorry I have not," said Netam as he pulled his hat out off of his head and pulled it out in front of his chest, "they are probably dead now. Care to try your luck?" The man pulled out a large iron chain from his vest pocket and began to swing it around in circles.

Hiro-Shu stood back and took in the scene around him. He saw a quite a few dead bodies scattered across the ground, each one of them battered, blue, and bloody. There were another four or five ships gathered around his. Each one boasting its own pirate flag, cannons, and other deadly arsenal. The large fortress in front of him had a Marine flag hoisted in front of it. Then there was the awfully annoying siren going off in the background.

He didn't know what was going on. From the looks of it his crew was attacking a Marine Base. He wouldn't be surprised that Ridley, maybe even Zesiro being in on the attack, but imaging Mikoto or Sage attacking a Marine Base was just ridiculous. Maybe they were on one of the fellow ships or something. He'd check that out soon. "Sorry, but I have to find my crew." Hiro-Shu lowered himself onto the rocky shore and headed towards the door.

"**Iron Chain Restraint!" **shouted Netam as he spun his body around and whipped his large iron chain around Hiro-Shu's forearm. Netam magically produced a second iron chain from his shirt sleeve and used it once more to wrap around Hiro-Shu's leg. "I won't allow you to leave. **Iron Chain Trip Fall**!" Netam pulled back on his twin chains sending Hiro-Shu stumbling to the rocky floor.

"Won't allow me to leave, huh?" said Hiro-Shu as he brought himself up into a sitting position. He grabbed a hold of the iron chains with his two arms. He pulled back and brought Netam off of the ground and into the air. He slammed Netam into the nearby rocky shelf with surprising force and speed. "I don't think you have much say in the matter." Hiro-Shu brought his hand up to his head, he was having this awful, awful headache right now…he really wished he could just go back in and lie down.

"**Iron Chain Body," **a large ball of chains collided with the ground. A hand appeared from the center of them and pushed them all away. Netam stood up and appeared out of the large ball almost completely unharmed. He had a few scrapes and bruises from the crash, but compared to what he should've had, it was nothing. "You just are not good enough. Was that your best shot?"

Hiro-Shu glared at Netam and brought his two fists up, they both quickly became coated in iron. "Not even close." _"What had the crew gotten themselves into this time," _thought Hiro-Shu as he stared down his impressive opponent.

"Just what are you sir?" asked Netam as the chains that were laid around the ground quickly recoiled back into his vest. "A Revolutionary? Or a plain pirate?" More chains started to snake their way out of his sleeves and onto the ground.

"Pirate," said Hiro-Shu, "I'm Hiro-Shu of the Infinity Pirates."

"I am sorry, who?" said Netam, "The Infinity Pirates? I don't know that crew."

"Well," said Hiro-Shu, "I'll just have to make sure that you remember it when our fight is over."

(-With Enma-)

Enma grabbed a hold of his hand once more. Long white needles stretched out of his hands and in between his fingers. Enma tossed all four of the needles over at Gou. Gou jumped into the air and landed on top of his desk. The four white needles dug themselves into the walls.

"Uh-uh-uh," said Gou with a smirk on his face, "just because I have extra organs located throughout my body doesn't mean I'm going to allow you to have target practice with them."

Enma charged forward, a long ivory spear forming in his hands. He drove the spear forward straight into the desk sending papers and folders flying throughout the air. Gou dodged the strike, though and was already making his way through the room. "Aren't you even going to try to kill me?" asked Enma as he brought his spear back around and prepared for a second strike.

"Try to kill you?" asked Gou, "my goal is immortality. How would killing you help me achieve it?" Enma made another drive with his spear. The long ivory spear drove itself through Gou's lower abdomen. "I think you nicked my fifth kidney…I'm going to get another one soon. Do you know how hard it is to get someone's kidney?"

"I'm a doctor," said Enma, "I have a couple of ideas." Enma brought his bone spear back around. The bone started to hollow out with the middle disintegrating back into Enma's body. Enma pressed his mouth to the newly hollowed out bone and used it as a blow gun sending a small compact bone needle flying through the air. Gou grimaced as the needle dug itself into his shoulder.

"More blood loss," said Gou as he examined his shoulder, "do you know how rare the A blood-type is becoming nowadays? I guess I better sedate you where my body doesn't sustain any more injuries." A small lump appeared in Gou's throat. Gou opened his mouth and a small dagger came flying from his mouth. Enma grimaced as the dagger drove itself into his head.

Enma reached up and pulled the small dagger out of his skull. "Did you forget? I ate the Hone-Hone no mi. My entire skeletal system is as hard as steel. A little trick like this ain't going to cut it."

Gou opened his mouth and there was another dagger sitting on his tongue. "I have at least three stomach, or at least I did the last time I checked. And each of my stomachs has one of these little daggers hidden in it." Gou sent the dagger flying from his mouth.

Enma's eyes widened. He tried to get out of the way, but the dagger kept on sailing towards its target. The small dagger drove itself in between two of his ribs. Enma was thrown back. Enma brought his hand up and around the dagger as he yanked it out. He felt around the hole once more. "You missed my heart."

"What good would a damaged heart do me? Not a lot. I want to have all of your organs in one piece," said Gou as he scratched his left ear with a particularly bored look on his face. "Where is Daimyo? I haven't heard one scream since the alarm."

Enma chuckled. "Still going on about your supposed unbeatable warrior? I don't care if he is out there. You are going to die at my feet today."

Gou twisted his mouth around. "Suurrreeee. Maybe. I guess I got nothing better going on today. Maybe dieing is necessary research for immortality. Let me get my notepad." Gou bent down and started to shuffle through the papers on the floor. He finally found a small notepad and brought it up along with a small pencil. "Let's begin."

Enma shook his head. "That notepad isn't going to do you any good." Enma opened his hand up and created another ivory spear. Small ivory needles began to sprout from the spear. Enma charged forward and swung the large needle-covered spear. The spear came straight into Gou's side. Gou smiled as multiple needle simultaneously drove themselves into his side.

"Death by multiple puncture wounds results in massive bleeding, damaged skin tissue, and similar damage all over the body," said Gou as he began to rapidly jot things down on a notepad. "I'll have to figure out a way to avoid death by lack of blood at a later date."

Enma smiled. The multiple needles drove into Gou's body shattered. The broken pieces of bone went straight into Gou's blood stream. "Prepare to have your body ripped apart from the inside," said Enma.

Gou smiled. He doubled over and brought his body forward. He spewed a large puddle of blood from his mouth and onto the ground, small bone chunks were lying in the middle. "No bone chunks, no death." He wiped some of the blood off of his lip.

Enma grunted. "I'm going to kill you!" Enma brought his arm straight out. Bones struck out and began spiraling around his arm. The bones covered his hand in a rock-solid boxing glove-like cover, except this one had a point at the end. It looked similar to a drill.

"Sorry," said Gou, "but I'm afraid I'm already dead. Lack of blood. My research comes to a halt now. Enjoy your limited life span." Gou grabbed his gut and twisted it. "See you in Hell, partner." More blood began to rapidly spill from Gou's body.

"What are you doing?" asked Enma. He walked over to the man's body as it fell to the ground limp. Enma bent down and stared at the man's blood-covered body. Enma launched a swift kick to the man's head. He didn't react. "You really just went ahead and died on me, huh?" The large drill on Enma's hand shriveled up and shrunk back into his hand.

Gou's hand reached out and grabbed onto Enma's leg. "But you are coming with me! Mock my research! Destroy my experiments! My death will be accompanied by yours!" Gou's throat enlarged again. He spat out his third and final dagger. The dagger lodged itself in Enma's leg. "Sedative…it lasts for about five days. By then your body would be destroyed, either by Daimyo or thirst. I'll be sure to save a spot for you in my circle." Gou's head went limp and hung. His grip loosened and his arm hit the ground.

Enma's leg buckled briefly. Enma collapsed onto the floor. He reached down and fingered the dagger. He grasped it tight and yanked it out. He was starting to drift off. His entire body was failing on him. He was losing…consciousness…

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro walked through the hallway. He had put his two swords up and on his back. Despite the fact that he was in a Marine Base crawling with Marines, he hadn't seen a single Marine. Or any one of his pirate allies. He was starting to suspect that he wasn't fully clued in on the mission here.

He had found himself at what he could only presume to be at the armory. The last time he was at the armory he found himself fighting a weapon master. Not something he wanted to repeat. He looked around the place and froze. There was a sword carelessly lying on the ground. Zesiro bent down and picked it up. It was actually quite heavy. A nodachi. It was too big for Zesiro to use effectively so he was about to put it down when he realized he had seen it before. A pitch-black blade with a crimson handle…where was this blade the last time he had seen it.

Suddenly someone screamed. Zesiro twisted around and bolted back out the door. He was in the opening. From the open space it looked like a training hall. In the center of the room was a small group of men, all but two of them were laid out across the ground, beaten. Each of them had a large bundle of guns and swords in their hand. One of the two men standing, Zesiro recognized it was Zenmaru. The other one, he didn't.

The other man wasn't all that big, height-wise actually he was smaller then Zenmaru. But he had an impressive build, with pretty decent sized muscles. Had brown hair and what looked like green eyes from this distance. The man wore an open black vest and nearly destroyed jeans. He had three swords on his waist, two in his hands, and another one on his back. He was clearly winning the fight.

Zenmaru was backed down and only using one of his swords. His other hand was bleeding profusely and probably incapable of holding his other sword. Zesiro remembered the sword in the armory was his. The other man brought both of his swords up high into the air and was about to bring them down. Zesiro rushed in between and blocked the blades. Zesiro's eyes widened as he was pushed deeper and deeper into the tiled floor from the sheer force of his opponent's strike.

"Zesiro," shouted Zenmaru, "its good to see a friendly face."

The other man chuckled and jumped back. He sheathed his two swords. "A stronger adversary has decided to join the fight. Have you also come to steal our weapons?"

"What?" asked Zesiro, lost. "We just came to get to the Grand Line. Right, Zenmaru?"

"Henry didn't tell you guys?" asked Zenmaru, "that explains it. I was wondering why I never heard about you guys around the Revolutionary base. The plan was simple. Henry lowered the drawbridge, we stormed the base on both sides, and take over it. If worse comes to worse my job was to procure weapons for the Revolutionaries. That's what I was doing procuring some weapons when this guy showed up."

"I thought something was fishy about you guys," said Zesiro, "guess its kind of late to point fingers though. How strong is this guy?"

"I have a Douriki of nearly 1500 right now," said the man as he took out one of his swords, " a little bit lower then yours, but a little bit higher then your friend's."

"Douriki?" asked Zesiro.

"Its some power measuring technique," said Zenmaru, "not many people can tell what another person's Douriki is. He probably has the Te Awase ability or something."

"I haven't heard of anything like that, but according to this Douriki thing," said Zesiro with a smile, "I'm stronger then he is, so this probably won't take long." Zesiro unsheathed his two katanas. "What's your name?"

"Daimyo," said the man as he brandished two of his own katanas.

**Battle of the Beasts!**

**The 3300 Douriki Beast!**

I always liked the Douriki and Te Awase ability and was upset that they were only mentioned for the one story arc. So, I decided Daimyo would have it and it would increase his deadly abilities. Other then that enjoy ruminating over the idea of Zesiro versus Daimyo. Prepare for blasphemy, booze, and blood in the next chapter!


	71. RM Arc: 71 Battle Between Beasts

**Battle of the Beasts!**

**The 3300 Douriki Beast!**

"Its been awhile has it not, Mikoto?" shouted Renvont as he launched another barrage of bullets from his gun. Mikoto continued to run around the room and cringed whenever one of Renvont's bullets exploded onto the tiled floor. "You're a little bit better then the last time we fought…" Renvont loaded another round of bullets. He fired another bullet from his large handgun, Anubis.

Mikoto dodged forward and skidded across the floor as he made a quick turn and headed back for Renvont. "Can't quite say the same thing for you!" Mikoto launched himself from his location and went careening through the air. Renvont brought his other handgun, Cerberus, up and blocked Mikoto's full body tackle. But the force still sent Renvont back a couple of feet.

Renvont chuckled, "don't you think you should take down the Marines around you rather then fighting me? I mean these guys all want you and your crew dead. I have no reason to kill you or your crew. I'm thinking about your best interest here."

"I'm only interested in taking you down," said Mikoto as he surged forward again on all fours. Mikoto came flying through the air straight at Renvont. Renvont brought his gun up and aimed it at Mikoto's head and pulled the trigger. There was brief click, but the gun didn't fire. Renvont was out of bullets. Mikoto came down on top of Renvont and simultaneously brought his four paws and claws straight into Renvont's flesh as he leapt away.

"Shit," said Renvont as he went up and fingered the holes in his shirt. He reached into his pockets for more bullets, but found none. "SHIT! Looks like I used all my ammunition up taking shots at all the Marines."

"Sucks to be you," said Mikoto with a smirk as he came surging back at Renvont. Renvont brought his gun up to block. Mikoto came sliding into him forcing him to step back and re-brace himself, but Mikoto didn't give him a break. Mikoto morphed into his human-hybrid form and brought his claw upwards, "**Wolf Cutter!" **Mikoto's claws went straight up and into Renvont's chin, drawing blood and sending the gunslinger stumbling backwards.

"It seems like I'm at a lost," said Renvont. "I guess I can still knock you around with my guns…" Renvont swung his gun around in a large circle carelessly. He didn't look at all scared of the overwhelming odds stocked against him. He looked more like he was lying, that he had an ace up his sleeve but refused to tell his opponent about it.

"**Beast Hammer!" **Mikoto disappeared and reappeared at Renvont's side. Renvont chuckled briefly. Mikoto then began to rapidly slam his fists into Renvont's abdomen using the speed only a Zoan-Type Devil Fruit like his could bestow. Renvont grunted as he was sent spiraling backwards. Mikoto dashed forward keeping pace with the flying Renvont, "**Feral Drive!" **Mikoto brought his claw up and straight down into Renvont's gut. Blood spilled out of the wound as Renvont was slammed into the tiled floor.

Renvont laid on the ground for a couple seconds fingering the hole in his chest. Mikoto traveled around Renvont eyeing the injured man. Renvont chuckled and sat up. Mikoto drove forward ready to make another cut at him. Renvont brought his gun up and pressed the barrel against Mikoto's skin and pulled the trigger. The gun's barrel lit up briefly with flames burning Mikoto's chest. Mikoto spun back and gripped the burning mound of flesh on his chest.

"That looks like it hurt," said Renvont, "it must suck to be you right now." Renvont brought his gun up and around again and pressed it to Mikoto's shoulder. He pulled the trigger again. The gun's barrel briefly heated up with the ignition of the gun powder, burning Mikoto's shoulder once more. Mikoto yelped as he was thrown back. Renvont walked over to Mikoto's body and leaned over him. "Are we ready to listen to me now?"

"Dream on!" shouted Mikoto as he reached out and wrapped his legs around Renvont's neck, "**Claw Corkscrew!" **Mikoto spun his body around in a circle, bringing Renvont up into the air and then back down into tiled floor. Renvont briefly cringed with pain before getting back up to his feet.

"I just want you to know that, the Revolutionaries, have officially declared war on the World Government," said Renvont, "or we will…in a couple days time. Our second-in-command has decided to launch a devastating attack on Enies Lobby, chances are not much of it will be left if you ever get there. This base is just a stepping stone. Get weapons, men, and weaken the Marines."

Mikoto grunted as he lifted his body up. "Is that why you are here?" said Mikoto, "to serve the Revolutionaries and bring about a new world order?"

"You're kidding me, right?" asked Renvont with a surprised look on his face. "I'm just here to enjoy the carnage. If a better world comes out of it, then that's nice. But if not, I can say I enjoyed my life of blasphemy, booze, and blood." Renvont pointed his gun at Mikoto's head, "and I really like blood." Renvont pulled back on the trigger.

Mikoto dodged the bullet, barely, with a sharp turn to the left. "**Shearing Slice!" **Mikoto struck out with his hand bringing all three razor-edged claws straight out and into Renvont's hand.Mikoto tore skin from Renvont's hand and watched as Renvont backed up and opened his hand in pain dropping his large gun.

"You blasted beast," said Renvont as he pressed his remaining gun against Mikoto's abdomen. Three consecutive gunshots rang out as Mikoto was tossed across the floor from the blast. Mikoto managed to quickly return to his own two feet and stand up as Renvont charged forward again, already preparing to fire another blast.

Mikoto dodged Renvont's first swing with his heavy gun with ease skating across the room, flaunting his superior speed. Renvont charged forward, carelessly leaving himself open to a single counterattack. Mikoto took it. "**Beast King's Crown!" **All ten of his claws were in neat circle. He drove all five of them simultaneously into Renvont's stomach area.

Renvont froze and gritted his teeth as Mikoto slid all of his claws out. Renvont's vision went blurry for a second as he stumbled forward, fingering the new whole in his abdomen. "Heh," he said, almost chuckling, "I think you almost killed me. Too bad for you almost doesn't do much in a fight." Renvont lifted his gun up and aimed it at Mikoto.

"You don't have any bullets left," said Mikoto watching the man's near desperate façade.

"Always make your opponent believe what you want them to," said Renvont, his badly damaged left hand snaked into his pocket and pulled out a single bullet. "I always keep one safe in case of an emergency." Mikoto's eyes widened as he dashed forward. But Renvont was a quicker reloader then Mikoto was a runner. The new bullet was firmly locked in place in his gun. He pulled the trigger.

The gun launched a single jet-black bullet that exploded in the air. A large puff of smoke covered the room, making visibility drop straight to 0. Mikoto grunted as his eyes adjusted to the thick black smog. The smell of the gunpowder seared his nostrils. He heard footsteps trailing off in one direction, but couldn't pinpoint their exact location. The smoke finally cleared after a couple of seconds.

Mikoto scoured the room with his eyes. Renvont was gone. Kin was searching frantically for the missing convict as well. "Another person who wants to kill me roams free," said Mikoto. He turned around and faced Kin, "suppose you want to finish our fight, too."

"Yes," said Kin with a sarcastic, "I want to busy myself fighting an amateur pirate like yourself instead of chasing after a Revolutionary like that." He turned his back on Mikoto and waved goodbye, "you can show yourself and your crew out of the Marine Base."

Mikoto blinked in disbelief. "HEY! I beat Renvont! He's the amateur not me!"

"Doesn't matter," said Kin, "I still don't care to beat an already whipped dog." With that Kin's body morphed into clay and began to shoot forward towards the door.

"Someone doesn't like to admit when they know they won't win in a fight," said Mikoto with a chuckle as he turned around. The alarm was still loud and buzzing in his ears. He had no idea what that alarm meant. Maybe the Marines were panicking that they were under attack. He hoped Ridley and Sage were holding up alright.

(-With Zesiro-)

Daimyo carefully skirted around the battlefield. The only thing separating him from Zesiro right now was his own two katanas. Zesiro charged forward and brought both of his swords around. He brought them straight down upon Daimyo. Daimyo dodged backwards, watching the two swords pierce the floor beneath him. Zesiro wasn't letting up, before Daimyo could even think about launching an attack of his own, Zesiro was up and attacking again with a medley of slashes through the air all of them aimed at an important appendage on Daimyo's body. But Daimyo masterfully avoided each and every hazardous slash, with nice fluid, and almost instinctually, movements.

"Are you going to keep trying to kill me?" asked Daimyo, "I mean I've already dodged so many of blows. You really should just stop, stand still, and let me slit your throat painlessly."

"Are crazy," asked Zesiro, "you've already said I'm better then you so why should I let you kill me?" Zesiro launched another powerful thrust with his sword straight forward aiming for the man's gut. Daimyo brought his sword around deflected the entirety of the stab to his side.

Daimyo chuckled and shook his head. "I didn't say you were better me! I said you had more strength then I do right now."

"Basically the same thing," said Zesiro, "as soon as my blades make contact with your neck, your head's gonna roll." Zesiro jumped into the air brought one sword around aiming for Daimyo's neck. Daimyo jumped backwards allowing the attack to careen straight into the ground.

"You know why I carry six swords?" asked Daimyo motioning his head to the blades.

"The weaker they are the more they boast," said Zesiro as he charged forward. He brought his left blade downward aiming for Daimyo's right shoulder, but his right blade sideways, aiming for Daimyo's waist. Daimyo back flipped a few feet away from Zesiro and landed on his hands, his swords stuck in the ground on both sides of him.

Daimyo quickly jumped back on his feet and pulled his swords out of the ground. "Wrong. I am a master of six separate sword styles. From ichitoryu to rokutoryu. How do I perform Rokutoryu?"

"Does it matter?" said Zesiro as he surged forward, "no matter how you do it you are still going to lose to me!" Zesiro brought both of his blades upwards and through the air, aiming at Daimyo's chest. Daimyo jumped forward, flipped over Zesiro's head, and landed safely behind Zesiro's back.

"I was hoping for a more intelligent answer," said Daimyo. "Simple. I ate a Devil Fruit."

"Good for you," said Zesiro. He brought his two swords up and around his body. He quickly span around in circle, "**Twin Thresher Shark Wave!" **Zesiro sent two flying slashes sailing through the air at Daimyo. Daimyo didn't dodge or block these. The blades slammed straight into sending howling back, blood spraying from his body. "Told you it didn't matter."

"That stung," said Daimyo standing up and wiping the blood off of his shirt. "But…it was more comparable to a bee sting then a sword's slash."

"Oh really?" said Zesiro, "then how about you stand there and get hit by it again!" Zesiro launched another two flying slashes, this time Daimyo leapt into the air to avoid them.

"No thank you," said Daimyo, "see I hate it when I fight an opponent who has absolutely no idea about the terror they are about to face. If I fight an opponent I want them to be completely aware of the fact that I am stronger then, completely aware of the fact I can kill them. I live for the look of terror on their faces."

"Sorry to disappoint you," said Zesiro as he drove forward and a flash of his two blades appeared. He brought the blade straight out and into Daimyo's body, or where his body was. Daimyo had already dodged the attack and was standing behind him again.

"In this form," said Daimyo, "My Douriki is about 1500, remember? Well, when I use my Devil Fruit…" Daimyo's body started to change drastically. His mouth widened and his canines grew and sharpened themselves "…my Douriki more then doubles…" his feet became twisted and a small new appendage grew out of them "…to 3300!" A long, but skinny furry tail slithered out of his pants. Hair grew rapidly on his face, arms, and feet.

"I ate the Saru-Saru no mi; Howler Monkey model!" shouted Daimyo. His tail crept up to his shoulder and wrapped firmly around one of his blades. He reached up with both of his feet and grabbed his swords. He then grabbed the sixth and final sword with his mouth. The two swords in his hand remained level with the third sword in his mouth. The two swords in his feet were planted in the ground to allow him to stand easier. The sword in his tail swung wildly from side-to-side.

**Unsinkable Iron!**

**The Vessel of the Giant!**

Daimyo's Devil Fruit power has been unveiled. The legendary six-sword style (not to be confused with Hachi's six-sword style). Zesiro is now facing a man whose Douriki exceeds 3000! Everybody wish Zesiro good luck!


	72. RM Arc: 72 Unsinkable Iron

**Unsinkable Iron!**

**The Vessel of the Giant!**

"**Iron Chain Shackles**!" shouted Netam as more chains came flying out of his sleeves and wrapped firmly around Hiro-Shu's arms. Hiro-Shu grunted with effort as the chains snaked their way through each other and became tied in large knots. "Try moving with those steel chains. Each weighs twenty pounds."

"Is that all?" asked Hiro-Shu as he lifted his arms up with little problem, "I thought they would've weighed more."

"What are you saying?" asked Netam as he walked up toward Hiro-Shu, "My iron chains are not light. Don't you dare mock me." Netam lifted his iron chains up above his head and began swinging it around wildly above his head. "**Steel Chain Heavy Whip!" **The large pure iron chain came crashing into Hiro-Shu's side sending him staggering to his side. Netam quickly lifted the chain back up into the air and sent it back down crashing into Hiro-Shu's shoulder. "Not so cocky now are we?" Ready to give up?"

"Give me a break," said Hiro-Shu as he smirked, his fists already becoming encased in heavy iron. "Your iron has absolutely nothing against mine! **Fists of Iron! Golem's Fury!" **Hiro-Shu brought his fists straight through the air and into Netam's belly, sending him flying back through the air and into the side of the ship.

"You are really strong," said Netam as he sat himself back up, his hand gripping his stomach. "You probably smashed my ribs. Such intense trauma…I just may collapse. I will have to dodge your fists." He dragged his iron chains out and tossed them around Hiro-Shu's large iron fists, wrapping them securely around his arms. "**Iron Chain Twister!" **Hiro-Shu's eyes widened as he was actually lifted off of the ground and into the air. He was flung across the air and smashed into the side of the Marine Base.

Hiro-Shu slowly opened his eyes and looked around the Marine Base. He stood up unsteadily. He looked around the room. It was a mess. The room had thousands of beds lined up against the wall most of them smashed up against the side of the room. One standing on top of the other in a ruined, disastrous stack.

Hiro-Shu braced himself up against the nearest bed in order to prevent himself from falling over. The large hole that he fell in from was directly in front of him, he could see the blue skies and white clouds from inside. He rubbed the back of his head, he was lucky that at the last moment before impact his entire body had become encased in the iron, preventing the worst of the damage from destroying him.

Two iron chains quickly latched onto the room through the same hole. Hiro-Shu wandered over there to see what was happening. Netam was apparently sprinting up the building using his iron chains to brace himself. Hiro-Shu wandered over to the iron chain and debated on knocking them loose and sending Netam falling to the ground, and probably knocking him unconscious, but he couldn't. That would be a very 'un-pirate-like' this to do. A true pirate would fight this man at their full potential.

Netam entered the room with a weary look on his face. The iron chains dragging behind him. "I sent you flying really far," said Netam as he tore a tissue out of his pocket and wiped his forehead. "Now let us begin the second round of your demise."

Hiro-Shu rubbed his heavy iron gauntlets together. "I'd enjoy that, but I don't think it will be my demise," said Hiro-Shu as he took his stance, his entire body still covered in his own heavy iron, along with the iron chains Netam wrapped around him.

"I'm surprised you are still able to move," said Netam as he uncoiled another chain from his sleeve, "you have to have at least 60 plus pounds of pure iron on you and that's just from my chains. You are wearing a suit made of pure iron. Its got to be very uncomfortable."

Hiro-Shu only grunted in response. Honestly, Netam wasn't lying. The iron on his body weighed heavily down him and restricted his movements. He used to complain about his first and second forms due to the immense amount of heavy iron on him, but compared to this, those two were a walk in the park. Hiro-Shu lifted his arms up in front of his face. "**Forger's Fire! Shiba's Knuckle!" **Hiro-Shu breathed fire onto his fists coating them both with dazzling and insanely bright flames.

Netam chuckled as he jumped away from Hiro-Shu's first punch that came soaring beneath him. Netam grabbed the iron chains beneath his coat and flung them all down, several of them smashing into Hiro-Shu, rattling his body around within the iron armor. Hiro-Shu's arms dropped to his side, each one of them feeling as if they had half a ton of iron weighing them down.

Hiro-Shu tried to lift his arms up and push the new iron chains off of his body, but each effort resulted in just a waste of effort. He was too busy with his newfound weight that he failed to notice Netam's next attack, a side-winding strike with his iron chain that snaked its way into Hiro-Shu's foot, sending him crashing to the floor. The floor shook and became cracked with Hiro-Shu's entire mass slamming into it with such a sudden and abrupt stop.

It was a struggle for Hiro-Shu to simply stand up on his own two feet with the extra weight on his arms, not to mention the new weight from that chain wrapped securely around his leg. Hiro-Shu was starting doubt if he could even get close enough to Netam in order get a punch in with all this weight hanging off of him.

Netam lashed out with his iron chains once more. The two chains both heavily laid into Hiro-Shu's shoulder and sent him down to one knee. Hiro-Shu glanced up from his position, he grunted as he brought himself back up onto his own feet, the weight still bearing down on him.

Netam lashed out once more, his iron chains wrapping around Hiro-Shu's body. "I'm sorry our fight couldn't last any longer then this!" Netam twisted his body around and lifted Hiro-Shu into the air. Hiro-Shu was flung into the nearby wall. He slipped onto the ground, the chains still straining against his body keeping him place.

Hiro-Shu strained as he brought himself up. He stood up and brought one foot forward and closer to Netam, "**Fists of Iron!" **began Hiro-Shu, but he was cut off by Netam.

"**Iron Chain Twister!" **Netam lifted Hiro-Shu back up and off of the ground and into the air. Hiro-Shu was tossed around the room. He came smashing into the nearby wall, sending rumble onto him. He was soon sent back around and into the wall again, more rumble began to cover him up. "Why haven't you given up?"

Hiro-Shu just grunted as he stood up again. He rubbed some of the stray blood from his mouth as he stared over at Netam. Netam glared at Hiro-Shu, "JUST GIVE UP!" Netam twisted around bringing Hiro-Shu up into the air.

Hiro-Shu smirked a little as he was lifted into the air he gripped the iron chain connecting him to Netam. With a sudden surge of strength Hiro-Shu yanked on the chains, sending him forward and flying down the chain. He was being sent hurtling straight down toward Netam. Netam tried to free himself from Hiro-Shu's path, but his own chain was wrapped securely around his arm. The only thing he could do to provide himself with any kind of defense was to bring his arms up and in front of his head.

Hiro-Shu, weighing around a ton and a half of pure iron, came crashing forward and into Netam. Netam was pushed backwards and into the floor, his entire body breaking beneath the immense force and weight. The floor split open beneath the impact, causing the two to fall another floor to the level below them.

Hiro-Shu stood up, the iron chains, being rattled and loosened from the fall mostly slid off of his body. He brought his hands up and pushed the remaining chains off of him. He spared a look over at Netam and then turned around, " I wonder which way is out." He trudged over to the nearby door and disappeared behind it.

(-With Sage-)

"Whoo!" shouted Sage as she kicked back another glass of wine in her hand. "This is goooooood wine. Do you know what I mean, huh, Kentan? Huh?"

Kentan chuckled as he sat the large bottle down next to him. "Yeah. I think I know exactly what you mean. This wine is one of the best. Now, I have another question for you?" he stood up and grabbed a large roll of salami. He picked up one of his sharpest knives.

"I'm not telling you my bust size!" shouted Sage laughing, "that's a secret!"

Kentan rolled his eyes. "I wasn't going to ask you that, I was going to ask you about…you." Kentan brought the knife directly down, cutting off a slice of salami. "Do you really want to head off to the Grand Line? I mean there a plenty of other options for you, out there, especially as a chef. I don't think I need to tell you that in Grand Line only about one in five pirate crews survive."

"Yeah," said Sage as she sat back with a smile on her face, "but we are going to be that one! Me, Mikoto, Enma, Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, and…uh…Ridley! Yeah, Ridley's the name of the other guy…I think. Get back to me on that one."

Kentan smiled, "I don't believe you understand everything. This is the last place to turn back, once you get into the Grand Line you got to follow your log pose. If you lose sight of it even for a second you will end up fried." He looked his knife over and wiped it clean of the meat juices on it.

Sage looked around her and shrugged, "we'll just follow it then…I hope Hiro-Shu picked up a Log Pose…I don't remember him ever mentioning it."

"See," said Kentan, "your crew is clueless to the dangers out there. I'm being nice, I'm offering you a once in a lifetime chance to turn around. After all if you sail with them or whatever is left of them after this Marine Base is done with them, you'll die. A terrible bloody and obscene death." Kentan paused for a moment before continuing, "I sure could use your help down here. No death, no contracts, just you helping me out."

Sage chuckled, "hah, good one. But I got my crew I got to help out! All twelve of them…or was it all eight of them…I don't remember."

"My offer was no joke," sighed Kentan as he put the knife down, "I was being one hundred percent serious. I cook for an entire Marine Base and its prison. I would appreciate all the help I can get, imagine it being your community service, your repentance for the crimes you committed. After all, you are going to spending the rest of your years behind these iron bars, might as well spend it doing something you like, right?"

"Huh?" asked Sage, "what did you say?" She picked up the wine bottle and refilled her glass once more. She put the bottle back down and quickly downed the glass again.

"I said," said Kentan, "you are going to be staying the rest of your life here living out your life sentence for being pirate so you may as well help me out in the kitchen, you understand?"

"What?" asked Sage, "I though you said you were going to help me escape."

"Things leave my kitchen one of two ways," said Kentan, "in a prisoner's uniform to their jail cells or on a silver platter to someone's stomach. I'll let you pick which one you prefer."

Sage grimaced for a second and then broke out into laughter, "you are really funny Kentan! You should join our crew! The guys would love you. Well, only six of them, I don't know the other ones very well." A knife whizzed through the air and smashed into the table in front of Sage, going straight through it.

"I'll take that as the second option," Kentan wandered over to the shelf and pulled an over-sized silver ladle off of it. He spun it around in the air for a second before positioning it right in between him and Sage. He charged forward the large ladle smashing forward into a wall, destroying it with the force behind it.

Sage had thrown herself to the ground at the last second barely avoiding the sheer brute force. She gasped for air as she turned around and looked up at Kentan. Kentan brought his ladle straight up into the air and brought it down with devastating force, Sage stumbled to her feet and dove to the side. She heard the force of the ladle smash into the ground, sending a spray of rubble off in all directions.

**Can't Handle Kentan?**

**Then Get Out of the Kitchen!**

Sorry for the wait, I have a slight case of writer's block. Well, less of a slight case and more of a big case. And less of writer's block as 'End of Summer' work. College is a pain…a big pain…anyways, get ready for Kentan and Sage's fight next chapter!


	73. RM Arc: 73 Can't Handle Kentan

**Can't Handle Kentan?**

**Then Get Out of the Kitchen!**

"What are you doing?" shouted Sage as she stood up and faced Kentan, her legs wobbly from the close brush with an unimaginable pain, "you almost killed me! You got to watch where you swing that thing around at."

"Trust me," said Kentan as he brought the ladle around and into Sage's side sending her flying through the air and into the wall, rubble falling on top of her. "I know exactly where I am swinging it. Our conversation was merely an appetizer for me. Now that my appetite's been whetted, its time to start preparing the main course. First step is to tenderize the meat."

Sage quickly went to one knee. She began to focus on the pressure in Kentan's ear. The increase there would give Kentan a major case of vertigo and when he falls down onto his butt, that would be Sage's cue to run for it, but something didn't feel right. Sage's world was blurry. She saw three separate Kentan's all approaching her at different strides. She was at a lost for which one was the real one.

"Funny thing wine is," said Kentan as he wrapped his meaty hand around Sage's head, "to an uninhibited girl who downs glass after glass its quite deadly. Things become blurry, you can't really stand, its hard to tell up from down!" Kentan brought his hand and Sage's head straight down into the ground, Sage howled in agony. "However, for someone like me who is used to downing the drink, its useless. No, not quite. I find it to be a very good deterrent for random rift-raft." Kentan lifted Sage up onto her feet and stood her up. He smiled as he patted her on the cheek.

Sage could barely move. The alcohol didn't help the pain at all. Each and every attack from Kentan just introduced a new wave of pain into her system. She could barely see right now and her mouth was filling up with the strange taste of blood. She trained her eye on Kentan, though. She didn't want to lose to this man. She was still there and she was still a pirate. So, outmatched or not, she'd give this fight her all.

She focused on Kentan's leg. Her world still a blurry mess, she was desperate enough to try it. Desperate enough to beg Kentan's leg to cripple under the hopefully increasing air pressure. Kentan seemed unaffected by it, instead his smile grew bigger.

He laid his large ladle of a weapon down and picked up another large piece of silverware. This one was an immensely sized serrated knife. Its blade was jagged and still had meat juice on it from the last meal he had prepared. "The knife that creates sustenance necessary for life is also the knife that will take your life." Kentan brought the knife down aiming for Sage's shoulder but he stopped short, he grunted as he slammed the knife straight into the ground, using it as a prop to balance himself out. His leg was throbbing with pain. It hurt like crazy, he could barely stand. If it wasn't for the knife he doubt that he could. Kentan's head fell down as he examined his leg.

The pain was quickly subsiding though, apparently Sage couldn't focus long enough to continue the pain, too bad for her. Kentan brought his head up to prepare for another attack at the young girl, but she was gone. He cursed quietly as he brought his body up and looked around. Besides the empty wine bottle, there was no proof that the girl had even been in here. Kentan growled as he pulled a large fork and knife off of the table and carried them out, his face twisted in anger.

Kentan dashed out into the dark hallway. He lifted his nose into the air and took a good whiff. The girl's scent was thick in the air as he wandered through it. Her perfume was mixed with spices and a tad bit of the wine he was pouring, she probably spilled a little on her when she was drinking glass after glass.

He surged forward. The dark hallways doing absolutely nothing to hinder him on his way. His sense of smell was far superior to that of normal humans, probably even better then most canines. The hallways had different metal lining the bottom, so he could always find his way through the halls. He just followed the smells of copper, steel, or iron every which way to get to where he wanted to go. Copper, which was what he currently smelled, was the smell that lead to the prison. What a most fitting place to capture Sage.

He lifted his heavy knife off of his back and took the last turn. Two large wooden doors appeared before him. He pressed his hand on one of them and it slid open. He reeled backwards. The smell of blood filled his nostrils. That was what made Kentan remember that Daimyo was on the loose. That blood-thirsty beast. Kentan felt the smallest of a shiver go crashing through his body. He'd have to find Sage and then beat it back to the nearest safe room.

He walked by one of the prisoner's cell. The bars were sliced clean off. Daimyo usually kills one or two of the prisoners when he is let out, but this time it was closer to manslaughter. Not a single of the hundreds of prisoners on this floor could be alive. Blood was smeared all over the walls and streaked all about. The beast must've went insane being locked up for such a long time. Kentan lost all of his advantage, he lost Sage's scent in this blood bath. Maybe he should just turn around and head back into the kitchen.

Kentan twisted around in spot and was about to take a couple of steps forward when he heard footsteps echoing above him. A twisted smile spread over Kentan's face.

(-With Ridley and Maria-)

Maria delivered a swift pivot kick into a poor Marine grunt's chest. The Marine was tossed helplessly to the ground from the force of the mechanically enhanced kick. Maria was breathing heavily, she's been carrying the pathetic fool with a Mohawk for about an hour now, just running about in circles trying to find a way out or something. She had probably kicked and punched around 50 Marines out already.

"Shit," said Maria, "what am I supposed to do?"

"You could try to find my nakama," said Ridley still riding piggyback with Maria.

"You're awake?" asked Maria eyeing Ridley on her back.

"I've been awake," said Ridley, "probably for about half an hour now."

"You've been awake for half an hour," repeated Maria slightly seethed, "and you are just now telling me this why?"

"Because," said Ridley, "I didn't want to walk. Having someone carry you is so much easier and much more comfortable."

"So, I'm carrying you because you are lazy?" said Maria as she brought her arm around and picked Ridley up. She lifted him up and dangled him in front of her.

"Wow! You pick up fast," said Ridley, "mind putting me down? I got to find my shipmates. An over active coyote, a psychotic of chef, a dual-katana wielding Fishman, an iron golem, and a tattoo-riddled skeleton."

"Are you in a traveling circus or something?" asked Maria as she promptly dropped Ridley to the floor without any warning or care.

Ridley sat up and rubbed the back of his neck, "nope. We're pirates. I'm the first mate and musician."

"You are kind of weak for the first mate," said Maria as she began to continue down the path, "I feel sorry for the crew you are with."

"Eh," said Ridley with a shrug as he continued down the path, "I'm having an off day. If I was at my best I would've won besides at least half of the crew I'm with are weaker then me."

"Really?" asked Maria. Judging by Ridley's description of the crew none of them seemed like they would be weaker then this musician. He must be with some of the weakest people around if he is the strongest.

"Eurgh," said a random voice nearby from one of the rooms.

Ridley and Maria froze in the hallway. Maria brought both of her arms up in front of her and prepared to fight whoever it was. Even though despite the couple of months she had spent here that voice didn't sound familiar, but she wasn't about to waste any time. The room that the voice emanated from sounded like the infirmary. The door was shut and there was strong scent of blood coming from the door. She looked behind her, the musician, who was supposedly helping her was a couple of feet away. He wasn't scared, but he sure as hell wasn't preparing to fight. He looked like he was getting comfortable sitting with his back to the wall.

"Go ahead," said Ridley, "I'm not going to stop you."

Maria's turned her head away from the lazy lay-about and narrowed her eyes on the door. She leaned back and put all of her force into one single punch. She slammed her metal fist forcibly into the wall, sending the door flying off of its hinges and into the room. Maria gasped at the sight. A young man whose entire left arm was covered in a tattoo of a machinery was sitting up and next to him was one of the prison guards, the doctor. She was unaware of what happened, but she quickly brought her arms up and prepared for another punch.

"That was weird medicine," said Enma as he rubbed the hole that Gou's syringe left in him, "I thought it was supposed to knock me out for a longer time though…maybe I have a strong immunity to it? I highly doubt that." Enma looked over at Maria who was standing there looking at him. Enma jumped up to his feet. He opened up his hand and a large ivory spear quickly sprouted from it. "Who are you?"

Maria looked at the spear. It looked like it was made out of bone…she examined the young man before her once more. His tattooed arm and the weapon. A tattoo-riddled skeleton? Could this be one of the weird Mohawk guy's teammates? "Its polite to introduce yourself before asking someone else their name."

Enma chuckled. "Name is Trafalger Enma, doctor of the Infinity Pirates, Bone Man, and poker player extraordinaire."

"Maria Euthanatos," said Maria as she braced herself to either receive a punch or deliver a punch. She felt like edging out and asking Mr. Mohawk if this guy was his nakama, but she knew better then to turn her back on an opponent. "Are you friends with a man with a green Mohawk?"

Enma's muscles eased up. "Yeah," said Enma as he loosened up.

Maria smiled. "I ran into him. He's currently looking for the rest of his…crew." Maria still didn't fully believe that he wasn't in some sort of traveling circus.

"Where is he?" asked Enma, his muscles tensing back up. This woman was hiding something from him. He didn't believe her.

"Out in the hall," said Maria she walked over to the wall, keeping her eye trained on Enma. She banged on the wall, "HEY! Mr. Mohawk, get yer butt in here!"

"I'm a little busy at the moment," said Ridley.

Enma shook his head. He knew all too well that Ridley was probably doing absolutely nothing at the moment. As a matter fact more then likely he was just sitting outside the room strumming away at his guitar. "Ridley!" shouted Enma.

"Enma?" asked Ridley from his spot in the hall still not entering the room. "Is that you? Its good to see you!" Ridley still did not enter the room.

"Are you going to come in or am I going to have go out and get you?" asked Enma approaching the door.

"I'd prefer it if you came out," said Ridley, "I don't really feel like getting up at the moment."

"I say we leave him," said Maria with a steady and serious voice.

"I would love to," said Enma, "but the captain is not going to allow us to sail away without him despite what Sage wants."

"Speaking of the captain," said Ridley as he peeked his head around the corner, "have you bumped into Mikoto as of yet?"

"No," said Enma as he walked out of the room, followed by Maria, "he must be off doing other more important things."

(-with Mikoto-)

"Hmmm," said Mikoto in his beast form as he walked forward his nose straight up in the air, taking deep breaths. He wandered forward further, "I'm hungry."

**Primal Swordplay!**

**Beast of the Forest Versus Terror of the Sea!**

Sage's and Kentan's fight comes to a boiling point! Its really heating up! Prepare for a fight to the BITTER end! Did all of those puns get a RISE out of you? The rise is a reference to yeast for those of you who know nothing about cooking…or baking. Also, I'm sure many of you are happy to know that Enma, Ridley, Maria, and Mikoto are doing perfectly fine. Now the question is how are Hiro-Shu and Zesiro doing?


	74. RM Arc: 74 Primal Swordplay

**Primal Swordplay!**

**Beast of the Forest Versus Terror of the Sea!**

Zesiro surged forward his two swords meeting and parrying with the two blades with Daimyo's hands and they even managed to catch and stall the blade in Daimyo's mouth, seemingly holding off his attacks. Daimyo's tailed appeared, it was wrapped around another blade. Daimyo thrust it forward aiming beneath Zesiro's blades and at his underbelly. Zesiro pushed off of Daimyo's blades with his own sending him backwards and out of harm's way at least for a couple of seconds.

Daimyo brought his left foot upwards with another blade in tow aiming at Zesiro neck. Zesiro brought his blade up and parried with the deadly slash. Daimyo brought the rest of his body upwards and into the air doing a barrel roll in midair just bring his right foot around and bring the sword hammering into Zesiro's blade again. Zesiro stumbled backwards from the force, nearly being knocked off of his feet.

"**Monkey Emperor's Stance!" **shouted Daimyo as he twisted his body around to land on his hands. He was using pure upper body strength to stand on his hands and prepare to fight. His feet and tail in the air ready to launch another salvo of slashes.

The idea and practice behind Daimyo's Devil Fruit was certainly making him an interesting challenge for Zesiro. First off, him wielding six blades made him a Rokutoryu user, something Zesiro had only heard of octopus Fishmen being. The two blades in his hand, the two blades in his feet, and then a blade in both his mouth and tail. No matter how this guy landed on the ground, Zesiro would have to parry four or more blades. Zesiro brought both of his swords up and rested them both on his swords, parallel to each other. He eyed Daimyo, not leaving his stance.

Daimyo mouth twisted into as much of a smile as it could with the blade in there. He charged forward in a foolish almost awkward manner. He swung his right foot forward in a thrust. Zesiro brought both of his swords down on top of the blade sending it to the ground and further disrupting Daimyo's balance, then Zesiro brought both of his swords upwards climbing up the blade towards Daimyo's body. Daimyo's tail blade snaked down and blocked the blow holding Zesiro's sword at bay.

Daimyo flipped backwards and regained his balance on his two feet. Daimyo brought both of his blades out and in front of him. "Seems like you are not just a guppy in the big fish's pond, are you?" Daimyo straight both of his arms straight out and away from his body where he formed a cross.

Zesiro went down onto one knee, almost in a sprinting position if it wasn't for his two swords that were being held parallel to the ground and at his sides. "That's a bad analogy. I'm the shark in the lake, you are nothing more a drowning ape." Zesiro launched himself from his spot as he brought both of blades around aiming for two concise and clean swipes across Daimyo's chest.

"**Monkey Cymbals**!" Daimyo brought his two bladess inwards clamping them together on Zesiro's swords, Daimyo's superior strength holding Zesiro's swords in place. "**TAIL!" **Daimyo's tail once again sneaked forward at impressive speeds aiming for Zesiro. Zesiro tried to dodge to the left, but with his swords being held in place he couldn't put any really distance in between them. The blade in Daimyo's tail surged forward into Zesiro tossing him backwards. Zesiro's hands left his swords behind.

Daimyo separated his blades allowing Zesiro's swords to clatter to the ground. Daimyo looked down at Zesiro, who was desperately clutching his bleeding shoulder. Daimyo had a cruel and somewhat sadistic smile over it. He wasn't just doing his job trying to kill Zesiro, he was having fun while doing it.

"This is the greatest thrill," said Daimyo as he brought his foot down upon Zesiro's arm, squeezing the blood upwards and towards the wound. "Fighting to the death. Feeling the excitement, the thrill, the sheer adrenaline as you fight on the edge of life! Even one mistake could have your life taken or help you take the life of another. I hope you enjoy death!" Daimyo brought his blade up and plunged it downwards.

Zesiro reacted quickly. With his free hand he grabbed a hold of Daimyo's tail and dragged it forward. Quickly gripping the blade in his own hand and blocked Daimyo's downwards thrust with it. Zesiro then brought Daimyo's own tail back around into Daimyo's leg, sending him screeching like the howler monkey he was backwards. Zesiro didn't wait for Daimyo to recover from the wound. He was up and running towards his two swords.

Zesiro dipped down and grabbed a hold of his blade, skidding back and retaking his stance, ready to parry Daimyo's next ferocious attack. Daimyo's hand quickly traced over his own leg feeling it to see how badly damaged it was. It was good enough to stand on and walk with, but he was starting to doubt how long it would hold up if he had to run. He was too busy focusing on his injured leg, he had failed to notice Zesiro striking up a different stance. He had brought his two swords up and around his body.

"**Twin Thresher Shark Wave!" **Zesiro spun around and pointed both of his blades outwards towards Daimyo. His swords hammered into the air creating a wave of pure air that was sent flying through the room at Daimyo. The wave slammed into Daimyo creating a clean cut across his chest and throwing him backwards.

Daimyo cursed and huffed as he stood back-up. His calm green eyes vanished. They were replaced by menacing almost evil bloodshot eyes. His entire body lurched over, his arms and blades swaying by his sides. Blood dripping from both his chest and leg. He began to laugh. His howler monkey-like lungs echoing the laugh throughout the room.

"You almost got me," said Daimyo, "I mean two hits right in a row. One in my leg the across my chest. You are true swordsman! You are truly one of the few swordsman whose skills could possibly rival my own! With that being said I am fully obligated to kill you! To make sure you have the best fight you possibly could! THE BEST FIGHT TO YOUR DEATH! I will hold back nothing!"

"**Blade Jungle!" **Daimyo slammed his blade, thrusting it deep into the ground with his impressive strength. He jumped into the air and pressed himself against the blade, leaping from it and across the air past Zesiro. He slammed a second blade into the ground almost opposite from the previous blade. He leapt atop that blade. He jumped from that somersaulting across the field, barely sailing above Zesiro's head landing at another place away from both of his precious blade. He slammed a third blade into the ground. He repeated this process two more times slamming all, but one of his swords into the ground until the five blades he slammed into the ground formed a pentagon.

"I was perfectly fine with the background," said Zesiro as he looked around him at the blades sticking up out of the ground. "You didn't have to try so hard for a change of scenery."

"Oh," said Daimyo with a slick smile, "but I did. I told you I'd give you the best fight. And that's what I'm doing! I'm doing this all for you! All for the swordsman who wounded me!" Daimyo dashed on top of one of the blades balancing on top of it. His last sword in his left hand. "Its all necessary! I wanted to give you the proper send-off and this is the best way possible! **Hanuman's Call! Banquet for the Beast**!" Daimyo leaned back on the top of his blade, air feeling his lung as he let out a mighty howl. Daimyo leaned back on the blade, bending it backwards. He leapt from it, the hard steel catapulting him forwards towards Zesiro. He vanished in the air, reappearing on the blade opposite of him.

Zesiro twisted around to reface Daimyo. Daimyo remained stationary on the blade, his cocky grin present. "I see what you mean. If it wasn't for this technique, I'm afraid this fight wouldn't be any fun."

"That's what I want this fight to be like!" shouted Daimyo, "two men having a real fight! Let it begin!" Daimyo disappeared from his blade again, leaping forward. Zesiro brought his swords up to block, but he only felt a glancing and fleetingly short slash, before it was gone. Zesiro turned around just as Daimyo disappeared from the blade again, leaping forward with both improved speed and force. Daimyo's blade dragged across Zesiro's swords. Zesiro stumbled backwards loosing his balance from Daimyo's power.

Daimyo quickly leapt from his new blade again towards Zesiro. Zesiro brought his blades up and blocked the slash. Zesiro was forced backwards and onto the floor. His blades clattering out of control. Daimyo dashed and appeared on another blade. "Do you hear it?" asked Daimyo.

"Hear what?" asked Zesiro as he picked up his swords. He was hunched over and breathing heavily. His muscles were racing, first with Shion and now with Daimyo. His entire body was convulsing. This place was nothing like all of his previous homes. Days of training in and out, fights, and now today. Two times in one day he's been pushed to such extremes. Is this what the Grand Line is going to be like?

Daimyo smiled. "Your swords. They are screaming," he said as he hunched down and prepared for another strike, "I told you I was stronger then you and I am. So much stronger then you, my Douriki swallows yours. So far you have blocked every single one of my slashes with your swords, but I guarantee you…that will not last much longer."

Zesiro brought his swords up in front of him. "Let's see then."

Daimyo leapt from his position flying forward towards Zesiro. Zesiro brought one of his swords forwards catching Daimyo's blade. Zesiro felt Daimyo pressing against the blade the force sending him skidding backwards across the floor. Zesiro quickly brought his remaining sword upwards and into Daimyo's flesh. Daimyo didn't stop pressing forward though, his force continually applied onto the Zesiro's sword. Zesiro's arms tried to reapply the pressure and deflect the force, but he couldn't summon up enough strength.

Daimyo's blade wedged itself free and pass Zesiro's sword, digging into Zesiro's shoulder. The force from the slash forcing Zesiro backwards and tossing him helplessly to the ground. Zesiro collided with the ground. His swords wrenching themselves free from his hands and slid across the ground. Zesiro's eyes turned towards his two blades.

His first sword with the red blade and a light gray hilt was in one piece, but the blade was nicked up and down, it was damaged terribly. That blade was still usable. His second sword faired much, much worse. Its black blade was split down the middle, it had been basically cut in half. It was basically worthless in its current shape. Zesiro reached out and gripped his two blades, he was breathing heavily. He braced himself with his two swords as he stood up.

"You are not the swordsman I thought you were," said Daimyo, "a swordsman need to be perfectly in tune with his blades. A swordsman's sword is called an extension of his body for a reason. You cannot be an expert swordsman until you can hear their separate voices, I hear six different voices! All of them screaming at me to use them to shed your blood! They all want to feel it as they rip straight through your skin and organs!"

"Sorry," said Zesiro as he brought his remaining sword up in front of him. He put his broken black blade back into its sheath, "But I'm afraid your swords are going to have to wait to rip through my skin, cause I'm going to mow you down first." Zesiro rested both of his hands on his single remaining blade. His grip tightened on his sword as he prepared for another slash. Probably his last.

Daimyo smirked. He held his blade straight out in front of him preparing for another strike. Daimyo applied pressure onto the blade in the ground, as he prepared for another jump. "**Hanuman's Call! Carcass Cutter!" **Daimyo launched himself from his blade at high speeds swinging his sword widely as he neared Zesiro.

Zesiro brought his sword straight down upon Daimyo's blade using the muscles in both of his arms as a desperate last attempt to win. The additional pressure being applied to Zesiro's sword as it clashed with Daimyo blade proved to be vital. Daimyo stopped in his tracks and was forced to quickly defend himself from Zesiro's slash. Daimyo braced himself on the ground and quickly brought his other hand up behind his blade lending extra support to it. Zesiro wasn't relenting as he continued to apply pressure onto the his sword.

Zesiro cried out in pain. His hands went down to his chest where a different blade was promptly sticking out. Daimyo smiled. He backed away as he watched Zesiro collapse. While Zesiro was so busy focusing on the cutting through Daimyo's defenses and Daimyo himself, he didn't notice Daimyo's special appendage. His tail. His tail wrapped itself around another blade during the clash and quickly brought it around. He brought the new blade straight up and thrust it into Zesiro's chest.

Zesiro's eyes started to blur. Darkness began to cover the outside of his sights. He fell to the ground first just onto his knee, but eventually he completely collapsed his entire body splayed out on the ground. A small puddle of blood forming around him.

"Told you, it would be the best fight to your death you've ever experienced," said Daimyo as he returned his two blades to their sheaths. "And I thank you for giving me your all. It made this fight one to remember. I would love to sit and hold a wake for marvelous swordsman like you, but I got places to go and people to kill."

**A Smorgasbord of Fear and Pain!**

**With a Side Order of Sage!**

One of the hardest chapters to write if you ask me. Swordfights are not easy to write and Daimyo is insane. Anyways, with Zesiro's sword and spirit broken does he have the strength to get fight off death? Or will the Infinity Pirates lose another member? Anyways, I hope you are ready to read up on the next chapter! With Sage and Kentan about to brawl the fight promises to be one of the more interesting fights this chapter!


	75. RM Arc: 75 A Smorgasbord of Pain

**A Smorgasbord of Blood and Pain!**

**With a Side Order of Sage!**

"Fish, fish, fish," said Mikoto as he rifled through the kitchen. The place was quite large, bigger then the one on the ship. A couple of knocked over wine bottles, but those were of no interest to Mikoto. Mikoto continued to examine the contents of the large refrigerator. There was a bunch of miscellaneous foods gathered in there, but no fish. Mikoto sniffed through the fridge looking around through it, he tilted his head to the side as he pulled out a nicely sized slab of ribs.

"Not fish," said Mikoto as he pulled it out and sat it down on the table, "but it's a nice start." Mikoto delved, sticking his head back in the fridge searching for more food to eat. "I still want fish…maybe Sage knows where the fish is? Now where is Sage?"

(-with Sage-)

Sage was walking carefully throughout the jail. Many of the jail cells were swung open without a care in the world. Sage considered herself lucky, so far she hasn't seen a single prisoner. They all seemed to be on the lower floors, maybe they were on the higher floors. She was just thankful that they weren't on this floor. They would be making a ruckus and lead Kentan straight to her. She quickly dodged out into the corridor and was out of the filthy prison.

She took one more cautionary look behind before breaking into a run down the corridor. She just needed to find Zesiro, Mikoto, or Hiro-Shu. They'd be able to handle him no problem. Enma might be able to, too. She just needed to find one of those guys and she'd be home free.

Sage quickly rounded another corner. She disappeared once more and quickly found herself in a large empty room. Her hands instinctively went up to her mouth, the foul smell of blood filled the room. She stumbled back with disbelief at the smell. The disgustingly, disturbing smell. She continued onwards anyways, trying to put as much distance between her and Kentan as possible.

As she continued throughout the room, she saw a group of people all with weapons in their arms scattered on the ground. Each of them bleeding heavily. Some of them had swords and maces rammed through their bodies and embedded deeply into their skulls. Sage timidly approached the scattered bodies and examined them. Many of them were cut up and sliced, bleeding profusely. She didn't see a single Marine coat among them, so she guessed that they were the pirates that joined them, probably some of Zenmaru's men.

She walked about the bodies looking at each one with a mournful glance. She felt sorry for each of them, none of them will probably live. She's not a doctor, but she knew enough about medicine and fights to know that…decapitation…or a dent the size of her fist in the side of a man's skull…probably meant he was dead.

Sage crept around the dead bodies and stood on the other side of them. She began to back away and go out the door to avoid them once more, when she saw half of a black blade. She bent down and examined it. The black blade and the engraving on it. She noticed it was separated from the hilt of the blade. A clean and impressive swipe, she crouched down. She wondered about Zesiro, he had a blade like this.

She lifted the blade up and slid it into her pocket. She got up and began to walk back through the room towards a new exit, when she heard a pain-filled groan. The harsh and gruff groan that she heard almost every morning. The sound of her friend as he shifted out of bed when all he really wanted to do was lie back down in bed and sleep. When Zesiro wanted to sleep, but had to relieve Hiro-Shu of his duty. Or when Zesiro was training and overworked himself. Her eyes scoured the room in search of him or something that told her that he was here. She found it.

A bloody pile in the far left of the room. A gleaming white sword gripped in a light blue webbed hand. His arm was covered in a crimson streak. Beneath his body was a large pool of blood. He had holes in his shoulder, abdomen, and chest. Her hands, in a hyper sense of fear and anxiety, began to run across his body. They fell upon each hole as she examined them, fingering each hole. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small packet of napkins. She took them out and began to frantically dab them onto the wounds, trying to soak up some of the blood. She didn't know why she was trying to clean him up, maybe having blood spill over your body was bad for your body or something, she wasn't sure. She just didn't want to see Zesiro bleed. She needed Enma. Enma would be able to fix him up in a couple of seconds, have him back on his feet or something.

"I'm surprised a lady like yourself is in a rotten place like this," said Kentan as he emerged from the doorway. His large iron ladle strapped to his back. He wore a twisted smile on his face as he approached them.

Sage shot up and backed away. She was moving away from Zesiro as she kept her eyes trained on Kentan. Her eyes were wide as she watched him. Somehow he kept her trail, he was following her all the way up here.

Kentan approached Zesiro's dead body. He crunched down and examined the body, "I can't believe it. Do you actually feel pity for such a miserable slab of meat?" He looked up at Sage, like he was actually expecting an answer from her.

Sage swallowed loudly. Her mouth was suddenly dry. "He's…he's my nakama…and its not pity, its sorrow. He's my nakama and he's twice the man you'll ever be."

Kentan looked up at her. "You're kidding me? This half-fish beast should be killed, filleted, fried, and served with fries. With a small helping of tartar sauce on the side."

"What?" shouted Sage, "that better be a joke. A twisted, morbid, and terribly unfunny joke!"

"Why not?" asked Kentan as he stood up, "he's a beast. I eat pork, I eat beef, and I will eat fish. How is this pathetic mistake of nature any difference?"

"He's human!" shouted Sage, "he's my nakama! He's my friend! You are not allowed to touch him!"

"Who's going to stop me?" asked Kentan as he pulled his large ladle off of his back. "Surely not the yellow-livered chef standing other there. The poor precious little girl shaking in her apron."

Sage breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. She couldn't run now, she couldn't just leave Zesiro alone with this murderer, especially if he was still alive. She just needed to hold out, she needed to wait for Hiro-Shu or Mikoto. Until then she just had to stay alive and protect Zesiro.

Sage brought her hands up. Luckily the alcohol didn't seem to have as strong of an effect on her now, it must've been wearing off due to all of the running or something. It must be disappearing. She could concentrate, so she could win. First she just needed to apply some pressure to Kentan's ear.

Kentan lifted his foot up, brought he couldn't seem to bring it back down. The world around him started to spin. He was disorientated, he couldn't place his foot and regain his balance. He swung his large ladle out in front of him, using it to quickly throw his weight forward forcing his leg back down against the ground, therefore regaining his balance.

"Interesting," said Kentan, "what a unique…flavor. I never expected such a delicacy from you. I thought your powers were quite limited, but it seems like you got some real skills. I'm afraid, however, that you won't be besting me!" Kentan straightened his ladle out in front of him. He then dashed forward, the bulbous ladle charging straight forward towards Sage. Sage dove to the side and over the dead bodies, rolling across the ground. Kentan and his ladle came smashing forward into the wall, with power similar to a train.

The wall crumbled around Kentan as he pulled his iron ladle out of the wall and twisted about to face Sage. Sage bounced back up onto her feet. She dodged backwards avoiding a close encounter with Kentan's swinging ladle. Sage propped herself against the wall and prepared for another pressure burst. Kentan lurched forward as a sudden wave of pressure overcame him. His stomach gurgled as he leant forward. He opened his mouth and spewed.

"That's it?" asked Kentan as he straightened his back up. "A loss of balance, a little bit of pain in my leg, and I lose my lunch? Is that really the best you can do? You certainly do have such a long range of techniques, but if you can't even make me regret picking a fight with you it doesn't matter how many of those techniques you got." Kentan waved his large ladle back up into the air and then brought it back down with his impressive strength. The ladle destroyed the tiles sending multiple sharp shards of the floor up and around in a scattershot-like manner. Sage was tossed onto the ground and, despite bringing her arms up to block, was sliced into by the broken shards.

Sage tried to stand back up, but her bleeding arms and legs wouldn't easily support her weight. She was stranded on the ground for a few more minutes, she turned around and saw Kentan slowly approaching her. He was drawing this out. He knew that he outmatched her in terms of pure brute physical force and her abilities lacked the offensive means to take him out easily. Even applying the pressure straight to his head and rapidly increasing it wouldn't help her. Kentan knew of her abilities and had probably heightened his guard, he wouldn't stand still long enough for Sage to prepare and launch the attack.

Kentan quickly brought his large ladle up and above his head, preparing for another downward smash. Sage twisted around and onto her back. She launched another burst of pressure forward and into Kentan's leg. A slight grimace emerged on Kentan's face as the pressure reeked havoc in his leg, damaging it eternally. Kentan ignored the pain and brought his hammer-like ladle straight down once more. He looked down at where his victim was supposed to lay, but saw nothing.

Sage was quick. During that instant that Kentan felt the pain coursing through his leg and grimaced, Sage moved. She got rolled to the side to give her more room and jumped up to her feet. Kentan's strike simply smashed into the ground, he was in to much pain and too focused on the follow through of his smashing hammer-like blow, he didn't notice. Sage was now standing on her two legs ready to fight him.

Sage smiled. When she had gotten up she had positioned herself perfectly behind Kentan. His back exposed to her. His body hunched over, with his only means of protection embedded within the hard floor. His leg badly enough injured that a last minute dive to the side or pivot around with his ladle was impossible for him. He was in trouble and he knew it. His eyes were wide as he twisted his head over his shoulder to look back at his aggressor.

Sage lifted both of her hands up. She used her thumbs and index fingers to create a circle in the middle of them. She thought back to all of her fights. She remembered fighting Oz, Marx, Roger, and now Kentan. She wasn't a fan of fighting at all, but she had to admit that as a pirate it was moments like this that she relished in. The moment of victory. When your opponent accept his fate and you deal the finishing blow.

The pressure in the circle Sage's fingers created began to build, soon taking a solidified form. A small ball of incredible pressure. The pressure that would put even her head exploding trick to shame, but with how close it was to her and how simple it is to create she was able to make one in a matter of seconds rather then the long drawn out minutes it took to make someone head's explode.

"Let's go!" shouted Sage, "Fire! **Pressure Ball!"** The small, dense, high-pressured sphere shot from her hands flying towards Kentan. The ball hit like a condensed hurricane. All that air pressure was being applied in a single burst to a single point on Kentan's back. The force flung him from his place and across the room. He hammered into the wall, breaking throughout and flying into the next room. Sage smiled as she heard a second and third as he hit the wall and then fell to the floor.

Sage smiled at her latest victory. She had just taken out one of the strongest men in this building, no one could tell her she wasn't one of the strongest fighters on the ship now. Especially not that punk Ridley, she smiled and flicked her hair out of her face. She couldn't wait to tell the others! Wait! Zesiro! Sage dashed over to Zesiro's side and quickly began checking his pulse and other signs of life. He was still breathing, but each breath was ragged and drawn out. He didn't seem to be in such great shape, whoever did this to him had to be incredibly powerful. She doubted even Mikoto could do something like this to someone…

Sage couldn't even finish her thought. A large pure iron ladle came smashing into her face twisting her around as she landed awkwardly on her arm. She looked up at her attacker. Kentan was smiling brightly. His body was bruised and he was breathing heavily. But he was still standing and carrying his large ladle. He walked awkwardly, too, he favored his right side. He didn't want to put any extra weight on his injured leg.

"At first I thought you were genius," said Kentan as he lifted his hand up to his nose, "that attack had such impact, such a strong and intense flavor. Surely a unique delicacy…but then you forgot the one of the cardinal rules of combat…always make sure your opponent is down for good before you ignore him."

**The Delicacy of Defeat!**

**And the Sweet Taste of Victory!**

First off, I just want to say that I'm sorry for the increasingly slow update speed. I recently started college and college eats away at my free time. So, less free time means less writing time. Oh, well…what can a student do? Now onto my rant for this chapter!

TADA! Another chapter down. I'm great, aren't I? Anyways, despite Sage's new and powerful move, Kentan remains undeterred. His strength still incredible and resolution unstoppable, he may just be one of the biggest threats to the Infinity Pirates yet! With Zesiro out of commission, Mikoto on the search for food, and the rest of the Infinity Pirates busy with their own problems how will Sage get out of this mess?

P.S. Chapter 75! That's only like a quarter away from Chapter 100! How has the crew managed to avoid killing each other for almost 100 Chapters?


	76. RM Arc: 76 The Delicacy of Defeat!

**The Delicacy of Defeat!**

**And the Sweet Taste of Victory!**

Sage stumbled back onto her feet, but she was forced to keep one hand on her side at all times in order to dull the pain. She squeezed it tightly, it felt like some of her bones were knocked loose from Kentan's strike and she wanted desperately to put them back into their place to get rid of the pain and be able to continue this fight. But with the pain searing through her, she doubted that she could keep it up. Kentan's strikes hit as hard and nearly as fast as a locomotive.

Kentan kept his eyes trained on Sage. His body was in worse shape then hers was, but he continued on. Despite the wounded leg, the sick smell on his breath, and the wounded back he had all obtained from this one fight against a girl about half his size, he didn't seem fazed. "Are you going to get out of the kitchen, mon cherie? Leave the cooking to the real chefs and the battling to the real fighters?"

Sage simply looked upwards at him. Her entire body ached and she wanted to drop dead and give up, but…Zesiro. Zesiro was still lying in the corner of the room, with wounds Sage could never withstand in her wildest fantasies and, yet, Zesiro was still alive. He was still alive and still clinging to life, fighting against death with the little strength he had left. Sage slowly removed her hand from her side as another wave of pain hit her, but she didn't falter. If Zesiro chose to continue to fight with wounds like that, then a 'minor' pain in her side wouldn't stop her.

She brought both of her hands up and in front of her. She gritted her teeth and focused. Another small sphere of pure pressure began to form in her body. She was having troubles concentrating though on creating the small ball of pressure due to the pain in her side, that she wasn't doing it was fast. Before she whipped one together in a matter of seconds, but this one was taking much longer. Too long.

Kentan rushed forward with his large ladle. He swung it wide, aiming for Sage's already damaged side. Sage let go of the pressure ball, letting it disappear back into thin air as she dove to the side, barely avoiding contact with the iron hammer-like utensil. Kentan quickly adjusted his attack and swung his weight around lifting the ladle back up and down with enough force to smash it into the earth and deliver devastating results.

Sage looked to her side, where the ladle was embedded into the concrete. She was lucky, apparently the pain surging through Kentan's body and, more importantly his leg, was throwing his concentration off as well. He couldn't aim as well as he used to and that threw his ladle a couple of inches to the side, missing Sage. Kentan quickly lifted the large ladle back up, an effort that only managed to hurt him more. The weight of his ladle combined with his damaged back brought on a whole new wave of pain to his body. He would have to try to avoid downward smashes as much as possible, lifting his large ladle back into the air put too much stress on his back.

Kentan twisted around and brought his ladle around him in a sweeping motion, forming a twister with his iron weapon, knocking everything within quite a few feet of him down. Sage hit the dirt once more and felt his hammer swing over her and the draft from it lift her hair up and away from her body.

Sage cowered on the ground for a few more precious seconds as Kentan tried to regain his balance. His injured leg was causing him a lot of problems now. Most his swings put pressure on his legs in order to perform the huge turns and pivots necessary to put that much momentum behind them. He needed to end this fast before Sage noticed. He brought his ladle back up and brought it straight up until it was parallel with his body. He then swung his body forward bringing his ladle around with a golfing motion and incredible strength guaranteed to smash skulls if it ever came in contact with a person.

Sage dove forward once again in a clumsy manner, barely avoiding the swift and incredibly potent swing. She was still writhing in pain from her side and she was debating about whether or not she could even bring her body to a standing position. She spared a quick glance over her shoulder at Kentan. He was breathing heavily, he was wearing himself out. Not only was he standing on a damaged leg, but he had been swinging that large mallet-like weapon around for the entire fight. Not to mention the fact that he had to chase Sage around the Marine Base while lugging it with him.

Kentan charged forward once more in a desperate attempt to smash Sage with his large hammer. His strength carried him forward and at Sage. Sage reacted as quickly as she could she increased the pressure in Kentan's eardrum. Kentan quickly tilted to the side his entire body being thrown off balance as he began to fall to the ground. He picked up his ladle and tossed it using impressive aim and strength. The ladle sailed through the air and eventually smashed into Sage sending him skidding back eve further across the room with it.

Sage cried out in pain as the hard tiled floor burned into her due to the friction. She rolled over onto the front and tried to lift herself off of the ground, but the pain in her side once again coursed through her and sent her back crashing into the ground. She looked over at Kentan who was currently lying flat against the floor as well.

Kentan let out a heavy breath as he lifted himself up and off of the ground. He was soon back onto his feet. Sage cursed loudly. Apparently it was impossible to keep this guy down. Kentan walked forward, "back to those weak attacks? What's the matter? That previous attack only whetted my appetite. I'm hungry for more! I want another attack with that same potent flavor, that same kick. I mean if that was the main course…I'm wanting a desert of an equal rich flavor."

Sage rolled over onto her back to face Kentan. "You want it? Then here! You can have it!" She began concentrating once more, focusing the pressure into her hands to create a devastating attack. She flinched as the pain coursed through her, she couldn't focus enough. Where her last ball was about the size of a baseball this one wasn't even the size of her thumb. She couldn't focus long enough to create one of the same size and this one wasn't strong enough.

Kentan chuckled to himself as he gripped Sage's hair and pulled sharply back on it. Sage yelped as her head was forced back along with her hair, causing her to lose the small ball that she did have. She went from almost nothing back to nothing. She was out of options. This guy was nothing like her previous fights, he was nothing like the rest of her crew. That attack sent him flying such an incredible distance that even Zesiro would've been knocked out from it. But Kentan continued his stance he was still going strong and powerful, even without his weapon.

Kentan lifted Sage up to her feet and into the air, dangling her just inches off of the ground. Sage grunted as the pain in her side was steadily coming back, not to mention the new pain in her head from Kentan constant pulling and lifting on her hair. "There is no place for you in the Grand Line!" Kentan twisted around and tossed Sage back to the ground. "You are nothing more then a weak and frail little girl!" Kentan launched a swift kick into Sage's stomach, sending her backwards across the floor.

Kentan wiped his hair out of his eyes and he smiled, "Your crew keep getting into fights and you keep fighting alongside them like you are their equal, but you are not. That fish-guy back there may be nature's #1 mistake, but he's stronger then you, that 'Coyote Kid' better then you! The Iron Golem is better then you! Every single person on your crew is better then you. And, yet, you fight with them anyway. Honestly, they should've kicked you out as soon as they got their bounties."

"Not everyone on our crew is better then me," said Sage as she tried to catch her breath, "My bounty is pretty high for someone who shouldn't fight!"

"High in the East Blue is low in the Grand Line," said Kentan, "besides the only reason you got such a 'high' bounty is because of your Devil Fruit. Every other person on the crew got their bounties through hard work, sure, some of them got Devil Fruit powers, too, but I have a question for you. Would they all be on the ground right now struggling to breathe?"

Sage lifted her head up and looked back over at Zesiro. A bloody mess, but still struggling for life. He was struggling with holes in him and broken bones supporting him. The first time she met Mikoto he took a stab into the gut for her…Hiro-Shu was tough as iron…even Enma had impressive endurance from what she had seen. The only thing she could brag about was the fact that she could beat Ridley…and what kind of glory is that?

Sage breathed heavily as she pushed up against the floor, bringing her back up to her feet. The pain surged through again and her knees felt like they should've buckled beneath her, but she didn't let them. She brought herself up to her own two feet and prepared to continue the fight, "no, and I'm not going to either."

Kentan spun his ladle around in a circle on his hand as he prepared for another strike. "Still hanging on to some hopeless dream are we? I guess as a form of respect from chef to chef, the least I can do is let you eat until the last desert is served." Kentan charged forward, his mallet straight out in front of him plowing the way as he ran behind it.

Sage jumped to the side, her legs frantically trying to maintain her weight, but she moved just in time to see Kentan surge past her. Originally, Sage would've thought this was a big enough distance, but the force of Kentan's charge created a powerful back draft that whipped all around her and knocked her down to the ground. Kentan smiled as he turned around back at Sage, a cruel and mocking smile on his face. "I believe it is time for you to pick-up the check. The cost? Your lif…" Kentan was stopped short.

A large pure white blade had been driven from his back all the way through to his front, it jutted a good couple of inches out and into the air. Sage stared up at Kentan, who simply stared down at the sword, dumbfounded and surprised. Behind Kentan, stood…or kneeled, Zesiro.

Zesiro was on one knee, the other leg supporting most of his weight. His eyes were half-closed and he was bleeding everywhere over himself. His grip on the sword was loose, and his head was fuzzy. Behind him was long trail of blood that he made as he got up and moved to get closer to Kentan. His mouth was open in a half-smile, but blood was trailing out of his mouth, slowly.

"Zesiro!" gasped Sage staring at his gaping wounds and holes. He must've dashed over here in order to get to her in time, but he still wasn't in any shape to move. He was in such a bad shape, that it would've been hard to move even a finger, much less his legs.

Kentan swung around and brought his elbow into the side of Zesiro's face. Kentan pivoted around and faced Zesiro. "The lowly fishman!" shouted Kentan as he reached behind him with his free hand and yanked the sword free. "You dare to lay a hand on me!" Kentan lifted his foot up and brought it down with fury upon Zesiro's skull. Zesiro tried to let out a yell in pain, but his body was so torn up on the inside it wouldn't let him.

Kentan brought his other foot downwards onto Zesiro's chest. Blood squirted from his wounds. Zesiro kept his teeth gritted against each other in a desperate attempt to dull the pain. "I should've served you with tartar sauce the first second I saw you! You pathetic! Worthless! Insignificant!"

"Hey, Kentan!" shouted Sage interrupting him.

Kentan turned around and saw Sage with both of her hands forming a circle with the thumbs and forefingers. A small ball of pressure the size of tennis ball was in the middle of it. "I'm pretty sure it was you who said 'always make sure your opponent is down for good before you ignore her'. **Pressure Ball!" **The small ball flew out of Sage's hand and at Kentan. The ball collided with his chest, in the same area as Zesiro's sword was driven into. Kentan screamed as the ball ripped into him and threw him back. The ball, spinning began to enlarge the size of the sword wound in his chest, making it bigger and bigger. All the meanwhile, Kentan was thrown backwards and into another wall. The wall collapsed and shattered, covering Kentan with large chunks of rubble.

Sage kept her eyes trained on the large pile of rubble. "Please…just stay down…please…" Her energy was waning, a couple more minutes of a fight like that would probably exhaust her. The large pile of rubble, didn't move. It didn't even make a sound. Sage finally dropped her hands to her side, with a smile on her face. She won.

**Rebelling Against the World!**

**Taking Down the Authorities!**

Zesiro is still alive so you guys can all let out that collective breath you've been holding. He's come to the rescue and saved Sage's life and then she turned around and returned the favor. But Kentan's inhuman strength made it difficult getting hit with a pressure ball, stabbed with Zesiro's sword, and other minor wounds and he was still strong enough to fight. Anyways, the mystery of the Marine Base still hasn't been solved. Jugo is still running rampant within the building killing Marines and looting the place. Plus Mikoto still doesn't know where the fish is!

Also, OC creators take out your typing gloves and put on your thinking caps. As I have a very unique request. I need Shichibukais! Powerful beings of unmatchable powers! Make them as strong as you feel is necessary (within reason, please). But I'm open to any ideas you guys have! I will probably introduce a Shichibukai of my choice after this arc, so you better get typing! (If you already submitted a Shichibukai there is no need for you to submit a new one).


	77. RM Arc: 77 Taking down the Authorities

**Rebelling Against the World!**

**Taking Down the Authorities!**

Mikoto gathered his nice little pirate lunchbox and hoisted it onto his shoulders. It was small only a couple of sandwiches (none of them tuna, to his disappointment), some leftover fries, and a bottle of juice. He morphed into his coyote form and began to head out. His eyes trained straight ahead of him as he left. His lunchbox strapped safely to his back in case of an emergency.

The kitchen was a nice place and had a pretty good variety of seats to eat at, but he figured he'd better move out and find the rest of his crew. Hopefully, the Marines were too busy fighting with the Revolutionaries that they didn't pay any mind to the pirates running wild. Mikoto looked back behind him at the kitchen, it saddened him to leave so much food behind, but he had already set his mind at finding his crew.

He wondered about the plan, though. The plan to get through Reverse Mountain originally relied on Henry to open the gates using some kind of Marine password…well, Renvont put a stop to that plan. Mikoto sighed. He was out of luck, not unless Ridley knew some kind of password that would make everything better. Maybe he should head up to the control room anyways, worse comes to worse, he'd just kick the darn the system. That seemed to work with most things.

He saw the staircase in front of him and quickly began to wander up it. The place should be at the highest point. He was pretty sure the gate was at the top of Reverse Mountain in order to make it where a ship would gain speed and then crash into the gate and be blown to a million pieces…he shivered at the thought of that happening to his crew. Especially, since about half of the crew were Devil Fruit users…and then Hiro-Shu weighed about 1000 pounds, so he would drown with them. Ridley and Zesiro would live…and then Zesiro would probably kill Ridley…

Mikoto sighed as he kept his head low and headed through the Marine Base. He looked about him every so often to make sure no guards or Revolutionaries with swords were charging at him, but from what he could tell most of them had been wiped out. The few Marines he did see were laying on the ground with devastatingly powerful chops to them, they were reminiscent of what he saw when you chopped wood. Large ugly gashes.

The Revolutionaries he saw were just about as bad off. Large multiples sword slashes ripped through their bodies, some of them were missing arms and legs, while others were a couple of feet away from their heads. It was like something you'd hear a Shichibukai doing…maybe even a Yonkou. He pushed that thought out of his head. He'd love to fight a Shichibukai…but not right now…maybe after he eats his lunch and finds his crew…but not right now.

Mikoto's nose pricked up. The smell of blood was becoming fresher…At the bottom of the stairs, the blood and the bodies seemed to have been killed a couple of hours ago, but here…the Marines laying about him, smelled as if they had just been torn apart by a massive axe. The smell sickened Mikoto. Mikoto quickly morphed back into his hybrid form, the smell was still there, but it was less intense. He was thankful for that as he trudged on through the halls.

He stopped at the top floor. A quick whiff in the air told him that whoever was up here was still killing and was doing a pretty damn fine job at it. Mikoto trudged forward carefully trying to avoid making any noises that could tip the killer off. He couldn't explain why but there was a heavy fog in the air…like the presence of death itself.

Mikoto peered around the corner. There was a single man standing amidst plenty of bodies lying about the ground. He had on a black trench coat with red shorts underneath. He had no hair on his head, which made his red eyes the most prominent feature on his face. There was some kind of green liquid oozing from his hand. Mikoto quickly ducked back behind the wall. He remembered this man from the ship with Henry. His name was Slash Calico, an acid man. He took another quick peek around the corner, this time he focused on the green liquid dripping from the man's hands. The man looked intense.

He kept his eyes trained in front of him. The large steel door behind him had a large sign above it, but it was torched from Slash's acid and therefore illegible. Mikoto quickly ducked back behind the wall. Mikoto's ears perked back up as he heard the metal door open. He peeked back around the corner.

Slash was joined by a second man. He was big and imposing. Mikoto first mistook him for a Marine due to his coat, but he was wrong. His coat was a Marine coat, except it was black instead of white. Then his Marine hat had a purple raven on it rather then a blue seagull.

"Jugo!" said Slash as he quickly went down to one knee to show his respect. "How goes everything."

"We need to get out," said Jugo. "Apparently, we spent too much time here. A special alarm was triggered and a group of Shichibukai's is coming."

"A group?" asked Slash surprised, "there's never been a group of Shichibukai convening at any place other then Marine Headquarters or Marjories!"

"The codeword for a Shichibukai when I was in the Marines was Tsunami. And according to the radio they have stationed in here three Tsunami's are headed for Reverse Mountain to 'stop' any and all interference. And I'm afraid we are the interference. Quickly gather your men and get out, I'll be heading out now. Can't afford to get caught while my plan is this close to completion. The gates are opened and will remain open, just get ready to get out."

"And the other crew?" asked Slash. "The pirate crew that for some reason ended up tagging along." Mikoto quickly ducked back behind the corner. Did they know he was here? Was his cover blown?

Jugo looked down the same hallway that Mikoto was in. Jugo looked more impatience then interested in what was down the hallway though. "I don't care. Do whatever you feel is necessary. Kill them, let them go, or you can frame them for this. Set them up and let them take the fall with the government for destroying this entire building. I'm leaving now. Meet me at the regular rendezvous point." Jugo lifted his large halberd off of his back and thrust it up at the ceiling breaking it down. He leapt upwards and into the air, through the hole. With that Jugo was gone.

Slash smiled. He turned his head over to the wall that Mikoto was hiding behind. The same green acid that was coating his hand before quickly covered it again. "**Acid Curtain." **He lashed out sending a large wave of the green acid over at the wall. Mikoto quickly dove to the side barely avoiding the large wave of green acid as it devour the wall with a single impressive blast. "Eavesdropping are we?"

"Uh," said Mikoto with an unsure chuckle, "no?"

Slash bowed his head and shook it. "Its easier to set a crew up with for a frame job if they don't know if they are getting framed."

"Yeah," said Mikoto, "I agree." Mikoto quickly looked back over at the extra-crispy wall. "I think Renvont's division would be fun to frame."

Slash furrowed his eyebrows out of impatience. "I prefer it if the Revolutionaries were kept out of the paper for the time being. A lone attack on the Marine Base done by the Infinity Pirates sounds good…"

"It would be more believable if I was alive, don't you think?" asked Mikoto making a quick joke.

"No," said Slash, "I mean in order to become a front page story, I think the death of the captain would be necessary. Otherwise pirates will see it as an invitation. Pirates attacked the strongest Marine Base and all of them lived…the Marines will never publish something like that. As a matter of fact the Marines have an entire floor in Impel Down dedicated to keeping people out of the paper. Gruesome stories that should never see the light of day are covered up and the masterminds are withheld within Level 6."

"Can't say I've heard of it," said Mikoto with a chuckle.

Slash began to grow more impatient, the green liquid changed to a light blue acid dangling from his finger tips. "So childish." He stretched his arm out and aimed it at Mikoto, "**Acid Serpent." **The acid stretched out from his hand flying towards Mikoto. Mikoto morphed into his beast form and began to run to the side to avoid the serpent-like stream of acid. To Mikoto's amazement, the stream of acid quickly turned and began to chase after him. Mikoto dodged to the left, the torrent of acid turned to the left. When Mikoto ran to the right, the deluge of acid followed him to the right. There was no escape from a such a unrelenting acidic stream.

Mikoto quickly turned and began to run towards one of the rooms. Despite the acid never losing sight of him or even wavering for a second in its chase, it wasn't all too fast. And it was especially not as fast as Mikoto. Mikoto's superior canine-like legs really helped him run faster then the pursuing river of acid on his tail. Mikoto dove into the room and quickly rolled backwards pushing the doors backwards and into the doorway blocking the wave of acid from advancing. Mikoto cringed as he heard the acid splash against the door.

Mikoto slowly opened his eyes and checked the door behind him. It was still standing. He smiled the door must be made of some kind of super wood! He had just seen Slash's acid burn through a stone wall, but this wooden door has remained strong. Mikoto smiled as he heaved the door off of its hinges. "It looks like I found something that your acid can't melt through."

Slash chuckled to himself softly. "Just my blue acid. Natural acids have a varying level of acidity, this goes for my Devil Fruit created acid as well. Blue acid isn't nearly my strongest," said Slash. Green acid slowly crept over his hand blanketing it in a deadly glove. Slash slowly pressed his hand against the wall. The wall sizzled at his touch sending his hand straight through the wall, "the sad thing is neither is green."

Mikoto swallowed hard. He spared a look over at his precious "acid-proof" door. He shrugged and chucked it at Slash, the large wooden slab sailing through the air at the aged man. "**Acid Sickle." **His acid began to jump from his skin forming a large pole, then the acid curved forward forming a sharp blade. He brought his new weapon straight down through the flying door. The acid burning straight through it without stopping once. As Slash looked in front of him, he noticed that the young hybrid was gone from his spot.

"**Wolf Cutter!" **shouted Mikoto as he came up from behind Slash. Slash wasn't even able to turn around in time to see Mikoto and his claws arcing upwards with superior speed and strength. Acid exploded from Slash's body covering a small radius around, but it was enough to force Mikoto backwards and away from Slash's body. Mikoto grunted. A failed attempt at an attack and from the looks of Slash's power, there was going to be a whole lot more.

(-With Sage-)

Sage had Zesiro up and was barely managing to walk with his weight on her. "Don't worry, Zesiro," said Sage with a calm smile, "we'll get you to Enma in no time and then he'll patch you up in no time."

"Uh-huh," muttered Zesiro, barely conscious.

"Just focus on living," said Sage, "I promise you. No matter what happens I'll make sure that you stay alive, okay Zesiro?" Zesiro remained quiet, "Zesiro?" his feet began dragging across the floor. "Zesiro!"

A quiet gurgle was her answer as Zesiro managed to lift his head in response, but his words were unable to form.

"Stay alive!" shouted Sage, "without you I'd be on a ship of nutcases! Hiro-Shu excluded, but he doesn't talk to me. He doesn't talk to most people, though."

Zesiro smirked, "I won't leave you then, but I think…I think…I think I'm going to take a quick…nap."

"Naps are okay," said Sage, "as long as you don't die!"

"Do me a favor, Sage," said Zesiro, "stop talking about me dying."

**The Acidity of the Revolutionaries!**

Slash, the missing Revolutionary, has shown his face and is hell-bent on framing the Infinity Pirates and destroying as much of the Marine Base as he can. And from the looks of his Devil Fruit powers, he can…oh, yes, he can. If that wasn't enough, Jugo's plan is just more weight on the crew! Not to mention the incoming Shichibukais and Zesiro's possible death! Is it going to be too much for the crew to handle?


	78. RM Arc: 78 The Acidity of the

**The Acidity of the Revolutionaries!**

Slash turned around to face Mikoto. Slash's entire body was still dripping with acid from his last attack. Mikoto was stuck. A man whose entire body could burn him from the slightest amount of physical contact. How was he supposed to win? There are no swords lying about for him to pick up and attack and if he did how would he used it? There was only one thing that he could. Mikoto took another deep breath as he charged.

Slash lifted his arm up and pointed his palm out at Mikoto. Another serpent composed of acid stretched from it, except this serpent was composed of green acid. An acid that Slash had previously used to burn through the stone walls of the Marine base. The serpent spiraled over and was surging towards Mikoto. Mikoto stopped in his track and made a quick 180 and began to dash away from the persistent snake.

The coyote human hybrid quickly dashed behind another door, slamming the door close behind him, but he didn't stop at he continued to run away from the door, desperate to put as much distance between himself and the deadly burning liquid that chased him. The acid serpent ran headfirst into the door, burning a bright green hole into it briefly before it burst through the door and sailed into the room. Mikoto dodged to the left. The acid serpent didn't turn to face him, though, it continued on a straight line straight into the computers in the front of the room.

Mikoto stayed crouched against the wall, breathing heavily. The acid didn't he follow him into the corner it just continued straight onwards. He was missing something about this acid. But he didn't want to risk his life to figure out what it was, he'd rather get the jump on Slash while he thought he was dead.

Slash's life filled the room, "I know you are not dead. So don't even try to pretend. My acid serpent is deadly you are lucky that you dodged it. I bet that you are wondering how it missed, aren't you?"

"Yeah," said Mikoto from his spot in the corner, refusing to move in a strange belief that the corner repelled acid.

"There you are!" shouted Slash as he pumped his hand forward in the direction that Mikoto's voice came from. Another deadly stream of acid burst from Slash's hand. The green river splashed into and through the wall, burning a hole into it, as it cascaded onto the over side. Mikoto dove to the side avoiding it again. Mikoto turned around as he saw the acid make a wide turn and reposition itself surging towards him. Mikoto ducked down and smirked as the acid sailed above him by pure luck.

Mikoto quickly scrambled to the side of the room. He was missing something. Acid must've down something to redirect its angle that time. It only seemed to follow him under certain circumstances. Mikoto looked around. Slash was on the other side of the wall, thankfully that was separating them for the time being. Mikoto took a quick whiff of his surroundings, he was trying to pinpoint Slash, but the smell of acid and melting metal seemed to be overpowering any other scent. He remembered Acid's scent from their first meeting, he reeked of barbecue sauce…not that there is anything wrong with that compared to what some other people smell like barbecue sauce was a welcomed scent.

"What's the matter doggy?" mocked Slash as he looked over at the wall and through the two holes his acid had burned into them. He was trying to find Mikoto. "Having trouble beating a Revolutionary?"

Mikoto breathed heavily with his back to the wall and a homicidal acid man on the other side of it, he was starting to feel like he was out of options. He probably was. A Zoan-Type Devil Fruit bestows improved power, speed, and stamina, among other useful amenities like claws and fangs, but none of that does him any good if Slash just erupted with another blast of acid.

Mikoto scoured his mind for anything that could be useful at this point. Any acid-proof substances. But he couldn't think of anything…his thoughts kept drifting back to his lunch. He thought about sneaking a bit or two while Slash was playing the snake trying to hunt the mouse down through the fields, but somehow he doubted that would save him.

"I don't have all day!" shouted Slash as he erupted another stream of acid that hosed a door down into nothing, but a small billow of steam. "Didn't you hear the boss? Three Shichibukai's are on the way here! They are going to come here and take you down! I'm doing you a favor, if I kill you, you won't have to rot in jail with the rest of your pathetic friends."

"I'd like to see a Shichibukai try to take Hiro-Shu or Zesiro down," shouted Mikoto as he dove to the side. Another blast of acid came spouting from Slash's hand as it burned the wall down again. "I bet they already took down the rest of your crew. Zenmaru…" Mikoto dove avoiding another blast of acid, "Henry…" Mikoto escaped another blast of acid, "I'd bet even Renvont is crying in a corner after a run-in with my crew." Mikoto knew that two of them were already out of commission, though what happened to Zenmaru was still unknown.

Slash wandered over to the room. He peered over into the room. "**Leg Whip!" **Mikoto jumped up and brought his straight up and back down into Slash's neck. Slash toppled over into the room as Mikoto dashed out of there. Slash got up and stretched his shoulders as he looked down the hallway at Mikoto's disappearing figure.

"Sneak attack, really?" said Slash, "I guess it makes sense. If you do anything else, I'll just take you down with another acid burst. I'll just be more careful from here on out." Acid began leaking from his hand and onto the ground. "**Acid Serpent!" **shouted Slash. A long blast of acid stretched from his hand and down the hallway. Mikoto turned to the side and disappeared into another room. The acid turned to the side and burnt into the room.

Slash walked calmly down the hallway. Acid completely coating his skin protecting him from any possible sneak attack. "Mikoto? You alive? Or are you a dead doggy? Hmm…" Slash reached for one of the doors, but quickly having second thoughts outstretched one of his acid-coated arms. The acid soon began to gradually cover itself again and again until it form a large bulbous needle, like those seen on a scorpion's tail. "**Acid Scorpion." **The bulbous needle shot out of his hand and into the door, burning a fist size hole into it and knocking it down from the force. Slash walked in. The room was empty besides the couple of burn marks his acid had already caused. Slash chuckled to himself quietly as he left the room.

The sound of furious footwork sounded behind him. Slash pivoted in place sending another Acid Scorpion outstretching itself and burning into the wall again. Slash breathed heavily as he looked at the ruined wall, no human remains of any sort. Mikoto was still alive and he was still out there. Slash turned his head around in search of the fleet footed coyote, but couldn't see anything asides from the empty hallway.

"You can't hide from me," said Slash, "I'm professionally trained. And what are you? A pathetic hybrid? Asides from that Devil Fruit, boy, what other talents do you have?"

"I'm pretty darn good at riddles," said Mikoto peeking his head out of one of the rooms. Slash turned his scorpion's tail down the hallway and fired. The tail burned across the wall aiming at Mikoto's head, but Mikoto quickly recoiled back into the room just in the nick of time.

"Talented at riddles are you?" said Slash as he calmly walked down the room towards the room he saw Mikoto's head poke out of, "I've collected a few throughout my journey. Want to hear them?"

"Sure," said Mikoto. He didn't peek out of the room this time, but remained within it and out of Slash's sight.

Slash was on the edge door way, his green acid dripping from his hand. "I believe it was 'Weight in my belly, trees on my back, nails in my ribs, feet I do lack'… any ideas!" shouted Slash as he burst into the room and shot acid in a straight line through it burning another hole into the wall. Slash looked into the room, but found nothing. He turned to his side and noticed a small door to the side. Slash smirked to himself as he walked over to the door, another pirate captain dies at the hands of a Revolutionary. If only he could collect the bounty money, he would be rich. He pressed his hand against the door. "**ACID CURTAIN!" **A large wave of acid exploded from Slash's hand engulfing the door as well as some of the wall next to it.

Slash brought his hand down and smiled at his handiwork. If Mikoto was in there, there would be absolutely no way to tell now. The room was completely destroyed. Nothing laid there any more, no door, no hinges, no wall. It was as if the closet never existed, but instead had a crude opening to the room next door. Slash smiled. The acid coating his skin disappeared back into his pores, disappearing back where it came. "He was hardly worth 25 million belies."

"It's a ship!" shouted Mikoto. He was apparently hiding up in the ceiling sitting on the protruding pipes of the Marine Base to balance himself up there. Then using one of the pipes to swing, he swung with his legs outstretched and sent both of his feet slamming into Slash's back sending him tumbling forward into the acidic marsh he had just created. "Oh, crap!" shouted Mikoto as he rushed over to the acidic marsh where Slash was just thrown into. "You're an acid man so you can't die from acid, right?"

"Correct!" shouted Slash as he swung out using an scythe composed of acid, trying to decapitate Mikoto once again, but Mikoto quickly dodged backwards and watched the scythe glide inches in front of him.

"Phew," said Mikoto, "after all I need to know if I'm correct before I go knocking you out right?"

"If you are correct about what?" asked Slash as he looked Mikoto in the eyes.

"The riddle," said Mikoto with his same dumbfounded look. "The whole 'nails in my ribs, feet I do lack' riddle. The answer is a ship, right?"

Slash sighed, "yes, you are correct. Are you really thinking about a riddle at a time like this?"

"Of course," said Mikoto as he began to stretch his arms, "I mean, fighting is pretty easy, but riddles are a little more complicated. I mean come on with fighting all you need it a gun and a sword. Riddles require a little bit more thought."

"You are going to need more then a gun and a sword to beat me!" shouted Slash as he brought his arm out. The previous green acid that Slash was using for his Acid Sickle began to change colors. "You want to a good riddle? What's going to be burnt to a crisp with a trail of nothing remaining due to deadly chemical burns?"

"I really hope the answer isn't what I think it is," said Mikoto.

"You." The acid on Slash's arm was a brilliant bright crimson.

(-With Ridley, Maria, and Enma-)

"So, this is what your party is like?" said Maria as she marched down the hallway following Enma.

"Not all of them," said Ridley as he watched the psychopathic doctor from behind. The first thing he did when he met Maria was bow down and pray to Lucifer to bless their friendship? Was that a good or a bad thing? Not to mention that now he was walking away from the local doctor's office with a hand-full of medical supplies. "Any idea on where we are going?"

"Seeing as how we are trying to find Mikoto," said Enma as he bent down and examined the bracelets on one of the unconscious Marines, "I say up. A guy with his IQ is bound to head to the place where the strongest person will be." Enma quickly took the man's bracelet off and stuffed it into his pockets, "real bronze. We can sell it in the next town."

"This Mikoto fellow, is he smart or dumb?" said Maria as she watched Enma repeat the same process with a few other Marines, scavenging their bodies for anything that could make a quick buck.

"He's good at riddles and fights," said Enma, "I'll give him that. But when it comes to thinking things through, I wouldn't…" Enma's eyes fell upon the window. He scurried over to it. "The ships!"

"What?" shouted Ridley as he ran over to join Enma, "what about the ships?"

"They are leaving," said Enma, "our ship is still there and so is Slash's, but it looks like Zenmaru's ship is heading off along with the little dinghy I presume belongs to Renvont and another ship is leaving, probably Henry's crew. They are leaving us!"

"Great!" shouted Ridley, "we better round up the rest of the crew and fast."

"Make that super fast," said Enma as he peered out the window at a new ship approaching the island. He had only seen the flag once or twice, but it definitely wasn't a flag that belonged to mediocre pirate. It was the flag of 'Reaper' Trevor, a Shichibukai. Not to mention there was another two ships next to it. One had the flag of 'The Siren', another Shichibukai of legendary proportions. He didn't recognize the third ship or its flag, but if two Shichibukais were coming, why wouldn't there be a third?

**The Three Shichibukai!**

**The Infinity Pirates Great Escape!**

The fight between Mikoto and Slash has hit its climax. Chances are its going to ugly from here on out. Not only that but to make matters worse the three ships of the Shichibukai have almost arrived! Not to mention the fact that its been quite a few chapters since I showed Hiro-Shu…anyways, the Reverse Mountain Arc boils down to its last leg! Beware! Also, happy belated Halloween. MWA HA HA HA!

Also, I want people to know I've only recently began combing through the Shichibukai entries, so who is the third Shichibukai? Heck, I don't even know yet! But what is known is that three of the Shichibukai slots have already been occupied. And after the next chapter four of them will be occupied! That only leaves three left! Hurry up and submit them if you are going to.


	79. RM Arc 79 The Three Shichibukai

**The Three Shichibukai!**

**The End of the Acid Man!**

"Such a boring day," said a man as he was stretched out aboard his fine pirate ship. He was well into his upper-thirties and almost forty. He was dressed in an all white suit but he had a black cloak wrapped around him protecting him from the sun. He was 6" 6' tall. He had an accursed smile spread across his thin lips that he couldn't even hide as he sailed towards the Marine Base.

His ship was quite large, probably big enough to house 100 people comfortably, but he was its only passenger. The outside of the ship's railings were decorated with white bleached skulls. That was his signature. His flag was simple in design it had one large skull in the center but over 100 smaller skulls surrounding it. Originally he had planned on the skulls surrounding it the large skull to represent the number of people had killed, but he ran out of room around 123rd.

He smiled grimly as he opened his eyes as he remembered him killing each and every one of them. Why? Simple. They had all deserved to die. They had all lived shameful lives that were fit for this beautiful planet, everyone did. Well, everyone except for him. He was the sole human that treated this planet as what it was, a beautiful killing ground.

His name was 'Reaper' Trevor.

(-On the second ship-)

" Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do " sung a beautiful woman on the second ship as she exercised her lungs. She walked among the ships her fellow shipmates all scurrying about her as they watched her strut about the ship her brown ponytail swishing from side-to-side. She was only 5" 7' almost a whole foot shorter then the other Shichibukai.

Her eyes focused solely on the base ahead of her. She ignored her fellow shipmates that busied themselves as they bolted around the ship with food and water and cough medicine so she could keep her pristine singing voice at this level. She ignored them all. Once she found her family she'd retire from this Shichibukai business with them and leave these fools behind. She had no desire to retire with these fools, none of them interested her nor did any of them mean as much as her family did.

Did they really need to know this that she planned on leaving them the instant her family came to light? It would probably make them feel better, but she had no desire to make them feel better. She was only interested in her and her family. These so-called pirates were only a stepping stone to achieve what she truly wanted.

She was 'The Siren' Melanie.

(-On the third and final ship-)

"Top of the morning to ya, lassie!" shouted a young girl as she jumped up and down all over the ship waving and partying with the rest of the crew. A new assignment to go take down a couple of pirates that were causing a ruckus down at the new Marine Base. Nothing seemed like a finer day to her. Especially considering the fact that right now, she was roaring drunk. She had probably just gone through a couple barrels of ale and was searching the ship for a third one.

On her head sat a large green top hat. She wore a black shirt with a large green four leaf-clover in the center with the word 'LUCKY' written across it. She had on a pair of green shorts as she danced about the ship singing her own praises in front of her crew, most of who joined in with her drunken merriment. A few of them stood back and simply watched their beloved captain and Shichibukai make a complete fool of herself in front of them.

The girl's ambitions were way less focused then the other two. She was as happy as can be as long as she had ale, friends, and somebody to fight. Right now heading to the Marine Base she was probably as happy as she could ever possibly be. She quickly ran out to the end of the ship and stood with one foot outstretched onto the pole as she hollered over the sea in some delirious drunken language.

This young woman was 'Lucky Lin'.

Combined these three Shichibukai's inactive bounties exceeded 500 million.

(-With Mikoto and Slash-)

"It makes absolutely no point in letting the Marines find out about our little raid," said Slash, "it only makes sense for a pirate like yourself to be blamed for this…you guys hate the Marines, we hate the Marines…why don't you just take one for the team?" A small drop of Slash's acid dripped onto the floor burning a small hole into the tiled floor.

"Because!" bragged Mikoto, "I'm a pirate! More importantly I'm the captain of the Infinity Pirates! The next big pirate crew! Just you wait and see!" Mikoto jumped up as a blast of acid whizzed beneath his feet. Slash was looking more and more annoyed as the fight dragged on either due to the fact that his plan was falling through or the fact that he spent more time with Mikoto then he would like.

"You are actually bragging about that," complained Slash, "you are bragging about being a ruffian that pillages towns full of good people? Then kill those good people? Not to mention what your kind does to the good and innocent women of those towns…I'm disgusted with you!" Slash turned around and sent another violent wave of crimson acid exploding onto the scene enveloping most of the room in burning deadly liquid.

Mikoto quickly leapt to the side. His impressive coyote-like legs in his hybrid form only aided him making the long leap out of the way of Slash's insanely powerful blast. Mikoto spared a glimpse behind him at the destruction left in the wake. The entire middle of the room had been hallowed out by the blast, leaving a smooth almost slide-like construct in the center that seemed to go on forever.

"I should warn you," explained Slash, "my crimson acid is extremely deadly." Slash dangled his newly crimson-colored fingers out in the opening. "Unlike my blue or even my green acid this acid continues to burn. It leaves a thin layer of itself on whatever it touches continually burning it to oblivion. Even if only a drop landed on your arm it will burn that entire arm off."

The fight was dragging on. It wasn't so bad for Slash who had been walking and shooting throughout the entire match. His breath remained the same level, controlled, and calm breathing it would be if he had just woken from a deep slumber. Mikoto, on the other hand, had been running about the room, clinging to ceilings, and jumping about. His breathing had already become haggard and sharp. This factor only budged the chances of Slash winning even higher.

Mikoto blurred past Slash out of the room, only further exhausting his body, but Mikoto knew that in an enclosed space like that the chance of him dodging another blast of acid was slim. He needed more room if he was going to win. Mikoto looked frantically about trying to see if any of these doors lead outside. If he could just escape outside into the nice relaxing fresh air and open space he would be able to increase the chances of him winning or at least escaping alive.

"**Acid Scorpion!" **A large crimson spike soared through the air. Mikoto reacted on instinct throwing himself to the ground only to have the crimson acid burn through the air above him not stopping for an instant to even try to splash the poor defenseless coyote. "**Acid Serpent!" **A large crimson stream of acid poured out of Slash's hand and shot forward at Mikoto. Mikoto dodged to the side, which of course only made Slash's serpent dodge to the same side.

The serpent seemed to be in tune to each of Mikoto's moves. Slash was almost estimating which way Mikoto would turn down a hall and which rooms Mikoto would duck into. This serpent wasn't relenting the chase. If Mikoto shut a door behind him to block the serpent out, the serpent would burn its way through it and continue with the chase. It did the same with wood, stone, and even the machines left in the emptied out Marine's rooms.

Mikoto quickly found him where he was before. Near the stairs where he first heard Jugo and Slash chatting. The burnt metal door in front of him was all the proof he needed. Mikoto was panicking. Slash and his serpent were on his heels. Going down the stairs was out of the question. It would box him in way too much. A single burst of acid could destroy the entire staircase and whoever was unfortunately on it. Dodging in and out of rooms haven't been helping him out lately so why should Mikoto continue with that? He was running out of options. Finally Mikoto saw a little bit of light.

The crimson serpent slinked out in front of Slash. Crashing in and out of the rooms in front of them again and again. Slash inspected each room and the ceilings of each room to be sure that the coyote wasn't hiding in wait trying to get in a sneak attack. Due to the high density of acid that the crimson acid required in order to be formed Slash couldn't coat himself with it again, not to mention that it seemed to hurt Slash as well. His Devil Fruit only made him resistant to a certain level of acid, not completely immune. It reminded him of the person who ate a poison-type Devil Fruit. While they wouldn't get poisoned, they would get an extreme case of diarrhea instead.

Slash stopped in his tracks. Something was wrong. He had just turned the corner of the hallway and he didn't see a coyote trying to run into a room and hide nor did he see one running down the hallway in an all too desperate attempt to escape. Slash's eyes darted around the room…Slash didn't recall the sound of a door opening or closing. He sent the crimson serpent outwards crashing into the walls separating the hallway from the rooms until they were no more. Slash patiently looked from one side of the room to the next trying to find where his target disappeared into.

Suddenly, above his head Slash heard the sound of a frantic footstep. Slash pointed upwards and his crimson snake exploded into the ceiling burning a hole big enough for Slash to hoist himself up into. Slash immediately found himself outside. The cool mountain air and the cool sea air simultaneously assaulting his skin. Despite the fact that Slash preferred warm days to this cold wind, he was happy. Sitting a few feet away munching on a sandwich was his target, the dimwitted coyote.

"I'm sorry. Am I interrupting your lunch," asked Slash in a slightly annoyed tone. His opponent has been treating him such little respect, it was beginning to get under his skin.

"Ifs orkay," mumbled Mikoto, talking with his mouth full. He quickly wrapped his sandwich back up in its paper towel and tucked it away into his makeshift lunchbox. "I was only eating it while I waited for you."

"Waiting for me?" asked Slash, befuddled, "have you finally accepted your fate?" The large crimson serpent slinking behind Slash seemed almost to smile at the fact its prey had given in.

"My fate?" questioned Mikoto. "I don't really personally believe in that stuff. I'm going to beat the crap out of you because I want to, not because fate is telling me to."

"BEAT ME?" responded Slash. "BEAT ME! Who has been running away from whom this entire fight? And now you expect me to believe that you can and I quote 'beat the crap out of me?' You are a fool."

"Looks like you are about to be beat by a fool," said Mikoto as he morphed into his beast form. Soon coyote stood in front of Slash, its cocky grin showing off its impressive razor sharp teeth.

"There is no cure for foolishness," quoted Slash as he opened his arm up. Quickly another crimson snake slinked out behind Slash and began to spiral about him with the other one. "I guess I'll be doing the world a favor by taking you out. **Acid Orochi." **Soon another ten (at least) crimson snakes billowed out of Slash's body. All of them were went flying at Mikoto, each serpent's mouth wide open as they swarmed Mikoto.

Mikoto dashed forward. His coyote legs carrying him forward with impressive speed and precision that only a true predator could've developed. He quickly swerved to the side avoiding the first few snakes. They quickly turned around and attempted to chase him. Mikoto dodged another burst of snakes by jumping into the air above them. They collided into the ones that were following Mikoto into the heart of jungle of snakes. Mikoto landed safely outside of the acid snake pit, but that didn't stop Slash from redirecting the remaining snakes out of their way and at him.

Mikoto ducked and dodged, narrowly avoiding snake after snake sending each of them careening into another, almost exploding on contact with each other. Finally Mikoto grew close to Slash. "**Mikoto's Three Form Combo!" **Mikoto leapt forward driving each of his teeth into Slash's flesh. Then Mikoto swerved about, tossing Slash into the air using his mouth. Slash soared into the air. His acidic snakes were all writhing about confused on where to go since their commander was dazed from Mikoto's previous attack. Mikoto transformed into his hybrid form and leapt from his position into the air.

Mikoto met Slash in the air. Mikoto quickly fired multiple punches, using his improved animalistic muscles to fire multiple punches faster. Slash's entire body was hit again and again from this move. Finally Mikoto morphed into his human and spun around launching a single devastating kick to Slash's back sending him falling back to the ground beneath them. Only when Slash collided with the floor did he finally fall unconscious.

**The Infinity Pirate's Great Escape!**

Yes, yes, I did change the title. I was getting ahead of myself and the title change was absolutely necessary for me not to feel like an idiot…Anyways, since I introduced three new OCs I'll have to introduce them and do a disclaimer for them. First off, 'Reaper' Trevor (in case you guys are wondering I did mention him previously in this story) is mine, 'The Siren' Melanie isLabrinyth Designer's work, and 'Lucky Lin' is…Flamegurlstrikesagain's work.


	80. RM Arc: 80 The Infinity Pirate

**The Infinity Pirate's Great Escape!**

"Ah!" yawned Mikoto as he stared out over the water. He had been cooped up inside the Marine Base for so long he forgot about what sunlight looked like and what fresh air smelled like. The artificial light just irritated him and the smell of blood drove him insane. He looked over at Slash's body which now laid motionless on the ground next to him.

His body had developed a few bruises from Mikoto's rather rash and crazed assault on him. "Remember," began Mikoto, "I was being nice." He wanted to stretch out and lie down in the sunshine, but the reality was, that if Slash was telling the truth, three Shichibukais were heading for them. Mikoto could probably take one of them, maybe even two, but if he were to fight all three he would be beaten…it was simple as that.

Mikoto stood up and stretched out once more. The sea and his ship were right in front of him. It would make sense for him to leap down from his spot and just rush over to his ship, after it would definitely be a lot simpler then charging through the base, but if he did just leap down from here there would be no way he would chance into one of his fellow crewmates.

Mikoto's body slowly shifted from his human form into his small grayish beast form. Just because he was taking the complicated and slow way down doesn't mean he should take it slow. Mikoto burst down through the doors and quickly broke off for the stairs.

(-With Sage and Zesiro-)

"I think I'm good enough to at least walk on my own," grunted Zesiro as he pushed off of Sage. Sage watched as Zesiro's legs seemed to wobble beneath him, but eventually stabilized and became strong enough to hold his weight. Zesiro slowly began to walk forward along with Sage.

Sage watched as Zesiro grimaced with almost every step they took. He also walked incredibly slow, they were probably moving faster when she was letting him lean her. Not to mention the fact that they still had another couple of floors to go until they got out to their ship and Zesiro could rest. Of course, though, to a swordsman like Zesiro pride is worth more then pain. But she still couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Zesiro's legs held strong as the duo moved throughout the Marine Base. Zesiro was like Kentan in that aspect, the powerful willpower that allowed them to move onwards with wounds that would kill three normal men. Sage remembered Kentan insulting and berating Zesiro due to the fact that he was a Fishman…she thought that kind of prejudice was gone in the world, died out with the old generation, but apparently it was still just as strong and probably just as widespread as it was before. Zesiro didn't seem bothered by it, but why that was Sage was clueless. Was it because his wounds seemed more urgent? Or was he trying to hide it from her? Or did it truly not bother him?

Zesiro's thoughts were more pressing at the moment. Kentan's racist remarks meant nothing more to him then it would if a parrot said it. Zesiro was more focused on Daimyo. A swordsman that used and killed with six swords simultaneously. Even worse Zesiro couldn't help but feel like Daimyo was holding back against him. Daimyo almost seemed to be toying with him, like he was playing a game. Daimyo's speed was better then Zesiro's and Daimyo even knew how to press Zesiro's swords to the breaking point. He was probably the toughest opponent Zesiro fought yet…

…and he wanted to fight him again.

(-With Enma, Maria, and Ridley-)

"Shit!" shouted Ridley, "talk about going from bad to worse. Our freakin' teammates decided that when the going gets tough the tough get going! But they decided not to tell us to get our butts in order." Ridley kicked aside one of the unconscious Marines lying in his way.

"Either that or all of our teammates died in a bloody manner and the Marines stole their ships and are now taking their ships and probably ours to a Marine facility," spoke Enma calmly, "but I highly doubt Lucifer would let that happen."

"I don't want to go back to jail!" cried Maria, "it took me years to get out and that's only because Mr. Mohawk over here decided to let me out with the rest of the prisoners!" She was pretty far ahead of the other two. She was physically stronger then the both of them and was easily able to outrun them with her robotic legs.

"The name's Ridley, Ridley Blackwell, girl," shouted Ridley as he began to run faster in order to catch up to Maria. He wasn't going to allow some girl to outpace him in front of his crewmate. "You better remember my name because one day thousands of fan girls are going to be screaming my name! And you can be the very first!"

Enma quickly caught up with both of them in a matter of a few seconds. Where as the other two were running at full speeds using their body, Enma and his Devil Fruit had a more practical method of transportation. Small circular bones extended from his feet, attached to bones on the side, created a basic form of a skate allowing him to glide besides them. "Ignore him, Maria. He's just a punk musician with daddy issues."

"Its better than being an undead worshipper of the devil," rebutted Ridley as he tried his hardest to keep up with his two much faster nakamas. "AND A CHEATER!"

"I'm just using the body that the devil gave me," said Enma as he cheerfully skated along the path, ignoring Ridley's rather rambunctious and annoying complaints. "Besides in all honesty you are just going too slow. If the Shichibukai's get here before we get on our ships you'll definitely die."

"Shut up, you zombie!" shouted Ridley as he began running even faster in a futile attempt to keep up with the rest of his crew.

The trio soon found themselves out in the open air, outside. The sun beaming down on their faces and fresh air around them…but the sight was horrible. At their feet laid hundreds of men, most of them had Zenmaru's flag tattooed across their body, and there were all bleeding profusely and probably dead. Their bodies looked shattered and smashed as if they were hit by some kind of heavy chain. All three of them had straight iron faces on them, none of them seemed to be freaked out at the sight.

"Did you guys do this?" asked Maria looking at the corpses laying about her. She had been in the ring and watched people die in there from some of the most brutal punches and tricks that man could ever think of so the bloody corpses didn't surprise her one bit.

"Nope," said Ridley nonchalantly as he continued to move through the disgusting piles of bodies. He had seen worse looking men in his father's torture room, to him this was just another Saturday night.

"Judging from the wounds," spoke Enma quietly as he hunched down to examine up close, "these wounds were done by a whip. You can see the slight impact and curvy lines created by such an impact. Not to mention by the way the arms and legs are its obvious that such wounds come from…" During Enma's career he had seen rather a lot of dead corpses and such mutilations, besides the way these marks were placed they were almost poetic.

"Shut up Mr. Skull," interrupted Ridley, "that's no way to talk in front of a lady. Can't you at least act like you got manner?"

"Oh, so, I should act more like you?" mocked Enma, "just sit around all day, play music, and drink alcohol. You are just Mr. Chivalry."

"You are damn right!" shouted Ridley loudly.

"Ridley?" asked Hiro-Shu as he appeared from their ship. He was toting around a couple of wooden planks, performing some simplistic, but badly needed repairs on their ship.

"Hiro-Shu!" shouted Ridley and Enma, "you're up!"

"Would one of you mind filling me in?" asked Hiro-Shu, he was still completely clueless as to why they were docked on a Marine Base, but after winning his bout he decided it would be best for everyone if he were to return here and watch after the ship.

"I will," said Enma, "I still want to do some minor checks on your body. Maria and Ridley will take care of prepping the ship for launch." The threat of the Shichibukais was out of his mind for the time being. After joking around with Ridley and seeing Hiro-Shu alive and well, he had just forgotten about it.

"Who's this?" asked Maria keeping a careful eye on the crew. A punk musician with daddy issues and a tattooed skeleton. She kind of wondered who this third and probably equally awkward person was.

"Him?" asked Ridley returning his glance up to Hiro-Shu, "he's the iron golem, Hiro-Shu! He's probably the third or fourth strongest pirate on the crew. With only me and the captain and maybe Zesiro beating him."

"Right…" grunted Maria doubting the fact that he could be an 'iron golem'. "We'd better get to work on fixing your ship!" Her eyes quickly filled up with joy. This ship was definitely going to be a difficult task. It looked like it was a piece of crap, but when she was done with it, it would be the best sailing vessel on the seas!

"You can go ahead," muttered Ridley, trying to avoid the extra work, "I'll keep a look out for the rest of our crew." He walked over to the main gate just in time to see two figures limping towards the door. "WE'VE GOT COMPANY!"

Maria spun around with the precise agility and balance that only a professional fighter could have, she armed herself and awaited a new opponent. The last one wasn't very tough, but this one could be trouble. You never know.

"Ridley!" shouted a feminine voice. Sage quickly rushed up and into the light, leaving Zesiro trailing behind a bit. "Where is Enma? Zesiro got hurt bad!" Sage took a second look over her shoulder to check on her wounded comrade.

"HAH!" laughed Ridley, "serves him right! Its just proof that I am truly the second strongest pirate on the…" Ridley's rant was interrupted by a fast and powerful punch from Sage.

"SHUT UP!" shouted Sage, "and tell me where the heck is Enma!"

"How can I tell you where Enma is if you want me to…" started Ridley, but when he saw both Sage AND Maria preparing to punch him, he quickly changed to, "he's on the ship taking care of Hiro-Shu, oh, and he woke up!"

"So, everybody's here then?" asked Sage, filled with relief as she began to help Zesiro onto the ship.

"Everybody except Mikoto," said Ridley with a smile on his face, "looks like we can set sail at any time. After all with Mikoto's luck he'll just catch a ride with Slash and his crew and catch up to us in no time."

"Who are they?" asked Maria, feeling genuinely confused and out of place. She didn't know even one of the people who walked past her yet.

"The injured man is Zesiro, a dual-katana wielding Fishman," started Ridley, he quickly took note that one of Zesiro's katanas were missing, "and the weak girl is the psychotic of a chef, Sage." A small rock flew through the air and knocked into the side of his skull. "See? Psychotic."

"Shouldn't we start to look for this Mikoto fellow?" asked Maria, "he could be seriously injured." She pieced together that Mikoto was their pet, an over-active coyote. Who he belonged to was questionable, since it seemed that nobody here was watching over him and none of them seemed to think about going in and finding him.

"HEY!" shouted a voice. Ridley and Maria looked up at the Marine Base. In one of the windows sat, a dog? Maria looked up and thought about it for a second. Dogs can't talk, so who was shouting? "Get the ship ready to sail! We're heading off straight away!"

"Right away!" shouted Ridley, "hear that crew! We are heading out right…now." Ridley turned around to face the ship and the sea. In front of him sat an impossibly large sailing vessel. Skulls lined the edge of the ship. The Shichibukai were here. "Shit! Hurry it up, you damn dog!" shouted Ridley as he turned back around and faced Mikoto. "We don't have a lot of time. We are going to start going up Reverse Mountain right away, we can't wait, Mikoto'll just have to catch up to us!"

Ridley immediately began to run towards the ship, Maria right behind him. "Who was that?" asked Maria.

"None other then our very own overly active coyote, Mikoto," explained Ridley as he jumped onto the ship.

"Your coyote can talk?" asked Maria as she landed on the ship. She ran over to the anchor and grabbed a hold of the chain and began lifting it up. Her bionic arms and legs making it an easy task to lift the heavy anchor off of the sea bed and back onto the ship.

"He's a normal person like everyone else," said Ridley with a smile, "well, as normal as one can be when you are a pirate." He rushed up to the ship's wheel and grabbed it. He had absolutely no idea how to control the ship, it wasn't a rowboat…it was a ship. Zesiro was in no shape to sail and Hiro-Shu was busy being examined by Enma. His options were Maria, Sage, or Mikoto. And he highly doubted Mikoto would know how to sail a ship. "I hope the rumors of women being terrible drivers is wrong, Maria you take over the ship!"

Maria nodded and ran up to the ship's wheel. She had very little experience driving a ship, but she probably knew enough of how to get the ship up Reverse Mountain…how does one sail up a mountain exactly? "Uh…Ridley…how are we going to go up a mountain?"

"I personally hope a dragon will fly down and carry us up it, but at this point I'd settle for hope, trust, and pixie dust," replied Ridley with his usual smart retort. In reality Ridley heard that there was just a lot of pressure being built up at the base of Reverse Mountain from colliding streams and that propelled the ship upwards.

The ship soon started to head off in the direction of the mountain. Mikoto in his beast form was running over towards them at the fastest his little coyote legs could carry him. "HEY!" shouted Mikoto as he noticed the ship nearing the streams, "aren't you forgetting about me?"

Mikoto leapt from his spot on the land. He noticed the mistake too late. He was going to be a few feet short…there was no way he'd land on the ship and there wasn't enough time for him to make another jump…the ship was going to leave without him!

**So Begins the Hunt!**

Nooooooooooo! Mikoto! Oh, well, he's dead…or is he? Is the fight between the Shichibukai and Infinity Pirates coming sooner then expected? Would they even be able to stand against all three Shichibukai? Possibly…probably not, though. Sad…isn't it?

P.S. I have decided to rewrite chapters 1 and 2 in order to make them longer. They are barely changed just an extra paragraph or sentence here and there, but I still think they may be worth rereading if you are interested and have time. And while I'm at it, I should also point out I made some minor changes to the OC submission form and the OC submission list.

I added clothing, Devil Fruit Powers, and Attacks onto the OC submission form located in chapter 1. (If you have already submitted an OC you do NOT have to make any changes to the already submitted OC, just any OC you send in from here on out.) The OC Submission list (located in chapter 2), has been updated including Maria as the shipwright, added Fortune Teller and Translator onto the list of open slots available on the ship, and I also added Yonkou and Rival Pirate crews to the list as well.

Also! The next two or three chapters are going to be just filler chapters, nothing that exactly moves the storyline along that much, so if you want to skip reading this and do some homework (like I'm supposed to be doing right now) feel free to.


	81. Chapter 81 So Begins the Hunt

**So Begins the Hunt!**

"We missed them," grunted 'The Reaper' Trevor as he walked across the rocky terrain of the Marine Base, "the Infinity Pirates have successfully attacked another Marine Base…they are quite the thorns in the World Government's side. AND I WANTED TO SPILL THEIR BLOOD SO BADLY! TO KILL MORE OF HIS PRECIOUS LAMBS!"

"Shut it, Trevor," said 'The Siren' Melanie as examined the gates to the Marine Base, "there's still one ship left. Meaning that they had help…or they were the help. Either way I'm going to have a look around?" She had other thoughts on her mind, more pressing matters to consider. Maybe the answer could be here?

"I'll drink to that!" shouted 'Lucky Lin' loudly as she downed another glass of alcohol. She let out a loud belch that both Trevor and Melanie turned their noses up at. "Whoo-hoo! Better from the attic then from the basement! Am I right?" She nudged Trevor, who didn't respond. "Am I right?" Another nudge. "I'm right, aren't I?" She nudged him a third time.

"Stop pestering me before I kill you, too," said Trevor calmly as he walked up to the mountain's base and stared up it, "I should follow them…and kill them…"

"Nnnnoooo," slurred Lucky Lin with a wink, "you should let them be. Its obvious that we shouldn't mess with them. Someone else helped them out and that someone is probably still on this island, right?"

"What makes you say that?" asked Trevor as he looked around the base.

"You didn't see it?" asked Lin as she laid back on the ground (or more likely as she collapsed onto the ground). "That dog shouldn't have made that jump…but somehow something or someone boosted him and propelled him into the air. He was going to fall and be left behind by his crew, but at the last second a small explosion occurred and sent Mikoto flying back up into the air and onto the ship."

Trevor smiled, "SO THERE IS STILL SOMEONE ON THIS ISLAND FOR ME TO KILL! Kekekeke! Where is he?" Trevor approached the area that Mikoto had leapt from to examine it, "there's got to be something lying around for me. Some clue as to who I should kill…something …something…" He didn't even think twice about how he could miss it and how someone as drunk as Lucky Lin could've spotted it. In all reality Lucky Lin was just that good as spotting it.

Lin hiccupped as she watched the demented man examine every nook and cranny of the location in some desperate search to find the hint. Melanie came back out with a group of Marines trailing out behind her. "There was no one left inside besides Marine workers…" said Melanie disappointed, _"another dead end," _she thought to herself.

Trevor dashed over to the group of Marines. He whipped his hand out with surprising force and speed, beheading the entire group almost immediately. Only Melanie, who quickly whipped out her sword to protect herself and block Trevor's ferocious attack, and Lin, who was just out of Trevor's distance survived the attack.

Trevor straightened himself back out. "More lambs have come to the slaughter…more people have come to their graves…and even more idiots have drowned underwater…" sung Trevor quietly to himself as he came back to the spot he was examining.

"Why the hell did you do that?" asked Melanie as she watched Trevor quietly come over the ground in search of some useless object. "They were going to help us! Find out about the intruders."

"Bloody bodies scattered on the ground…bloody souls sink down, down, down…soon blood will cover this whole dang town…" continued Trevor as he ignored Melanie's outburst. Finally he stopped singing to himself as he stopped on a circle of burnt grass. It appeared that the entire area was burnt to a crisp. "I found it!" He quickly felt the ground beneath him. A fire wouldn't have only affected this small circle…it was something more controlled. Trevor thought for a second, before giving up. "Let's go…I'm going to go kill them."

"Like hell you are!" shouted Melanie as she pushed Trevor backwards, "we are not going to go back to the Marine Base and tell them that ten Marines got murdered by you! You are going to go back and tell them yourself…I'll chase after them by myself. You and Lucky Lin can go back." Melanie turned her back to them and headed back to her ship.

"Let me guess…" began 'Lucky' Lin, "you wanna kill her." Trevor glared over at her, indicating a 'yes'. She smiled as she watched Melanie walk onto the ship and set sail, "And let me guess. I'm going back to the Marine Base alone because you are going to go kill her and the Infinity Pirates." Trevor left without another word as he got onto his ship. Lin had a calm and drunken smile on her face, "I'm on fire today!"

(-meanwhile up on the top of the roof-)

Slash laid across the top of the building watching the three Shichibukais converse. He sighed. From where he was laying he could still feel their indestructible and overwhelming power, it was like when he first met Jugo. His power overwhelmed, it was suffocating. Meeting someone who was ages beyond your power level and would probably always be ages beyond your power level. This is the same feeling he had as he watched the three Shichibukais get ready for departure.

Slash laid back down. He used his weakest golden acid to form another Acid Snake on the ground beneath Mikoto. He then sent the snake upwards and into Mikoto giving him a push onto the ship. He had saved Mikoto from those monster, at least for now. He had lost the fight with him and as such he shouldn't leave Mikoto here to die. It was the only honorable thing he could do. Slash let out a deep breath as he relaxed, only thing to do now was wait for the Marines or the Revolutionaries to come pick him up.

"It's a beeaauuut-eee-ful day today, ain't it?" asked a voice. Slash's eyes sprang open. Lucky Lin had appeared next to him, sitting right besides him. Slash jumped backwards, his crimson acid already forming over his hands. He wouldn't be able to waste time with her, it was go all out or be killed within the first three minutes.

Slash considered himself lucky. Compared to the other one down there, the male, her killing intent was small, unnoticeable even. But she radiated a different kind of power, she wasn't a Shichibukai for nothing. Her strength was huge and intimidating. Vast trenches separated the two and they both knew it. A lucky hit and kill was the best Slash could he hope for.

"Looks like this wee lad still has some fight in 'im!" shouted Lucky Lin. Her crew beneath her that had gathered on the ground immediately let out a loud cheer for her. "This might jus' be sum fun!"

(-With the Revolutionaries-)

"It appears that not many of our men returned," informed Jugo as he walked a large table that could seat 12, but currently they were only 6 people sitting at the table, "The sacrifices of Zenmaru, Henry, and Slash will not go down in vain. We will honor them and carry out their plan. With our recent assault on the Marine Base we have come one stop closer to destroying the World Government."

"Again," said a mysterious voice as he leaned forward, "I apologize about Zenmaru." As the face came into the light, it was revealed that it was none other then Daimyo. "Nobody informed me that you guys wanted to get me back into the action. I thought my departure left many of you guys upset with me."

Jugo smiled. "Daimyo," his voice boomed with pride, "you left because when Dragon, the conflict within grew tremendous. We started to have petty debates between us and we ended up dividing our power and our assets, but that's no longer the case. I have dominated the Revolutionaries…I am the new head. And as the new head I say we bring the Government down one leg at a time."

The table let up an uproar at Jugo's speech. Another familiar face at the table was Renvont, who was ignoring Jugo and was busily playing with his own gun. The idea of taking over the Government didn't interest him in the slightest, he was just interested in killing people. He had only recently joined the Revolutionaries and he was already starting to lose interest in them. As it currently stood he could probably kill…half the people in this room. But that would still leave three other left to fight him. He knew that both Jugo and Daimyo would be among those, they were the real trouble.

As far as Renvont was concerned, he and Daimyo were at about the same level. Maybe Daimyo was ahead by a little, due to his Devil Fruit power…but Jugo…Renvont eye's spared just a quick glance at him. This one man commanded total and absolute respect in this group of killers and rebels…and they gave it to him. Not to mention Renvont could feel a killing aura that could possibly surpass even his own, despite Jugo's best efforts to keep suppressed.

"Renvont!" shouted one of the men. Renvont snapped out of his daze and looked across the table. There was short old man sitting across from him. He held a bejeweled cane in one hand, which he was currently pointing straight at Renvont.

"Don't you know its rude to point things at people," remarked Renvont as pushed the cane away with his fingertip. "Its rather rude, don't you think?" This was the one of the ones that Renvont would probably kill if he got the chance. Just one dark alley would be all it would take.

The old man settled back down into his chair, "we want a full debriefing of your time at the Marine Base." Something was different about the old man. Where just a minute ago he had shouted and roared at Renvont, he immediately calmed down. He actually sounded pleasant.

"_Maybe I should omit the part where I kill Harry," _thought Renvont to himself, _"I would like to stay around with these guys a little bit longer…"_ Renvont cleared his throat and his head at the same time, "well, it started when I heard Harry's voice. I rushed to his aid, I didn't make it there in time…" suddenly, a brilliant idea struck Renvont, "a pirate…named Mikoto Azgard had stabbed him brutally."

" 'The Kid Coyote'?" asked one of the other men gathered around the table, "I heard he been causin' trouble wit' Karasu and even messin' up Pimp's plans. I like dat kid." The man casually brought his feet up and onto the table, like this was his table and his room." Renvont estimated this guy to be around the fifth strongest in this room (of course, with himself at #3), but as far as egos went his had to be the first.

Jugo frowned. "I hate to mow down another troublemaker…but we are going to have to teach him not to interrupt with our team members. Killing him is a priority. What's the Marine's Bounty on him?"

The old man stepped forth, "he was at about 25 million, but according to the scene…it seems like he's taking the blame for the attack…it could go up exponentially. I say we part a bounty for him up on the Black Market as well…of at least 30 million if we really want him dead."

"That's not necessary," introduced another figure that was staying in the background. His entire body was hidden within a large shapeless cloak, only his yellowish eyes glinted through it. "Two Shichibukais are on his tail. He'll be dead within a week…provided he gets out of the Calm Belt safely."

Renvont stared at this man. He had been quiet throughout the entire meeting so far, not once offering up a word of wisdom nor trying to assert himself as a powerful person. In Renvont's calculations this man would be one of the ones he'd kill, but Renvont was second guessing himself now.

"You still have a 'Watch' on the Marine Base?" asked Jugo. Renvont's eyes rose at this phrase. A 'Watch'? What was a 'Watch'?

"I tink you are goin' ta have ta explain yer Devil Fruit 'bility ta dis poor fellow," mentioned the man with a big ego.

The man in the large cloak shifted uncomfortably. "I ate the Tokei-Tokei no mi*…as far as offensive power goes this is probably one of the weakest. But I can place a 'Watch' on any solid object, like a wall. Through this 'Watch' I can see, hear, and even smell everything that goes on there. I place one on the outside door, one in the dining hall, and another one in the training room."

"_Phew…"_ thought Renvont, _"He didn't place a 'Watch' in the third congregation hall where I killed Harry. If he had I'd be in trouble."_ Renvont relaxed as the man explained his Devil Fruit ability in-depth, but he didn't care about it anymore.

"With Harry, Zenmaru, and Slash all out of operation, I believe we are going to have to have to insist that Hellmire Gan put a 'Watch' on everyone, this way if anything happens to you we'll instantly know about it and we'll be able to launch a productive counter attack," demanded Jugo. Renvont cringed, the last thing he wanted was to have these guys keeping an eye on him, but he didn't have a choice. He doubted he'd be allowed to back out now.

The men all got into a single-filed line, Daimyo first, followed by Mr. Big Ego, then the old guy with the cane. Renvont was at the end of the line right behind Jugo. Gan (the man in the cloak) lightly touched each of them as soon as he did a light yellow pulse spread out where he touched. He did this to everyone, when Renvont came up to have his check everyone had left, even Jugo and Daimyo.

Renvont sighed and resigned himself to his fate, without a doubt Jugo was waiting outside to get approval from Gan that Renvont accepted the 'Watch'. But Gan didn't make a move. "I know you lied about how Harry died."

Renvont jumped backwards, separating himself from Gan immediately. He also produced both of his guns in the same instant and aimed them at Gan. "Don't worry," reassured Gan, "I don't care if you killed him…I was one of the few men who defected from one of the other two groups when Dragon left us…rather then fight or negotiate with the Government…I wanted to subtly infiltrate them and take them over from the inside…so lies are perfectly acceptable in my book. I won't tell Jugo or Daimyo about it."

"Like I care what they think about me," scoffed Renvont.

"You're right," said Gan, "but I mean with your strength you probably could take everyone else in this group out in a second." Gan didn't say anything more as he walked away.

**A Day of Peace, Pleasure, and…SEA KING!**

Tokei-Tokei no mi = Watch-Watch Fruit.

Okay! Clarifications! Slash saved Mikoto, simply because he lost the fight and thought it would be honorable. Gan DID NOT put his little 'Watch' on Renvont…why? Because Gan wants this Revolutionary group to fall and has a feeling Renvont will help him do it. Gan ALSO was not lying when he said he didn't place a 'Watch' in Renvont's fighting room (he can just simply tell when someone is lying).

I've decided to post translations at the end of the chapter as people found the break in the middle of reading to be irritating. If you disagree send me a message.

The first filler chapter has been completed, although in all reality you could consider this to be last chapter of the previous arc.


	82. Chapter 82 Rest, Relaxation, andSea

**Rest, Relaxation, and...Sea Kings!**

It was a lazy day out at sea. Maria was currently just laying down and enjoying the fresh warm sunshine. She was probably the only person on the ship relaxing right now...except for Ridley, who was now spending most of his time hanging out in the crow's nest. However, unlike Ridley, Maria wasn't doing nothing due to choice, she was doing nothing because...well, there was nothing more to do. They've been as sea for a day or two now, gently floating and Maria had fixed most of the problems she could.

She was impressed that the ship had managed to stay afloat for this long. Not only was it in terrible condition, but also the ship lacked a single cannon. Apparently Sage had thrown them out when she got it as she never planned on using it to go out to sea. Why would she? Before she met Mikoto and Ridley, she was botanist not a pirate. And cannons were simply over-glorified pots to her. She sold them and used the money to get more seeds and more cooking items. But still Maria was surprised that they hadn't bought cannons the first chance they got. Zesiro explained that no one could properly use a cannon...the aim of every one on the ship (Maria included) was below average at best, but even so cannon added a certain flair to a pirate ship.

Then again, when Maria got on this place was a hunk of junk. She had hurriedly spent the last two days fixing it. She had reinforced the crow's nest (which would explain Ridley's current fascination with it) and the walls, built some halfway decent tables from the leftover wood, and finally she fixed a hole in the girl's room that would allow anyone in the hallway to peek in at Sage or her at anytime of their choice. Zesiro, Enma, and Hiro-Shu all claimed to be innocent and Mikoto feigned stupidity about how he didn't understand the reasoning behind the hole. Only Ridley admitted that he knew it was there and he, Maria quoted 'didn't believe there was anything in that room worthy of peeking at'. Sage quickly delivered a punch.

Anyways, since this was Maria's first day off since she joined the crew she had decided to spend it relaxing. Mikoto originally wanted to spar with her (he's been sparring with either Hiro-Shu or Enma ever since their escape), but Maria turned him down. Everyone on the ship was a little weird, probably due to a small amount of distrust of a new person especially one whose only recommendation came from weird musician with green hair.

Zesiro and Hiro-Shu had their original suspicions of her, but she was fairly confident that those were going away. Besides she couldn't blame them. She was an escapee from a prison and an ex-professional underworld fighter, not really trust-inspiring occupations. Then there was Enma who Maria just couldn't get around. His...religion(?) was odd and gave her the creeps. Finally Sage seemed to be too nice...and Maria didn't trust her.

Sage seemed to be outgoing and trying to win Maria over at any cost, often bringing her plenty of snacks throughout the day while she was working, despite the fact that she avoided Mikoto, Hiro-Shu, and Enma while they were all training. Maria could understand to a certain degree she felt sorry for the poor girl being the only girl for miles, but...the overly friendly person tends to be even creepier then the devil-worshiping skeleton.

Finally, there was also Mikoto's actions towards. Mikoto was less interested in her and more interested in her arms and legs. He seemed fascinated by the robotic movements that her arms and legs bestowed upon her. Admittedly, Maria felt a similar twinge of interest towards Mikoto's Devil Fruit power. In order to become a four-legged wild beast in an instant or a vicious hybrid seemed interesting, but quickly lost its shine after awhile. Mikoto's amazement with Maria's appendages didn't seem to be faltering in the slightest. It made her glad that he spent most of his time sparring,rather then talking to her about it.

Today was just another lazy day, even the sea had died out. It was peaceful. The ship had been moving at this slow pace ever since they set out from Reverse Mountain. At least the sky was beautiful, clear and not a single cloud hanging over head. That seemed like a good omen. Her first days on ship in awhile were nice and sunny. She remembered the day she was transported across the sea from her first prison to this one the sky was nasty and it was raining for almost the entire time.

The blue sky with the yellow sun in it was much more welcoming then the black sky with foreboding rain. Maria was about to doze off out on the deck when out of the blue the ship rocked fiercely. Maria forcefully slid across the deck from one railing into the one on the opposite side. The sound of Ridley shouting from up upon the crow's nest was loud and clear.

Zesiro, who was steering the ship, was tossed from his spot. His wounds have undergone a slight recovery enough to allow him to stand and steer, basic everyday stuff, but a fight or if the ship were to be attacked, or even if it shook too viciously, like it did now, would mean Zesiro had to lie down and try to stay out of the way. Anything else would cause his wounds to open up and Zesiro would probably pass out in five or ten seconds and would die from blood loss in probably 5 or 10 minutes. He was currently crouched against one of the railings, despite the stitching and probably the immense pain he was feeling he was very capable of catching himself and preventing himself from falling at a time like this.

Maria quickly got up and rushed to the side of the ship, out of curiosity. She stared out over the edge of the ship. She was staring out over the ship's edge when she saw it. It was a huge shadow. A beast of immense size and power was currently lurking out beneath the sea's surface. Maria jumped back out of fear. The calm seas, the pure blue skies...they were in the Calm Belt. The monster lurking beneath them was a Sea King! It was a tremendous beast of monstrous power whose was unmatched. Even experienced warriors like the Shichibukai and even most of the Yonkou fear their power.

A low rumbling could be heard from the monster as it straightened its long body out and stood straight up. It had a snake-like body. Its scales were light-blue with black splotches of color decorating its impressive build. It glared downwards upon the small ship, its jagged and razor-sharp teeth glinting due to the sun. It stared down upon its next meal, his mouth already leaking drool at the thought of his next meal basically sailing up to him one a nice wooden platter. Its breath blowing viciously downwards upon the ship, almost tearing the loosened floorboards from the ship with its mighty lungs.

"**Hone-Hone Spear!" **shouted Enma as he appeared from one of the cabins. He produced a large ivory pole and hurled it towards the beast. The sharpened spear slammed into the monster's scaled skin, but simply bounced off of the monster's scales. Enma cursed himself as he skidded backwards. The large beast's body was too hard and too far away from him for a throwing technique to be incredibly effective and he sure as hell wasn't going to get any closer with the open sea surrounding the monster. One misstep and he'd drown, especially considering only Ridley, and Zesiro can swim. And Zesiro wasn't strong enough to pull him out of the water. Enma had temporarily forgotten about, Maria, his new nakama who is also capable of swimming to his rescue.

Sage was the next one on the deck. She formed a circle with her hands and started concentrating. The pressure began to build in the center of her hands forming a small ball of pure and heavy pressure. Sage fired it off and watched as it smashed heavily into the beast's body causing it to falter briefly before it recovered and came roaring down sending a large splash of water up and onto the ship. Enma and Sage both flinched from the energy-draining seawater.

The huge monstrous snake lowered its hulking mass lower till it was at eye-level. The Sea King smirked, its huge pink saliva-coated tongue slipped out of its mouth as he glared at the crew. The beast dove downwards upon the crew. The beast stuck fast in its tracks. Hiro-Shu had emerged from the ship's hull and grasped at the beast's massive jaw. His iron armor helped support his strength, preventing the monster from chomping down and making a meal out of the ship.

"**Forger's Flame! Iguko's Fire!" **shouted Hiro-Shu as he spewed a torrent of flames from his mouth straight into the Sea King's open jaws. The flames drove themselves deep into the monster's throat. The Sea King recoiled and backed up, back into the sea, diving deep into the water, disappearing beneath the sea's surface.

"Wow!" shouted Mikoto as he ran up onto the ship's deck. "What the heck happened! I was just sparring with Hiro-Shu when all of a sudden the ship shook and then I got wet and I couldn't move. But now I'm here I can fight!" Mikoto pumped his arm up with confidence.

"It was just a Sea King attack," stated Zesiro from his spot against the railing watching his crew fight, "but don't worry, the rest of the crew handled it." Of course, if Zesiro was fighting they would've handled it faster and better, but he wasn't about to say anything.

"That's no fair," muttered Mikoto, glumly, "you guys always get to do the fun stuff." Sage and Enma both flashed Mikoto an upset look. The water soaking them has mostly dried up or was thrown off to the side and they were gradually getting their strength back.

"Don't worry," said Maria as she continued to look out over the edge of the ship and down at the water, "I highly doubt the Sea King thought that was the end of the fight." Maria twisted about and faced Zesiro, a mixed look of panic and anger was on her face, "how can you not warn us that we are in the Calm Belt! Surely someone like you should at least be aware of the Calm Belt. All sailors should know about the Calm Belt!"

"Question!" shouted Mikoto, Maria looked over her shoulder at Mikoto who was raising his hand begging to be called upon. Maria sighed and Mikoto took that as a go signal. "What is the Calm Belt?"

Maria slammed her palm into her own face, "the Calm Belt is the single most dangerous place in the whole world. Most people given the choice between the Calm Belt and the New World would pick the New World! The Calm Belt, despite its lack of waves and storms, is deadly. Why? Because Sea Kings like the lack of waves and storms and build huge nests in them. Then they attack almost anything that enters into their territory! Its amazing we weren't attacked yet, especially since we don't even have cannons!"

"Don't worry," calmly stated Zesiro as he relaxed against the railing of the ship, "I knew we were in the Calm Belt, but I just knew what Mikoto would say." Zesiro looked back over at Mikoto,who by know was over at the side of the ship.

"Get back up here you sea chicken!" shouted Mikoto over the edge, "I want to fight you! Come on up here! NOW!" Mikoto was pointing and shouting at the sea, waiting for the large monster to reveal itself. "Hey, Sage!" Mikoto shouted looking back over his shoulder at the rest of his crew, who were all giving him weird looks by now. "Do you think it will taste like fish or chicken?"

"Is that really the best thing for you to be worrying about?" shouted the crew glaring at Mikoto. Mikoto shrugged it off and returned back to the edge of the ship and was about to start shouting again when Maria quickly grabbed him from behind and pulled him away from the edge.

"Don't do that!" shouted Maria. She cringed when she realized she was too late. The large Sea King had reappeared behind them, creeping up the side of the ship until its head was level with the ship this time. Its jaws wide open. "Happy now?"

"You betcha!" said Mikoto giving Maria a grin and a heads-up as he turned back around to face the best. Mikoto stood still and spread his legs, his body quickly morphing into its hairy hybrid form. He grasped his right wrist with his left hand. "Let's go! **RAPID FIRE x 20**!" Mikoto dashed forward and placed his right fist directly against the Sea King's body. There was a loud sound as Mikoto's arm disappeared quickly and then reappeared at his side. The Sea King was tossed backwards and into the water.

"What was that?" shouted Sage as she watched the Sea King pass out and collapse into the water. "Uh...Mikoto? Mikoto?" Sage looked to her left and her right, but Mikoto was nowhere to be seen. It took her a couple of seconds to register what had happened, but by then Ridley had already dove into the water.

A few moments later Ridley had reemerged from the sea with Mikoto in tow. The crew brought them both on board as quickly as they could. Mikoto quickly gasped for air as he was brought onto the ship. "What is this?" asked Ridley, "my third or my fourth time saving you from drowning?"

"Does it matter?"asked Mikoto as he lifted his left arm above his head in victory, "we've got enough food for a month!" Mikoto's left arm collapsed back down next to him. "How are we going to get it on the ship?"

"What was that punch?" asked Sage as she crouched down looking at the passed out Sea King laying out in the open.

"Its like Mikoto said," stated Enma, "its rapid-fire. Tell me how many times did Mikoto punch the Sea King?" Sage replied with 1, Hiro-Shu with 9, and Ridley with 15. "Wrong. 20 times. Mikoto's speed allowed him to blur all of his punches together into a singular, fast, and powerful punch with basically twenty times its usual strength. The Sea King couldn't even react fast enough to lessen the damage from the twenty punches. However, it does come with its drawbacks."

**Bounty Hunting Central!**

**An Island of the Grand Line!**

Yeah, I'm late. If you read any one of my other stories you'll know I had computer problems. With both my home computer and my laptop crashing. My home computer is permanently dead, but my laptop was salvaged. Luckily, this is only the second rewrite, but its little longer then what I'd like and I'm missing somethings I wanted to mention, oh, well.

Well, you just saw a brand-new move from Mikoto. To better explain it, remember Foxy's Devil Fruit? The Slow-Slow Fruit? Basically, Mikoto's speed allows him to replicate the effects. In comparison the punches are so fast and his opponent is very slow. Allowing his punches to accumulate the damage and inflict all of the damage from 2-20 punches into one punch. The drawbacks? I'll save that up for a reveal in a later chapter. Maybe the next chapter?

Also, since these guys are going to the Grand Line. I think they need to step up to the plate. And as such much like Sage's Pressure Ball and Mikoto's new Rapid-Fire they will all get new moves. If you have any suggestions feel free to submit them.


	83. Reaper Arc 83 Bounty Hunting Central

**Bounty Hunting Central!**

**An Island of the Grand Line!**

"THE FIRST ISLAND OF THE GRAND LINE!" shouted Mikoto loudly as he leapt off of the ship and onto the hard rock of the island. The nearby pedestrians all turned about and looked at him for a second. They all shrugged it off and continued on their way. It wasn't the first time they saw an overexcited pirate and definitely not the last. "Beware Grand Line! The Next Pirate King...and the greatest riddle master ever, has just stepped onto his first island!"

Ridley stealthly crept up behind Mikoto and quickly whopped him once upon the head, "do you mind? I'd rather not make everybody on this island think of us as enemies or, in your case, an idiot." Ridley let out a hefty sigh as he made another half-check out across the waters. He couldn't help it. He felt a weird sensation...like when he was he went back to see Karasu...the same insanely cold air. It was almost as if someone was breathing down his neck...

Sage stepped off of the boat next. She felt her feet fall firmly onto the island, the first island of the Grand Line. She gingerly stepped forward up next to her two crew mates. "Don't worry mom...I'll grow those Devil Fruits for you..." whispered Sage quietly, so only she could hear herself. Her resolve was solid now, she wasn't turning back now.

Zesiro slumped up and out of the ship. He was currently walking on a home-made splint Enma made for him. His wounds still hadn't fully healed and he hated that. He was currently put under twenty-four hour security, courtesy of Hiro-Shu, until his wounds healed. This was a huge setback in his goal, he'd never be one of the greatest swordsmen in the world at this rate.

Hiro-Shu was close behind him. He was currently expected to follow Zesiro all around the island, in case some idiot pirates decided to jump him. As Hiro-Shu walked about his mind couldn't help but drift back to his original friends. He remembered that he still needed to find a way to rescue his old friend, Uhn, no matter what.

Enma's hand clamped onto Ridley's shoulder snapping him out of his funk, "don't worry about it. I mean this is the Grand Line. Its a pirate paradise!" announced Enma with a hint of enthusiasm that normally didn't appear in his voice. Enma looked around him. This was a huge stepping stone for the crew...it was with this that they had finally one step closer to all of their dreams. Enma felt giddy with happiness as he thought of the library at Raftel.

"You brats are too loud," said Maria as he peeked out over the rails of the ship. As the crew's official shipwright, she was glad they finally landed. Now she can get all the real work done with the ship! This was probably going to be one of her biggest projects. Only thing she needed was wood, nails, and cannons...definitely cannons. A lot of cannons.

"Hey! Ridley!" shouted Mikoto attracting his crew's attention, "let's go to the bar! We can see and hear all the stories from these old and washed-up pirates! Maybe they even know a good riddle or two!" Mikoto immediately took off northwards rushing out into the island's main town.

"Riddles and stories?" asked Ridley with a hint of pity in his voice, "the boy doesn't even know that bars were constructed strictly so people can get drunk off their asses and just enjoy life to its fullest...and sadly throw-up onto the bathroom floors." Ridley began to walk off after Mikoto, who was by now yards ahead of him.

Sage sighed, "they are going to need someone to watch over them aren't they?" asked Sage. The crew nodded in agreement, "I guess I'll go with them." Sage's hand fell to her side as she resigned herself to her duty. She shuffled after Ridley. If the going got hard...Mikoto would screw up and make everything worse.

"Well," said Maria wiping some sawdust from her pant legs, "I'm going to go buy some things to upgrade the ship. Hopefully, by the time we leave this island we won't be leaving the island on a floating piece of trash." Maria knocked on the ship's wooden side. She looked it up and down one last time and sighed, she'd have her work cut out for her with this great piece of work. "Anyways, It'd help to have someone along to help carry the supplies. I'm going to have a lot of materials...wood, metal, and some kind of heavy artillery. So, which one of you brats is coming with me?"

Zesiro raised his hand eager to do something rather then just sit on the ship and do nothing. Even if it was something as simple as lugging wood and metal around, he'd be happy. Hiro-Shu shrugged and accepted his job as Zesiro's watcher. Besides lugging wood and metal around was kind what his body was built for. Strong and sturdy. That was what his specialty was.

Enma shrugged and sighed, "I guess that means I'm on ship watching duty. Making sure it stays in one piece while the rest of my crew is off gallivanting and having fun. I'd be alone on the ship taking care of it, I guess I'll always have Lucifer to keep me company." Enam spoke with a slight whimper in his voice, almost making it sound like he was really hurt and injured by his crew leaving him. He was sort of hurt by the fact that he would be the only one not viewing the first island.

"You go," said Hiro-Shu as he laid his hand on Enma's shoulder. He didn't care either way. He'd be fine on the ship. He actually enjoyed it. It was one of the few times during the journey that he had absolute peace and quiet. None of Ridley's music and none of Mikoto's rather rambunctious behavior. He could finally sit down and read some of books that he'd been meaning to. Besides he needed to get ready for the Grand Line's weather patterns.

With that decided Enma, Maria, and Zesiro headed off to pick-up some materials for the ship. With those two acting as Zesiro's watchers he should be fine. Even if they are jumped, Maria and Enma could easily protect Zesiro from most ordinary pirates. Now the only thing that mattered is whether or not Zesiro would jump out and fight despite his injuries. Hiro-Shu gave Zesiro more credit then that, but it was debatable...

(-With Sage, Ridley, and Mikoto-)

"...I have used five things today...all with just one name what is it pray?" laughed Mikoto high on top of the table in the bar. A glass of lemonade in his hand, the entire bar gathered around him to see the drunk, yet not drunk pirate making a fool of himself. None of them even trying to offer up an answer to Mikoto's riddle.

"Mikoto, sit down!" shouted Sage grabbing a hold of Mikoto's shirt and yanking him down from the table and back down off of the table and into his own seat. "I can't believe I decided to come here with you and Ridley. I knew you would be doing something stupid..." Sage fell back down into her seat, "where is Ridley?"

"I kid you not, ladies!" shouted Ridley as he relaxed backwards with an open bottle of alcohol in his hand, "that pirate was an evil little kid who transferred his soul into a grizzley bear. Anyways, I was facing down with him as he pulled out a chainsaw that he was using as a weapon. He was swinging that thing around and above my head, bragging about how strong he was... and then I just walked right up to him and swung my trusty old guitar straight into his chin." All of the ladies swooned as they leaned in closer to Ridley to hear his story.

"I don't know who I am more embarrassed of Ridley or...you," said Sage as she watched Mikoto climb back up onto the table to continue regaling the uninterested group of pirates with riddles. Sage once again grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him down to his seat once more. "Do you mind? These pirates are obviously not someone to mess with, right now."

"Who? These stupid ol' sea dogs," laughed Mikoto looking over shoulder at the pirates, "trust me if they have half a brain they'd take interest in riddles and give up on pirating. Like I always said 'only thing it takes to be a pirate is a gun or sword'." Mikoto laughed as he pushed his chair backwards, forcing it onto its hind legs.

Mikoto suddenly felt a cold metal barrel against the side of his face. One of the pirates near to him, that was sitting at the table next to him had apparently heard his last sentence and decided to take action, "only takes a gun and a sword does it? I'll show you what it only takes a gun to do? Any guesses, riddle boy?" the man laughed gently as Mikoto remained quiet, "he's your answer. Killing."

"**Rapid Fire x15," **muttered Mikoto as he placed his fist directly into the man's abdomen. His arm and fist disappeared as he slammed his fist repeatedly into the man. All of a sudden the man was thrown backwards and through the air with the immense power of Mikoto's punch. The man smashed directly into the wall behind him, shattering it. "Shoot. I hope I don't have to pay for that."

Sage sat back in her chair, wide-eyed as she watched Mikoto's arm. She remembered what Enma said about Mikoto's Rapid Fire. _"Now the drawbacks of Mikoto's powerful punch are as follow, first, Mikoto can only do it due to the immense speed of his hybrid form, so if somehow he is slowed down this technique is rendered useless. Secondly, despite the increase in power, Mikoto doesn't actually become stronger. If he punches steel or iron or rock, he will still break his fist as each punch takes the damage seperately._

"_Finally, and this is the big one. Ordinarily a single punch has some minor backlash on our arm, namely at our shoulder, but sometimes our wrists and elbows. This means the damage to his arm is magnified by the same amount that his punches are. So, doing a times 20 multiples his punches by 20x its strength, but also increases the backlash by 20. Worse of all, he can't use that arm until it recovers from the backlash...this takes about 10 minutes."_

"_Basically,"_ Sage thought as she recapped, _"Mikoto's punches can't be used if he is slowed down, his fists can still break from punching a hard surface, and he can't use his right arm for an amount of time equal to half the times he used. 20x mean she can't use his arm for 10 minutes. 10x means he can't use it for 5 minutes. Also through trial and error...he can't use anything beyond 25x."_

Regardless of all of these downsides, Mikoto's Rapid Fire move is still his all time strongest move. It was possibly the strongest move anyone on the crew could use. That was exactly what the crew needed right now as they had entered the Grand Line. Sage was about to let loose a sigh of relief when she saw the rest of the bar stand up and approach them. Like hounds...they saw someone strong and immediately they wanted a piece of it. Sage let out a quiet whimper...Mikoto's right arm was dead for the next like 7 minutes...and Ridley was drunk, she pushed her chair back as she stood up, ready to defend the crew's honor...and idiot captain.

"**Crimson Chrysanthemum," **whispered a quiet voice as a sword was quickly unsheathed and then re-sheathed. Three of the pirates lurched forward and hit the ground hard, all of them with a sharp slice straight through their clothing located on their back. "Do you guys mind? I'm trying to enjoy a good book...and I would rather not hear you guys have your butts being whooped by the 'Kid Coyote'...the pirate with a 38 million belie bounty and his...sister? Girlfriend?" asked the girl as she looked over her back at the two.

"Just a friend," said Sage as she backed up a bit, "I'm just his friend...and cook...and sort of his babysitter." Mikoto glared upwards at him, slightly annoyed by what she said.

"Ah...and his friend...the 'Plant Sage'. The pirate with a 23 million belie bounty," said the girl as she looked over her shoulder at the pirates. The entire group of pirates murmured something as they turned around, some of them lingered for a few more seconds, but turned around. The girl smiled as she pulled up a chair and sat down at the same table as Mikoto and Sage.

"Did you hear that?" asked Mikoto as he smiled smugly, turning around and looked at Sage, "I'm a 38 million belie kid. I think I deserve some credit...and another lemonade!" Mikoto pivoted around and looked outwards toward the waitress, he waved her over. "So, um...who do we owe the pleasure to...for you know making it where we didn't have to 'whoop' the butts of all those pirates."

"The name's Scarlet Rosa," said the lady with a smug smile, "and I'm one of the best Bounty Hunters in this part of the Grand Line."

**The Blade of a Bounty Hunter!**

**A Nonstop Bounty Hunter Brawl!**

Ta-da! The next chapter! Mikoto once again gets the crew in trouble...yeah, he's skilled. Anyways, Scarlet Rosa is not my creation. She was created by the one and only, Miyu Hinamori. So, thank her. Anyways, you know now the weaknesses to Mikoto's Rapid Fire. And for those of you who think...'7 minutes...that's nothing'...its actually a really long time to not be able to use your right arm...especially in a fight.

Also, for you riddle enthusiasts...probably like two people...here is Mikoto's riddle...

Fee Fi Fo Fum, First I heard my dinner come, Fo Fum Fee Fi, Then I smelt it going by, Fi Fo Fum Fee, Then I saw it try to flee, Fum Fee Fi Fo, then I touched it with my toe, Fee Fi Fo Fum, Now I'll taste it yum yum yum! I have used five things today, with one name, what is it pray?

50 CSpacian points to whoever answers it! (by the way if you have any idea of what I can use CSpacian points for feel free to suggest something.) I'll answer the riddle during the next chapter!

P.S. I am looking for villain OCs and Snipers for the crew. So start sending them in!


	84. Reaper Arc: 84 Nothing but Trouble

**Nothing But Trouble...**

"Oi!" grunted Maria as she puffed her chest out as she lifted a collection of long logs off of the ground and up into the air. The amount of money the crew had was certainly a small, but with her bargaining skills she had managed to talk them down to a point where she got a workable amount of wood and nails...sadly, she wasn't able to talk them down to a point where she could a couple of cannons. No, the Infinity Pirates' ship would have to stay with the one cannon that she was able to buy.

"I still think this cannon was a waste of a purchase," muttered Enma as he dragged the cannon through the road. The cannon was attached to some chains that he pulled, the salesman was nice enough to let them have a cart to drag it with, but the weight was still pretty high, it took a lot of Enma's effort to drag the cannon across the road, "I mean come on! We don't even have any cannon balls!"

Maria stopped in here tracks for a second. She was so caught up in the thoughts of improving the ship that she had forgotten about one simple fact. Cannons need cannonballs. She didn't think about ever actually using the cannons, just the simple fact that the ship needed the cannons in order to be complete...cannon balls didn't complete a ship, "Hah!" shouted Maria, laughing nervously at her own mistake, "of course...of course I knew that...its just that we can make our own cannonballs...why waste the money?"

"Good point especially considering we don't have any left," muttered Zesiro as he came up besides the two carrying a large jar of nails for the ships refurbishing. Zesiro didn't feel all too great as he was just carrying a jar of nails and nothing more, but it was under Enma's strict care that he did so. The wounds could open up if he so much as took too long of a step...if it wasn't the bandages and the stitching he had now, he would've been died from blood loss. Most normal men would've died from the pain the instant Daimyo dug his swords into their skins.

"Yup," said Enma, "let's all just pray to Lucifer that he'll bless us with food for the next few days." Enma quickly dropped the chains attached to the cannon and clasped his hands together, "Please Lord Lucifer listen to me..."

"I don't think Lucifer really cares if we go hungry," mentioned Zesiro as he continued walking with the nails in his hands. He stopped when he heard the sounds of wheels turning. He turned around and noticed the cart, which currently held the cannon, was beginning to roll backwards. Zesiro looked down at his feet, he hadn't noticed it before, but the hill was kind of inclined. He looked upwards at Maria, who had left the two behind and continued on her path just focusing on moving the logs over the mountain and to the ship, "Uh...Enma," started Zesiro before he noticed the cart began to slide backwards faster, "ENMA!" Zesiro started to dash down for the cart, but the tugging of his bandages reminded him he shouldn't.

Enma turned around to see what Zesiro was trying to run to. His eyes bulged at the sight of the 1,000,000 belie cannon that just started to roll down the hill. "Oh, crap!" shouted Enma as he began to chase after the cannon, by running down hill after it. Enma's eyes widened once again as he saw some people standing in the way of the runaway cannon, "get out of the way!" Enma flinched as rather then doing what Enma said and 'getting out of the way', one of the people instead turned to face the cannon that was by now going pretty fast and accepting a full-on impact from the very blunt back of the cannon. "Oh crap...I should probably just leave...but we really need that cannon." Enma sighed and shrugged as he headed down the hill the rest of the way to get the cannon. Enma bent down and picked up the chains.

"Is this your cannon?" asked one of the men who dodged the cannon that rolled down the hill. Enma looked at him, there was nothing special about him, but Enma nodded, anyways. "Do you know what you just did? You just attacked our faithful captain! She is the one and only greatest female bounty hunter alive! As soon as you remove that cannon from her face she'll freakin' murder ya and collect your bounty."

"Okay," said Enma with a nod of his head, "I guess I know what to do here." Enma approached the cannon and put one of his feet against it. He started to stretch out his leg, pressing the cannon forwards even more into the crushed bounty hunter.

"What are you doing!" shouted the man as he grabbed a hold of Enma and tried to pull him away from the cannon. "I said to remove the cannon! Are you an idiot! Remove the can..." the man's body went limp as he fell to the ground. Enma stopped for a second and pulled an empty syringe out of the man's body, he flicked the top of the needle cleaning it of the medicine that was on it.

"When he wakes up tell him not to do any extraneous activity," instructed Enma as he pointed one of the other men following them, "that drug was in a high dosage. The drug is incredibly point and its probably going to be accompanied by mild cramps, high fever, and maybe even diarrhea when he wakes up...OH! And if you can bring by the cannon for us...we are the Infinity Pirates, we got a ship in the dock...thanks!" Enma quickly turned around and began to walk away from the problem, that he had caused.

"Sure that's a good idea," asked Zesiro as Enma met up with him on the hill, "I mean you just told a bunch of pissed-off bounty hunters who we are and where we are. We're not exactly low-ranked pirates, any more."

"What's a better way to spend our first night in the Grand Line then beating the crap out of some bounty hunters?" asked Enma as he glanced back at the cannon he was leaving behind. "Besides I'm sure Mikoto and Ridley are making trouble of their own. There will probably be a whole army of bounty hunters at our ship...I want some of them to be coming for me."

"You are either suicidal or just plain weird," pointed out Zesiro as he continued to go up the hill carrying his jar of nails.

"What makes you say that?" asked Enma as he lugged slowly behind Zesiro listening to him talk, "I'm suicidal because I ticked off some pathetic bounty hunters. Please...they'll come for me on the ship, when I'm with Hiro-Shu, Mikoto, and..."

"That's not why," stated Zesiro as he looked over his shoulder behind, "you are suicidal because you left our...well, Maria's cannon down there. She's not going to be too happy about the fact that we still don't have a cannon...or about the fact that you left our cannon..."

"Great lord Lucifer, please take pity on me..." said Enma as he began to pray to Lucifer in hopes that he will somehow protect him.

(-With Mikoto and Sage-)

"A Bounty Hunter?" asked Sage, slightly shocked. Despite the fact she just witnessed her knock down an entire group of pirates and maybe a couple of bandits, but its rather shocking that they'd meet a Bounty Hunter here. She was even more shocked at the fact that she seemed friendly to them, ordinarily Bounty Hunters and pirates are like cats and dogs they can't help but fight as soon as they meet, but she just casually sat down next to them.

"Yup," said Rosa as she smiled at her two table mates, "this entire island is infested with Bounty Hunters. A lot of pirates who made big names for themselves in the East Blue comes into the Grand Line and wind up on this island. So Bounty Hunters come here and take them out." Rosa looked back behind her at the large group of pirates all glaring at the table. "Most of the pirates are just a bunch of weaklings with big egos who get taken out on this island and hauled to the nearest Marine Base."

"True!" shouted Mikoto as he raised his glance of lemonade into the air, "a lot of these pirates probably are wimps! But not us! Not the Infinity Pirates!" Mikoto got up on the table and held his glance in the air, "to the INFINITY PIRATES!" Sage slunk deeper into her chair almost hiding beneath the table. Rosa let out a quiet chuckle.

"Here, here!" shouted Ridley from a couple of tables over, "but Mikoto, you don't make a toast with lemonade, you have got to use some kind of alcohol...hey, bartender!" Ridley turned around and faced the bartender, give me a four more shots of saké!" The bartender nodded and passed some glasses down to Ridley, "here we go! Now we can have a real toast!"

"Oh, wow!" shouted Rosa as she looked at Ridley, more specifically his guitar, "you're a musician! That's so cool! I don't mean to brag...but, um...I play a mean violin." Ridley smiled and was about to speak, but Sage interrupted him.

"How long have you been in the Grand Line" asked Sage steadily, in all honesty the entire crew knew next to nothing about the Grand Line, if she could get some information from Rosa she'd consider that an achievement for the day. "I mean I heard that there are some powerful pirates out there nowadays and its amazing that someone could handle things all alone like this."

"Hahaha," laughed Rosa as she leaned back in her chair, "The Grand Line is like a Bounty Hunting paradise! The pirates here are all interesting, not only that, but the World Government has been so busy lately that we, Bounty Hunters, have had basically our pick of all the pirates! Its been pretty fun!""

"The World Government has been busy?" asked Ridley, who was growing interested despite the fact that his rant was interrupted only moments ago, "I can't imagine that. I mean as far as firepower and manpower goes the World Government should be ahead of anyone by a long shot!"

"You are forgetting about the Revolutionaries," stated Rosa. The crew looked at her with dumb looks of disbelief. Sure the Revolutionaries were strong, but still not anywhere near the World Government and their Marines. "What? You don't know? Yeah, its easy to tell you guys are from the East Blue! The Revolutionaries have been causing so much trouble in the Grand Line. They have even taken over and conquered several islands putting them under their control! Combine this with the fact that they have stolen several Marine research plans. I mean not to mention that Void Furrow, one of their leading scientists, even left the Marines to join the Revolutionaries!"

"Void Furrow?" asked Sage, as she recalled what she had heard about him. She recalled several 'government conspiracy' papers that stated he was working on creating a human using Devil Fruits, but he was supposedly 'fired' right after the World Government found out about it. But Rosa said that he left to join the Revolutionaries...Sage gave up on trying to figure everything out and resigned herself to listening to Rosa about how the Revolutionaries were rapidly expanding and conquering islands, demanding large payments of wood, men, and other materials to create an offensive power that almost rivaled the World Government.

"Well!" shouted Ridley as he stood up from his seat at the table, "I've gotta go now...not that I don't mind staying here and watching Mikoto make a fool of himself, but I want to go now before this chat develops into girl talk about boys and clothing! Hey, bartender give me another bottle!" Ridley snatched a bottle from the bartender and quickly left the bar in a rush.

"HEY!" shouted the bartender turning around and yelling at Ridley, "get back here and pay for your drinks!" But it was too late Ridley was already well out of the bar and on his way far away from the bar.

Ridley chuckled as he downed another bottle of alcohol. He was surprised that his rash dine and dash plan worked. He had to get out of the bar. Enma had snapped him back to reality and the alcohol he had helped keep him there, but all of the sudden the feeling was back and it was stronger than before. Something insanely strong and bloodthirsty was definitely approaching this island.

(-out at sea-)

"Ke ke ke ke!" laughed Trevor loudly as he watched his blood-smeared fingers tremble with joy, "I wanna kill some more! Killing is fun! I cannot wait for the next island...for my next victims! I want to watch them die around me once again...just like before...just like before...ke ke ke ke!" Around Trevor laid massive Sea Kings. All of the had massive gashes in their body. These gashes were obviously not done by a blade or a gun, it was if some cruel and powerful beast had ripped through their bodies without a care.

**The Blade of a Bounty Hunter!**

**A Nonstop Bounty Hunter Brawl!**

Buh...buh...BUH! (cue ominious music!) Well, the crew certainly is making trouble for themselves, what with Mikoto knocking out one of the pirates on the island and Enma accidentally ramming his cannon into some bounty hunters. Trouble is definitely on the way! Also, I apologize about the change in title names, I accidentally wasted a whole half a chapter on Enma's slight 'accident' and I decided that what I had left wasn't enough for a 'Nonstop Bounty Hunter Brawl', so that's coming next time.

Also, the answer to Mikoto's riddle from last chapter is in fact 'Senses'. Congratulations to those of you who answered them...although I am slightly upset, it took me awhile to figure out the answer...


	85. Reaper Arc: 85 The Blade of the Bounty

**The Blade of a Bounty Hunter!**

**A Nonstop Bounty Hunter Brawl!**

"Mikoto!" shouted Sage as she ducked underneath a rogue flying chair from one of pirates. The bar which was peaceful just a few seconds ago had broken out into a huge fight. Now most of the pirates and bounty hunters were aiming at the Infinity Pirates, "you just had to insult all of these pirates once again! Why the heck did you state that all of these pirates were scaredy cats?" She couldn't believe that after they got off safely the first time due to Rosa, but then Mikoto opened his mouth again and they got in trouble again!

"They are!" shouted Mikoto as he brought a fist upwards and into one of his opponent's abdomen. He fired another quick punch at him sending him spiraling backwards away from him. The pirate was knocked into the tables behind with a loud grunt. "They immediately backed away as soon as Rosa here waved her sword around and mentioned our bounties! If they were real pirates they would've attacked us right then and there!" Mikoto dodged another pirate's punch that came to the bare left of him. Mikoto jumped up and launched a series of kicks to the man's head. "But they didn't, thus they are scaredy cats!"

Rosa chuckled as she brought her sword around and upwards, blocking another downwards slice from a fellow bounty hunter, "I would've liked to have avoided fighting an entire bar full of pirates...but I can't complain. Its not like you guys are going to be taking the bounties for these beaten pirates. So, I'm going to make quite a few millions in the next minute or so." Rosa swung her blade around in a wide circle creating a gust of wind knocking the pirates back.

Mikoto charged forward bringing his fist into a pirate, knocking him upwards and into the air. Mikoto spun around and launched a direct downward kick into his gut. He slammed the man downwards. Mikoto spun about and launched a second series of kicks at another group of pirates. "Yeah, exactly and besides its fun!" shouted Mikoto as he Rosa knock down another group of pirates.

Another pirate charged forward bringing his large hammer down upon Mikoto. Rosa jumped to his side and brought her sword upwards, deflecting the swing of the pirate's hammer. Mikoto lowered himself and placed one fist directly into the gut of the pirate. Mikoto pushed off of the ground, forcing his entire body and arm to go forward forcing the pirate backwards and into even more bounty hunters and pirates behind him, knocking them all down to the ground. Most of them got back up almost instantaneously ready to continue the fight.

They charged forward at the group once more. "**Pressure Ball**!" screamed Sage as she fired a highly condensed ball of pressure at the charging pirates. The ball slammed into them exploding, scattering them all across the floor from the incredible pressure. The pirates let out a loud and mutual groan as they laid about the floor. Rosa let out an impressed whistle as she looked at the damage that Sage's shot had caused.

Just as Rosa opened her mouth to praise her, a shot rang out. Mikoto was thrown from his spot in the bar and onto the floor. His left shoulder had a large gunshot wound in it, that was bleeding profusely. Sage rushed over to his side, panicking as she watched Mikoto cringe in pain. Rosa, on the other hand, immediately jumped into action. She moved into the line of fire where the gunshot had probably been fired from, standing in the way where the shooter wouldn't be able to take another shot at Mikoto.

The man on the opposite side of the bar was sitting on a table and had a single six-chamber pistol in his left hand. He had a smug smile on his face. He jumped down from the table and began to approach the pirate, "looks like we're taking home the head of the 38 million belie pirate. We'll be sitting pretty nicely for the next few days." Rosa moved forward and placed her blade onto the man's neck, her eyes looking upwards at her enemy. "What's a bounty hunter doing protecting a pirate?"

"I'm a bounty hunter protecting my next bounty," said Rosa as she pressed the sword in deeper into the man's neck, "If you were a pirate I would cut your arms off without a moment's hesitation...but killing you won't benefit me at all, you have no bounty on your head and as such no real reason to kill you. But I suggest you back away before you give me a reason." Rosa didn't remove her blade from the pirate's neck, keeping it trained on him.

"Didn't you hear me miss?" asked the bounty hunter, "I said 'We're taking his head home'...I said 'We'll be sitting pretty nicely'...I'm not alone miss. I got a fellow bounty hunter...and he has his sights set on you." A red light suddenly appeared on Rosa's chest. Rosa's eyes fluttered in the direction of the light, but only for a moment. They quickly came back onto bounty hunter in front of her. "I suggest you remove your blade...real pretty like." Rosa clenched her teeth as she debated her chances of taking the man's head off and then dodging back before the sniper fired. She highly doubted it.

(-A few minutes earlier with Enma-)

Enma had finally finished traveling through the woods. He had tried to avoid Maria's rage, but now he was way away from his ship and he had absolutely no idea on where to go. He can't head back to the ship and he sure as heck ain't going back to the shipyard with those bounty hunters lurking about and by now they were probably pretty ticked at him. He was currently on the top of a hill, he looked about him down upon the island. The island looked pretty scarce in the excitement department. He finally noted a small bar down the street with quite a large group of people fleeing from it.

Enma was about to head down and check out what the big deal was all about but he stopped short. He cast a small sideways gaze. There was a pretty tall man that had come out of the forest moments after him. He had a pretty gun with a long barrel. He found himself a decent rock and set himself up there. He placed his gun on the rock, using it to hold his gun steady. He peered into scope of the gun and began to take aim. Enma looked at the barrel of his gun and then back down to the bar...looked like he was lined up pretty well with the bar.

Enma looked over at the sniper...eh, why not? Enma had already ticked a bunch of bounty hunters off why not irritate a sniper? Enma opened his hand and produced a long white ivory spear in the center of it. Enma spun the spear about smashing the long end into the sniper and sending him backwards, away from his gun. The sniper however, left his gun on the ground still pointed downwards towards the bar. The sniper's eyes rapidly blinked open as he stared at his aggressor.

"What the hack was that for?" shouted the sniper as he pulled a gun out of his jacket and took aim at Enma, "I was doing absolutely nothing but minding my own business here! And you come out of nowhere and I attacked me!" the sniper stood up, never letting his sights leave Enma's head. "Wait a second...you...you're...you're _ Enma."

"You are right about that," said Enma as he produced a second small bone from his free hand. The small bone was thin and sharpened to a degree where it was similar to a small knife. Enma twirled it about in his free hand. He smiled as he held the small knife in between him and the sniper.

"You do not you are not supposed to bring a knife to a gun fight, don't you?" mocked the sniper as he brought his gun up and his finger gingerly touched the trigger preparing to fire. Enma charged forward, his small knife in his hand. The sniper smirked as he pulled the trigger. A single shot rang out, filling the hills with the loud banging shot. The shot made clean contact with Enma's head. Enma continued charging. Suddenly Enma brought his knife up severing the man's hand. His hand jumped open from the pain and the gun clattered to the ground. "How...how the hell did you? I shot your head!"

Enma smiled as he turned around and faced the man. The bullet was still lodged in Enma's head, but due to Enma's steel-like bones, including his skull, the bullet had been stopped due to the insane density of his skull. Enma reached up with one of his hands, grabbed hold of the bullet, and pulled it out. Enma smiled, reached out, grabbed the sniper's good hand, and pressed the bullet into it, "Lord Lucifer, please damn this rotten soul to the deepest confinement of hell and punish him for his disgrace," said Enma quietly as he punched the man in the abdomen with such power and force, that he crumpled up and fell to the ground.

Enma looked around himself once more and then back over at the rifle the man had left laying on the rock. He couldn't help but be interested in whatever it was that the man had been looking at through his scope. Enma walked over to the gun and peered through the rifle...as far as Enma could tell it was just a girl in a hoodie...Enma stopped for a second and thought about it...the sniper was obviously a bounty hunter so it stood to reason that he aiming for a pirate...but he didn't recall ever seeing the girl's image on a bounty poster.

Enma moved the sniper rifle around, peering through it trying to see what was going on in the bar and more importantly what was the sniper was aiming at. He stopped as he saw Sage kneeling above another man, his shoulder bleeding profusely covering the ground and soiling the ground around her and him. Enma stopped and pulled his head back, he then pressed his eyes back against the scope examining it again. The person laying on the ground looked like Mikoto, he examined the body through the sniper scope...it was! That was Mikoto on the ground.

(-Back at the Bar-)

Rosa thought deeply as she slowly began to remove her blade. She didn't want to remove the blade from the man's throat, but the little red dot of light was still trained on her. She looked upwards at the man with the small gun, he had a very annoying, very stupid smirk on his face as he stared at her. She was starting to believe that cutting his head off would be totally worth it just to wipe that smile off of his face, she was really starting to consider taking the bullet...she was starting to believe it was totally worth it...

Just as those thoughts flickered through Rosa's mind, the sniper's light left her. It began to rapidly dance around the room, landing on the bounty hunter and then moving over to Sage and eventually landing on Mikoto. The light continued to move around frantically without any real direction. Both Rosa and the other bounty hunter stared at the light dumbfounded. The bounty hunter's smirk had disappeared and was replaced with one of panic as he tried to rapidly put together what had just happened and what could've possibly had made his partner mess around with the rifle and purposely put him in a dangerous situation.

Rosa strode forward, her blade becoming a mere glint of light as she sliced through the air. The blade slicing into the bounty hunter, sending him backwards and onto the ground. The bounty hunter grunted as he fell onto the ground behind. Rosa smirked as she walked over and ripped the gun from his hand and tossed it over across the ground. The gun clattered to the ground loudly. "Close...you almost had me worrying there for a second. But it looks like your partner left you high and dry." The man gritted his teeth and grunted as he glared upwards at her.

"Shoot," shouted Sage as she continued to watch over Mikoto applying pressure on his shoulder, trying to increase the pressure and slow the blood flow. Her other hand was holding a table napkin tight to his shoulder, soaking up the blood. "Where is Enma when you need him? Or Hiro-Shu? Or someone?" Sage looked down at the ground...trying to recall anything and everything she knew about medicine**.**

**A Shichibukai on the Island!**

Mikoto got shot, Enma is causing trouble, Sage is panicking, and Ridley has grim premonitions. The chaos and trouble is only beginning for the Infinity Pirates...um...and, yeah, that's all for now...


	86. Reaper Arc: 86 A Shichibukai on the

**A Shichibukai on the Island!**

"We are the Engine Pirates!" shouted a group of men that had gathered around the ship. Hiro-Shu peered over the rail and down at them. Besides their large number and many weapons there wasn't anything really intimidating about them. "Some of your crew were making a ruckus down in the shipyard...so, of course, we decided to come down here and show you who are the better pirates!" The men in the front of the group began swinging their swords about in the air.

"I apologize but Mikoto, the kid that ticked you off..." began Hiro-Shu about to tell the large group of pirates that Mikoto wasn't here right now and was off at the bar still, but they interrupted him.

"We don't give a shit about some kid called Mikoto," shouted one of the men as he aimed his gun up and at Hiro-Shu, "a man named Enma came down to the shipyard along with a Fishman and a woman with robotic arms and took down a bounty hunter...now, listen we are all for taking down a bounty hunter...but, you see, we don't really like it when someone else is attracting more attention then us! And you see, that's exactly what that man did...so we came down here to take him down! Understand?"

"Really?" asked Hiro-Shu as he looked back over the rail and at the large group of pirates. He found it hard to believe that Enma caused a ruckus and attracted pirates to the ship while Mikoto, who was at a BAR, has so not sent one pissed off pirate to the ship. "Well...he's not here either." Hiro-Shu could've told them that the woman with the robotic arms was and was down in the ship's bottom fixing it up, but that seemed like it would just cause more trouble.

"Like we care!" shouted the pirates as they charged forward, "wrecking your ship will be just as fair! You won't try to show us up again!" The first pirate leapt up and brought his sword down and upon Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu blocked it with ease using his iron covered arm to deflect the downwards slash.

"**Fist of Iron! Iguko's Fury!" **shouted Hiro-Shu as he brought his iron-coated fist upwards smashing into the pirate's rib forcing him upwards and off of the ship. The man then careened downwards and onto the ground. "I think you guys should stop attacking me and this ship," stated Hiro-Shu calmly as he watched the group of pirates scatter about, several of them racing upwards to the aid of their fallen comrade.

"Forget you!" shouted one of the other men. He was slightly larger then the rest of the, standing around 6 feet. He charged forward, moving around the rest of his crew. He quickly closed in on the ship and fired a single punch. The fist drove straight into the ship's hull placing a large hole into the wooden ship. "We didn't come here to destroy their teammates our goal is to destroy the ship! So, let's just destroy..." the man went to turn around, but fist held fast and didn't come outside of the ship's hole... "that's odd. My fist is stuck...it feels as if some kind of metal is..." the man stopped himself as he remembered the woman with the robotic arms was on the crew.

A single thought crossed the man's head as a robotic arm blasted another hole through the ship's wall. The metallic arm came soaring outwards and into the man's face. The force would've blown him backwards, but Maria's other arm remained wrapped heavily around his arm preventing him from being sent flying. Maria's face appeared through the hole, she was glaring outwards at them. Her eyes glinting at them through the darkness of the ship, "are you brats trying to destroy my ship? I do not like men who try to destroy my ship." Maria disappeared from the hole as she rushed up to the top of the ship.

"Ah...I feel sorry for you," said Hiro-Shu as he moved out of the way as Maria came hurtling forward launching an elbow strike straight forward and into the nose of one of the nearby pirates, knocking him backwards.

(-With Ridley-)

The aura was still strong. It reminded Ridley of his time spent with his father. The fear that that man had inspired in him all came rushing back as he remembered the shooting lessons along with several hours of martial arts practice. The little free time Ridley had was to be spent developing a skill of his own choice...Ridley had of course chosen music. It started off with something like the piano, which Ridley learned to play a couple of basic songs on, but then Ridley went into the guitar.

Ridley gripped his guitar tightly. The metallic structure that it had was originally his father's idea. It would basically be training him while not training him. It was all-in-all not too big a surprise that lead up to the big father-son blow-out they had experienced. Anyways, right now, he couldn't help but remember all those terrible memories. As he stood out on the ground and watched the sea. The feeling of a deadly force approaching you is a very basic notion. It was a basic sixth sense...like the feeling that someone is watching you...or when animals suddenly dart out of your way as soon as you take note of them. Ridley's sixth sense was just more developed due to its overuse.

Ridley was fused to his spot as he awaited for the ship arrive. He was feeling the same terrible sense of foreboding that he had ever since they were at the Marine Base. He was trying to figure out which one of the feelings was worse. Karasu had an overwhelming aura, that was almost suffocating, but this new one...Ridley couldn't help but relate it to a knife that was cutting into everything around him. The sharp cutting sensation was terrible, but Ridley knew as it currently stood he was the only one that even stood a chance of living.

Mikoto and Maria were way too headstrong. They would keep attacking him and trying to take him down regardless of how overwhelmingly strong they were...especially Mikoto. Zesiro was too injured as it currently stood...finally, Sage wasn't strong enough to even stand a chance against it. Ridley stretched his arm backwards as he thought about them.

That just left Enma and Hiro-Shu. Enma was like Maria and Mikoto, but less so...not too mention Ridley highly doubted he would be able to get in and get out safely. Following that up Hiro-Shu would be the next decent choice, but...he would probably be better off as back-up. Ridley grabbed his stomach as another surge of pain came forth. The poison from Karasu still reared its ugly head every so often, but it seemed to be calming down. Ridley was calming down as he watched the sea's wave.

He had to keep running his plan through his mind. Right now since the crew lacked a sniper, Ridley was the only long-distanced fighter they had and even then he wasn't that strong, but the rest of the crew needed to be up in their attacker face at all time...Ridley was lucky and could put a little more distance between him and the attacker, not to mention if worst comes to worst Ridley could just run out into the ocean...Mikoto, Sage, Enma, and Hiro-Shu would all basically die if they did that. If Ridley did that, he'd be saved from the possible Devil Fruit powers that the evil aura was emanating from.

"Hey, boyz, wazn't this man with that little annoying kid back in the bar?" asked someone from behind Ridley. Ridley turned around and saw a small group of men. They didn't look like they were in the best of shape, several of them having a black-eye or a tear in their clothes. They all also wore the same annoyed look on their faces, as if someone had just irritated them to no end.

"Sadly, that is true," replied Ridley as he looked back at them. He had temporarily panicked as he thought about the situation. After all, he hadn't originally counted on a group of pirates showing up. If he had to fight them and then go on and fight whoever is emanating the evil aura...he was going to be in trouble... "do you mind waiting for awhile?" asked Ridley as he looked back over the sea, "I'm waiting for someone."

One of the pirates jumped forward, his sword unsheathed as he waved it at him. "See, now that would be me being nice to you...okay? And you see the thing is I don't wanna be nice to you." The man bent down and uncoiled, launching himself off and at Ridley. Ridley brought his guitar up and blocked the slashing of the man's slash, barely deflecting it.

"Yeah, can't say I disagree with you," said Ridley as he brought his guitar upwards, knocking the man's sword backwards and out of his hands. "I'm not all too great at being nice to other people either. **50 Decibels!" **Ridley slammed onto his guitar. A loud sound wave came crashing around, slamming into the ground. The enemy pirates were thrown to the ground, all of them grabbing and covering their ears, in a futile attempt to quiet the noise.

The pirates were all on the ground as Ridley began to amplify the noise to a higher volume. The noise began to grow louder forcing the pirates into a cowering position. Several of them tried to raise their guns and shout at Ridley, but their hands were shaking too fast that they couldn't get an accurate shot off at him.

"Hmmm...is this a private concert to celebrate my landing?" said a lady as she stepped off of the ship and onto the ground. Her short skirt swirled around her. On her back was a skinny blade. Chances are on first appearance most people would call her pretty, but on the second look people would see past it and notice her strong air of power and self-confidence. "I would've preferred a more classical tone for my arrival, but not everyone can have the same sense of class as I have."

"What can I say I forgot my orchestra on my ship?" stated Ridley as he looked at the girl. The aura he was feeling as he looked at her wasn't what he expected. The previous aura was huge and had a definite killing instinct, this one didn't feel the same. The people Ridley had to fight was just increasing over and over again.

"You! I know that face!" shouted one of the pirates, "you are 'The Siren' Melanie! You are one of the poor and worthless Government Dogs! Too bad you landed in a pack of pirates! There is no way you can take us all out! Men fire!" The entire group of pirates produced guns and all of them took aim at Melanie. They all open-fired upon him. The sounds of guns going off filled the shore as each and every single one of the pirates fired and reloaded as fast as they could, all desperately trying to take Melanie down.

Melanie unsheathed he sword in an instant bringing the sharp blade down upon the bullets, scattering them around in the air. Melanie smiled as the bullets clattered helpless onto the ground around her. She took a deep breath and let loose a melodic voice, "Stop!", she sung. The pirates fingers froze as a small blank, almost vacant look crossed their faces. "Drop your guns!" her voice continued to rise. The pirates immediately dropped their guns to the ground. Ridley couldn't put his finger on it, but something about her voice...he didn't notice it when she talked to him when she stepped off the ship, but now that she was singing...there was a definite difference. This was a much more of a commanding voice... "now leave!" sung Melanie as she finished her song. The rest of the pirates quickly left, without even a wave goodbye.

Melanie looked over at Ridley, who was just standing in one place, dumbfounded. She was looking at him as if she was expecting him to do something, but he didn't. He just stood there trying to figure out what exactly happened. His mind racing. His first thought immediately jumped back to Henry...he looked at her and he immediately thought of hypnosis...but something was still lacking from that equation...following that fact he was also in the presence of a Shichibukai...a Shichibukai, who may or may not have an intense killing intent.

Melanie cleared her throat, pulling Ridley out of his head and back into the real world. "Leave," she sung once more. Again, Ridley made no movement, even hinting that he was thinking about leaving. Melanie looked at him, almost as bewildered as Ridley was. She did not understand why her power wasn't working on this one guy. She was about to leave, after all, she was here hunting down a specific pirate group, when she noticed that Ridley was one of them. She couldn't believe that SHE had missed it! If the guitar and the noise he made was proof that he was one of the Infinity Pirates, his green mohawk should've gave him away. "Well, hello, there 'Noise Maker' Ridley," she stated as she pulled her katana off of her back and aimed it devilishly at Ridley.

**Musical Battle!**

**A Catastrophic Cacophony of Chaos!**

I'm beginning to think I spend more time writing the title names then I do the actual stories...odd, huh? Anyways, Mikoto is still causing trouble for the rest of the crew...except Hiro-Shu and Maria, oddly enough. You also got to see a quick glimpse of Hiro-Shu and Maria trying to fix the ship, while they wait for the cannon that Enma is supposed to bring...wonder what's taking him so long...I also want to apologize ahead of time, but I am starting college midterms next week (I got a couple of papers that I need to write, too)...so...uhm...this ain't easy to say, but...erhm...it may be awhile before I update...like a week...or two...or three...maybe even four...again I am sorry. I will try my best not to let it come to that! I PROMISE! But...college...what are you going to do?


	87. Reaper Arc: 87 A Catastrophic Concert

**Musical Battle!**

**A Catastrophic Cacophony of Chaos!**

Ridley was still standing in one position watching Melanie. He was completely clueless as to what her power was, but somehow it appeared that she managed to completely control them with just her voice. Ridley reached and pulled on his ear, thinking about the earplugs he had always left in his ears in order to keep them safe from his own music...chances if he lost them...he'd probably be put under the same control as the others...Ridley's hand left his ear and went back down to his guitar...he still had his doubt about whether or not she was the person who the aura was emanating from...but sadly from the sound of it...whether or not she was the one that was releasing it, she was coming after them...so one of them had to take care of her and he highly doubted that she would stroll on past him and go after Zesiro instead.

Melanie strolled forward. She didn't want this fight to continue...she had originally planned on just using her Devil Fruit to harmlessly capture a couple of them while she took on the stronger ones. She hadn't planned on having to fight the member on their crew with the lowest bounty...if he could somehow resist her powers she had to think that the other ones had the power to as well. She didn't like this fact...her plan to easily capture half of the crew just with a simple song, but now that idea looked like it wasn't going to happen.

"Sleep!" sung Melanie, deciding to give her Devil Fruit one final try. Ridley once more didn't move, his fingers hovering slowly over his guitar's strings. Melanie twisted her lips up into a distasteful grimace as she kept her eyes on him. Melanie brought her sword forth and took careful aim at Ridley. "I never suspected I'd meet a man that could resist even these simple commands..." she stated as she took slow steps closer to Ridley. She brandished her blade as she moved in closer.

Ridley was snapped out of his daze as Melanie drew in closer and brought her blade out and into a wide arc, slicing the air that was in front of her with her long and sleek blade. Ridley backed up, jumping backwards, his fingers began to strum hard on his guitar, another wave of incredibly loud noise filled the area around the two combatants. Melanie reeled backwards from the noise, putting even more distance in between the two. Her eyes wide from the pain, she wondered if this was why her Devil Fruit power wasn't working. That his ears were just too damaged in order to receive her commands.

Ordinarily anyone, man, woman, or even animal that heard her singing any command would be forced to obey it. Her Devil Fruit ability made it completely easy for her to achieve the title of Shichibukai. Even if it wasn't for fighting capabilities, her power would easily 'convince' the Marines into making her the Shichibukai. It wouldn't have been the best way to start a strong relationship, but then again the current relationship she shared with the Marine Government isn't that great. But it was a necessary relationship so she decided to continue it and keep it going regardless of the problems it created.

Melanie bit her lip as she remembered her reason for joining the Shichibukai...she hated the World Government for what they did to her...but...she had to swallow her pride and accept their invitation to the Shichibukai to make her search easier...this was the quickest way for her to achieve her goals and as a result she will try her absolute best to keep this position of power until the day she accomplishes her goal.

Melanie strode forward, bringing her sword outwards aiming directly for a swift win with direct cut to Ridley's neck. Ridley dodged backwards and strummed even harder on his guitar sending another pulsing wave of loud noise forward at Melanie. Melanie grimaced as she continued on her path towards Ridley, enduring the painfully loud noise as she continued to get in closer. Ridley kept strolling backwards, intent on keeping the distant between him and Melanie as big as possible. He really didn't want to get any closer to her then he had to and the distant in between them suited him just fine. Enough for his loud noises to hurt her, but more then enough where her sharp sword couldn't cut into him.

"What's the matter?" mocked Melanie, attempting to irritate Ridley into action, "I expected more attitude and guts from someone that looked like you, but it looks like you have the guts and the attitude of a pathetic rat!" She drove forward with her blade slicing the air in between them due to excessive distance Ridley kept in between them, her strokes couldn't possibly get close enough to harm him.

Ridley laughed as he kept jumping backwards, "sorry, but I'm pretty sure if you were going for an animal reference you should've went with bat. If you ask me that fits so much better with me!" Ridley made another backwards jump as he lifted his hand into the air, "**Apollo's Allegro!" **Ridley brought his hand back down to his guitar strumming it quickly generating a soft melody. The melody rebounded off of the rocks that were strewn about the field and with each rebound the echoes built up and became louder and more numerous.

Melanie struggled to overcome it as the sound exploded with every step that she took. Her gut felt terrible it was like it was spinning and tuning, flipping all about making her feel worse and worse as the seconds past. The noise was making her sick to her stomach, not to mention her head was starting to pound due to the intensity of the painful noise. She finally broke free as she charged forward, bringing her sword around once more in another desperate attempt to cut Ridley.

Melanie just noticed it, but the distance between them had been shortened. She wasn't surprised as far as speed goes she had the upper-hand. She just needed to keep pressing him eventually he would make a big mistake and that would be the end. She pressed forward faster, bringing her sword up and down with each and every powerful slice. "You've noticed the distance between us has been shrinking, haven't you?" stated Melanie. She just needed to freak him out, the more freaked out an opponent was the higher the chance that they'd make a mistake.

Ridley grimaced. Of course he had noticed his ONE advantage slowly disappearing. Even with Melanie wasting her time with her fruitless slashes she was still faster then Ridley was when he was running backwards...he really shouldn't be surprised. She wasn't chosen as a Shichibukai due to her voice... "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention to distance between us...I was too busy thinking about you. I mean I always assumed that if a girl was going to try to kill me she was at least going to be pretty...or Sage would've put her up to it...but you don't really fit either of those accusations."

Melanie twisted her smile from closing the distance into a distasteful frown as she brought her sword back around aiming for Ridley once more. There was still too much distance in between them. She twisted her sword about and made a powerful thrust forward with her sharp blade. With the speed and power of her thrust she nearly brought the tip of the blade into Ridley's gut, but Ridley had managed to make another dodge backwards, barely avoiding the tip.

Ridley cursed as he nearly stumbled backwards amongst the rocks jutting out of the ground. He was really starting to worry. There wasn't much killing intent behind her attacks...almost all of her attacks thus far had been shallow and intentionally shorter then they could be. If she wanted to kill him she would be aiming for the space behind him rather then at him in order to slice him clean in two, but it seemed like she was aiming just to cut him open rather than into. Ordinarily Ridley would be thankful that his opponent didn't want to kill him, but that meant that somebody else was coming to the island...and he highly doubted that Melanie would step out of the way for him to deal with the newcomer.

"I don't suppose you got a monster on your ship," asked Ridley with an uncomfortable chuckle. He really didn't like to think of either answer...both of them meant trouble for him.

Melanie's frown deepened. "Fight me, seriously!" she shouted as she brought her sword upwards and through the air. "I am tired of you making light of this manner...this is a fight! Either come at me with everything you got or stand down and die!" Melanie brought her blade up above her head and held it straight out with the tip pointed outwards and Ridley's head. "I am a Shichibukai and I will not be brought down by some simple musician who doesn't even take combat seriously." Melanie broke from her stance and charged she brought her sword out and around making a wide arcing slash with her sword.

Ridley was about to jump back, but he forgot about the rocks in the ground. As he brought his body back, his foot got caught on one of the rocks and he fell. The blade swooped by, its sharp edge flying by his head. The blade came by and completed its path just inches above Ridley's head. Ridley collapsed onto the ground, his eyes wide with temporary worry and fear, but that passed as he realized that through pure luck he had kept his head.

Melanie brought her sword up and quickly brought back down into the ground where Ridley laid. Ridley turned about, rolling across the dirty rock riddled land and brought himself back up and onto his feet. Melanie's blade dug into the earth, sending bits and piece of the rocky landscape into the air. Ridley swung out with his guitar. He slammed the hard metal bottom of his guitar into Melanie's leg. Melanie shook as the heavy blunt object came crashing into her leg. She stumbled backwards her free arm going down and grabbing hold of her leg in order to support it.

Ridley swung himself back up and onto his feet. He did a quick check on his body, making sure he didn't take any real damage without noticing. Everything felt in place, but as his curious fingers made their way up to his head he found out something was missing. "YOU CUT MY MOHAWK!" shouted Ridley.

Melanie looked at him as she removed her hands from her injured and battered leg. She looked at his ridiculous hairdo...it looked the same to her, "I think you are imagining things," she stated calmly and professionally as she brought her sword back around and in-between the two of them. "But if you want me to cut it completely off I would be more then happy to obl..." her words disappeared into a mess of music as Ridley began heavily strumming on his guitar.

"**150 Decibels!" **screamed Ridley over the loud noise of his guitar as he brought his hand down and across the strings. The noise amplified itself carrying the loud booming and almost nonsensical tones of Ridley's music throughout the air. Melanie shuddered as the noise made its way into her ears and nearly broke her eardrums. Ridley grunted against his own noise...his earplugs may have been high-grade, but they were in no way made to handle 150 decibels and keep them toned down. If it wasn't due to the daily subjection of himself to this kind of loud noise he may have fallen down as well.

Melanie grunted as she managed to remain standing. She charged forward once more, she finally put together her real aim...she didn't need to slice Ridley up, she only needed to make contact with his guitar. The sharp steel of her blade would mean an end to his guitar's precious strings and a guitar without its strings is nothing more then a wooden racket.

She closed in on him, Ridley had apparently foregone the idea of running away in a mad attempt to bring Melanie down with one final song. Melanie continued on regardless of the pain her ears were causing her, she brought her sword about with one final desire-fueled swing. Ridley raised his guitar and used its hard metal base as a shield. Melanie's sword met with Ridley's guitar and the clanging and scraping of the two weapons made a sound far worse then anything Ridley could've produced just by strumming on his guitar strings.

Melanie leapt back, the force of her blade bouncing off of Ridley's guitar, repelled her a few feet away. Ridley grunted, his fingers that he had used to reinforce his guitar and suffered a great deal of trauma from Melanie's swing, but they were still active...they hurt though. He should've considered himself lucky that those were the only injuries he had sustained thus far with his battle with Melanie...but he couldn't...he kept thinking about how she cut his Mohawk!

Melanie panted heavily. She had been running about and chasing this damn musician while listening to his loud and rather raucous noise that he created...now she felt terrible...the chase had made her short of breath and she was pretty sure she had gone deaf in one of her ears. However, she knew one thing for certain...this fight was not over with yet.

**The End of the Concert!**

**Melanie's and Ridley's Finale!**

I didn't think it would take me three or four weeks...those were just extremely high estimates...luckily (for you guys anyways), I couldn't find any good sources for my paper, so I wasn't able to work on it like I wanted to...but I still have to work on it and two other papers so don't expect me to get right back on schedule for another week or so, but I will hopefully continue to type the stories up (especially seeing as how I have recently psyched myself up for the next arc in this story...yeah, this arc not so much, but next arc...oh ho ho HO! I really think the next arc might just be the best one yet!)

Anyways, avoiding my own problems and the geniusness of the next arc. The fight between Melanie and Ridley is heating up...Ridley is no longer concentrating on the incoming evil that is Trevor but on the girl who just cut his Mohawk! Shame, too...they could've been such good friends...

P.S. For those of you who haven't forgotten...don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Mikoto who is currently bleeding out in a bar...I'll get to him...eventually.


	88. Reaper Arc: 88 The Concert Ends

**The End of the Concert!**

**Melanie's and Ridley's Finale!**

"**200 Decibels!" **shouted Ridley, slamming onto his guitar. The sound of the guitar blasted outwards. Melanie grunted as she dashed forward, she brought her sword out and around bringing the sword around and near Ridley. The blade nearly ramming into Ridley's gut. Ridley jumped backwards, letting go of his guitar for a split second. Melanie drove in trying to cut him up with another slash. Ridley grimaced as the blade got closer to him then before.

"What's the matter, Mohawk?" mocked Melanie, "did your ability to run away get cut in half?" Melanie drove in again with her blade aiming for Ridley neck. Ridley swung his guitar about and blocked the slash. The force of her blade made him skit across the ground for a while, but he quickly got his grip on the ground back. He made a quick outwards swinging kick at Melanie's legs as a desperate act of attack. Melanie dodged the kick by moving to the side. She brought her sword around once more and smashed the hilt of her sword into Ridley's arm. Ridley grunted as he was thrown backwards from the force.

Ridley smashed into the ground. He grunted as he tried to quickly get back up onto his feet...immediately upon standing he felt different. He noticed it and immediately felt a twinge of panic. His left ear was unplugged. As far as he knew his earplug was the only thing that was preventing her power from controlling him was his earplug, which was now on the ground. Melanie made another swing at him with her blade, Ridley dodged backwards desperately trying to avoid the blade. Ordinarily having a girl taking a swing at him would scare him, but now he felt safer knowing that Melanie, thankfully, didn't notice his earplug had fell out. Right now, it was just a matter of who would fall first.

Melanie wasn't intending on that being her. She charged forward with her blade making another swinging motion, bringing her sword around and at Ridley. The sword dragged itself around, nearly slicing into his neck and beheading him. But Ridley had ducked, the sword barely skimming above his Mohawk, leaving it intact. Ridley began to run backwards, determined to increase the distance between them again. He brought his hand down upon his guitar strings. Another loud chorus of noise burst forth. Melanie grunted as she felt her legs feel like a jelly as if they were going to collapse beneath her.

She strode forward ignoring the shaking legs and brought her sword forward and done trying to smash the sharp edge into his skull. Ridley spun around, bringing his guitar around and about into her gut. She dodged backwards, trying to avoid the guitar from hitting her again. "I'm amazed at you," muttered Melanie, "my Devil Fruit may have made me a terryfing being on the high seas, but I do consider myself to be a high-class swordsman. I still consider myself to be high up on the chain of Shichibukai's even without my Devil Fruit power."

Ridley grunted...the Shichibukai were definitely people to take lightly...compared to anyone other then the Yonkous and maybe the Marine admirals they were deadly. His father had taught him that much. Karasu, was ranked on the same level of the Shichibukai, but due to his rather lacking efforts in hunting down pirates, the Marines had no desire to recruit, even though the fact that if they did the Black Market Karasu ran would become legal the classic trade between the World Government and the Shichibukai.

Ridley couldn't help, but think about Karasu...he was really starting to get heated up. He couldn't stop remember all of those moments that Karasu had done to him...not to mention the fact that he killed his mother. Ridley gritted his teeth. Karasu was at the level of a Shichibukai, so if Ridley couldn't take out Melanie...he couldn't take out Karasu. Ridley glared at Melanie...he had decided...he was going to win...Melanie was just a stepping stone, a necessary step to taking out his dad...Ridley charged forward.

Melanie was taken for a loop. Ridley, who had been trying to escape her range throughout the entire fight had suddenly decided to charge forward rather then keep the distance between them...she didn't understand his rather random idea! But nonetheless, the random and un-understandable charge, surprised her and she wasn't even capable of bringing her sword up to block the surprise attack. Ridley's guitar came crashing through and straight into the side of her face. Melanie was forced back, and she temporarily lost her balance, but she overcame it and brought her sword back down and brought the sharp blade into Ridley's shoulder. Ridley ignored the pain that shot through his arm, and brought his guitar around and into Melanie's gut as a thrust, rather then a swing. Melanie stumbled backwards as the blunt force shot through her. She stumbled backwards unable to maintain her footing.

Ridley charged forward again bringing his guitar down upon like an ax. Melanie brought her sword upwards just in the nick of time, the two weapons clashed and sent their wielders skidding across the ground in opposite directions. Melanie recovered first and began to charge, swearing that she wouldn't let Ridley get the best of her. She brought her sword around in a sideways slash, aiming low on Ridley's body, namely at his guts. Ridley brought his guitar up and used the neck of it to absorb the blow. Finally Ridley lifted his guitar up forcing her sword up with it and out of the way. Ridley then lifted his leg up and kicked at her. Melanie dodged it however, bringing her body around and towards his side, she freed her sword from his guitar and brought it down upon him, bringing the blade straight through his skin and across his left arm.

Ridley cursed as he backed away from Melanie and her sharp sword. Ridley gripped his shoulder and continued to back away, he was just started to apply a little pressure and now it was ruined. His plan to win was ruined...he wanted to take her down...he figured he could especially now that she was probably off balance from the noise and that she would be easy to take down due to his attacks, but now his arm was ruined. Ridley slung his guitar back around.

"You are not going to start playing again!" shouted Melanie as she brought her sword about and made a powerful forward thrust aimed at the center of Ridley's guitar. Ridley grunted as the sword made clear contact with Ridley's guitar and forced him back and across the ground. Ridley cursed as he tried to bring himself back up to his feet, Melanie kept close, determined to not let Ridley get any more distance. He wasn't about to escape her range! She kept the pressure on him with a few more slashes, swings, and thrusts.

Ridley kept backing away, trying to avoid the slashes, he was too focused on avoiding getting another deadly wound that he couldn't focus on playing his guitar. His guitar was swinging about too wildly from his running away and his left arm was too damaged to make it hold still...he was starting to worry about how the fight was going to turn out. He was forced back once more as Melanie made another thrust.

"**200 Decibels!" **Ridley brought his arm straight down and played a random note. Melanie grunted and her hands made an involuntary flinch like they were about to try and cover her ears, but she kept them down and around her sword as she swung it down upon Ridley. Ridley dove to the side desperate to avoid her sword. Ridley brought his guitar around and into her leg once more. Melanie twisted her blade around and drove it down upon him.

Ridley grunted as he rolled away, barely avoiding a fatal blow, but not avoiding the blow completely. The blade drove into his arm once more. He grunted as he righted himself back onto his feet and backed away. Melanie quickly brought her sword back around and placed the blade directly in between them and prepared for another slash. Ridley's finger were placed directly onto his guitar and was prepared to play another note...even though he began to highly doubt that he would play much more then that.

Melanie drove in as she brought her blade back, readying it for a mighty swing. Ridley began playing another round of musical notes. Melanie grunted, but she ignored the throbbing in her ears and weathered through the noise. Melanie finally broke the through the sound and brought her sword downwards, cleaving it into Ridley's chest. The blade created an incredible spurt of blood from his chest as Ridley fell to the ground. Ridley's eyes bulged with pain as he collapsed onto the ground. His eyes fell shut.

Melanie wandered over him, her blade still tight within her grip. She glared down at him as she tried to realign herself. Her entire body was shaking with pain, her legs felt wobbly underneath her body. Her stomach was tossing and turning, and none of those things even compared to the pain that was in her ears. She felt really off-balance as things were.

(-With Mikoto-)

"Breathe, Mikoto, breathe!" shouted Sage as she administered poor medical aid. Since she lacked any kind of degree in medicine, she had done the basics of it...just simply tightening a bar cloth over his arm and to make it where he didn't lose any blood she tied a stretch of cloth around his arm just above the wound. She had thought about using the alcohol from the bar to cleanse the wound, but most of them had weird excess ingredients other then just alcohol and she really wasn't in the mood for making something worse...she wasn't sure what Mikoto was going to do.

"Let me up!" shouted Mikoto as he struggled to stand, Rosa was holding him down with all of her might, trying to make sure he didn't break off and start running around the island in search of Enma as his idea was. "I could find him in a couple of minutes, my wound wouldn't be any worse than it is now by the time found him! Once I find him, my arm would be healed and I'd be back to full health in no time!"

"What the heck do you think he is going to do to you when you find him that's going to make it heal so quickly?" asked Sage examining the napkin that was bleeding through. Sage shook her head as Mikoto continued to try to peel his fake napkin cast off of his wound. Sage slapped his hand away from the bandage. Mikoto let out a quiet whimper as his hand recoiled and found its way back to his side.

"I don't know," muttered Mikoto, "maybe he'd just slap a bandage on it...I think that may work." Sage brought her face downwards and into her palm. She couldn't believe that he still thought like that. They were in the Grand Line and, yet, here Mikoto was believing that a bandage could heal a bullet wound. She didn't know what she was expecting, but maybe that he would miraculously learn some of the basic things...she now realized that that was just an unrealistic idea.

Rosa sighed as she continued to hold Mikoto down and on the ground. She was starting to debate about his bounty as she did so. This kid, who didn't understand even the basics of medicine and couldn't even throw her off of him, was worth 38 million belies? True, he wasn't in his hybrid form, yet...but a true pirate should be able to throw her off without any Devil Fruit powers...she wasn't that heavy, was she?

"Did somebody call for a doctor?" asked Enma as he slammed open the door and walked in.

**The Reaper Lands!**

Why yes, Enma, somebody did call for a doctor...but I think it was Ridley, not Mikoto...oh, well. He'll make it through somehow! Also, for all of you guys who thought Ridley was some weak punk! I sure showed you, huh? A fight with a Shichibukai! I guess...technically...he still lost, though...I'm going to count this as a tie...cool?...don't worry all you Ridley fans (or fan (singular)), he'll get some new and more powerful moves soon enough! Of course, so is Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, and Enma.

Also, I am done with my midterm so expect my postings to speed up a little.


	89. Reaper Arc: 89 The Reaper Lands!

**The Reaper Has Landed!**

Trevor gingerly stepped off of his ship and onto dry land, well, mostly dry. The sand was still wet from high tide that just ended a while ago. Trevor simply laughed as he walked about on the Grand Line, a simple smirk on his face as he walked about on the ground about to prep for another one of his hunts. He hated the thought of Melanie, the sickening siren, stealing his kill. He knew about it the moment he set foot on the land around the Marine Base that he had once again found his next kill.

The escape that kid made off of the ground excited him and he could only imagine a fight with him. It made him absolutely giddy. His mind racing with the thoughts of plunging his hand into his chest cavity and ripping out his heart made Trevor feel happy...and, yes, giddy. It was a primal urge, Trevor had assumed that he had ever since he was young...ever since he had first killed. He shivered as he remembered those memories.

Trevor was about to set off when he heard a noise. Melanie's obnoxious crew mates were still on her ship and what do you know. It was close by. Trevor knew Melanie would not waste a second with her crew and immediately set out to do her job, she wasn't one to waste time...not like Trevor. Trevor enjoyed wasting time...giving his prey a head-start, if you will. Allowing his prey to sense the essence of their death and give them time to revel in it. Trevor digressed. He had some time to kill before he truly felt open for the idea of a hunt...especially of someone whose bounty was as high as the kid's...so why not spend it doing something he loved, he thought as he stepped onto Melanie's ship.

The crew instantly knew something was wrong. They had seen Trevor at the Marine Base and, even worse, they had seen him murder those Marines as the Marine Base. Combine that with the knowledge of Melanie's well-known hatred for him and they immediately drew their guns and swords and ordered Trevor off of the ship. They warned him that if he didn't turn around right away they would shoot. He may have been a Shichibukai but there were at least thirty of them and only one of him. They were wrong...they should've shot the instant they saw his head looming over the steps. Trevor didn't return the favor of giving them a warning.

He strode forward confidently and with his right hand cleanly separated one of the men's heads from his body. The body fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Trevor laughed as he glared down at the pathetic bleeding pile. The rest of the crewmen didn't shoot, rather it was out of shock or out of realization that they weren't prepared to fight someone of this level. Trevor examined the head...a new skull to add to his collection. He frowned as he looked at it...the shape didn't please him at all. He tossed the skull to the ground and approached another one of the crew members.

This was just the shock the crew needed. They all came out of their fright-induced comas in unison, they all produced their guns and fired. Trevor bobbed and weaved sending his body through the hail of bullets in such an unorthodox manner, but all of the bullets skimmed about him. As if none of them had the intention of hitting. He moved through the rain of bullets in this manner and eventually reached his second victim. He brought his entire hand upward with his fingers outstretched, slicing into the man's body leaving four rugged trails of blood all the way up his body and even his skull. Trevor frowned. He had wanted to leave the skull in one piece...looks like that didn't work out the way he had planned. He always tended to get carried away when he killed.

He looked around at the rest of the crew. Some of them had started to move in with their swords, deciding that guns were useless. Trevor smirked as he spun about bringing his arm up and into one of the charger's guts. He ripped his hand out, spilling blood out and onto the deck of the ship. Trevor dodged the incoming mass of the pirates, he dodged from spot to spot, expertly avoiding all of the pirates incoming attacks. Whenever he dodged a pirate's strike he immediately reached into their chest and pulled his hand out with fresh blood coating it.

The rest of the massacre only lasted five minutes. By the time that it had ended all of Melanie's crew mates had been straight up massacred. Trevor was still in one piece without a single bullet hole in him. He simply smiled as he stepped off of the ship. In the end none of their skulls were fitting enough to adorn his ships. But then what did he really expect, he just killed them to kill time. His real prey was somewhere else on this island...and then there was Melanie. She'd probably be worth killing as well. Another skull to add to his collection and if he did, he'd have a complete set. What a happy thought!

He set off to find his two new preys. His first stop should be the bar...idiots tend to gather at places like those and if there wasn't a crew member there there would definitely be some poor unlucky fellow who would squeal about seeing them or at the very least their ship. Trevor marched off intending to find that unlucky fellow when he heard something that was just as good.

"TREVOR!" shouted Melanie as she stomped up to him. Behind her was an unconscious fellow with a green Mohawk being dragged about by her. Trevor felt as if he should remember him as if he was a pirate who had a bounty, but Trevor made it a point not to make a note of any pirate with anything less then 20 million belie bounty. "What were you doing on my ship?" she accused him. She looked down and noticed his red stained hands. "What were you doing on my ship!" she shouted.

"Same thing you were doing," said Trevor calmly without raising his voice or even sounding defensive...more like a matter-of-fact statement. "I was just cleaning up the trash, getting rid of some unsightly blemishes, making a huge mess...you know common day-to-day activities." Trevor smiled.

"Get out of my way," muttered Melanie under her breath. She could've sung it and forced Trevor to move, but that was going to work. She was in no mood to sing especially for this nincompoop. Trevor didn't move, he simply stayed in her way with a smile on his face. "I said GET OUT OF MY WAY!" she shoved past him, dropping Ridley onto the ground. Trevor stayed behind and simply looked at Ridley. He couldn't get past the man's face. He seemed so familiar...maybe he saw him some place else other then on a wanted poster...maybe that's why it was bugging him so much about why he didn't recognize him...maybe he was an old business partner? Trevor did do a lot of deals with the slave trading business. Maybe this kid from there. Trevor didn't have enough time to think about it as Melanie's foot came flying through the air and into the side of his head, knocking him down and into the muddy, sandy beach.

"What the hell did you do!" shouted Melanie as she brandished her blade and pointed it downwards at him. Her teeth clenched as she stared down at him. Trevor smiled as he stood up from the ground, he had a creepy smile on his face. He knew he was still in control of this fight regardless of what happened. Melanie was enraged and that just meant that he was winning...the person who loses his temper is also the person who loses the fight.

"I killed them," said Trevor calmly. Melanie's eyes flashed with rage as she drove her sword in at him. He dodged it with ease. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Rage really doesn't suit you. I mean what would mommy and daddy think." Melanie struck out with her sword once more aiming for Trevor's head, Trevor jumped backwards just barely evading the sword's sweep. "Ooh hoo hoo. Touched a sensitive issue there, did I? I'm so sorry..." Another sweeping blow from Melanie's sword, Trevor dodged to the side, he reached out with his hand and gripped Melanie's hair in his hand.

Melanie struck his arm away with the back of his blade. Trevor backed away from Melanie and her sword. She brought her sword straight up and aimed it at him. She charged at him bringing her sword around with impressive speed. Trevor backed away dodging the sword's swing. Melanie charged in again not letting Trevor rest for a second as she brought her sword back around. Trevor ducked down letting the sword graze his head, but brought his entire body back-up. He then confidently wrapped his hand around Melanie's neck.

Melanie frowned. "Haki?" she asked as she stared down at his hand. Trevor smiled.

"Both kinds. Colors of Armaments and Colors of Observation," said Trevor with a smirk. "With Colors of Arms* I can super-harden my hands to the point of steel, I can then use a standard chop with my hand to create a technique similar to sword slash. Combined with my Colors of Observation*, that allows me to predict any moves you can use, and I am probably one of the deadliest Shichibukai out there."

Melanie breathed deeply for a second before striking out with her sword again. Trevor backed up avoiding the slash, but this time his reaction time was delayed. As if he had a little bit more trouble telling the exact arc and swing of the blade. "I know some of the basics of Haki...always meant to learn it, but never had the time. Colors of Observation is easier to use the more blood lust and killing intent behind the swings. Reduce that and I reduce your chances of dodging them." Melanie smiled as she brought her sword back around and took up a basic sword stance.

"Wow," said Trevor as he took a few steps back, "you are a lot calmer then I thought you would be. I mean, if I just saw the man that murdered my parents I would be a lot more..." Trevor stopped talking as Melanie brought her sword to his neck and held it there. Her hand was shaking and the blade shaking right along with it, just underneath his neck. Trevor just smiled as she smiled downwards at her.

"What did you just say?" asked Melanie as she tried to calm down her hand and steady it, but she couldn't it. She couldn't stop her hand from shaking. She was stirred up, she was so tempted to bring the sword through, but she waited to hear Trevor's response.

"I killed your parents," said Trevor, "They are only a few of the skulls I have collected and attached to my ship. They are skulls numbers...hmm...I believe them to be skulls number 23 and 24...your brother is 26...I got distracted and killed somebody else in between them. But I still murdered them each and every single one of them and I collected them. They are on my ship right now."

Melanie brought her sword up and charged Trevor. "I'm going to KILL YOU!" she screamed her eyes filled with rage as she continued to charge at him. Her sword swinging through the air at him as she intended to slash him up with all of her might.

**Shichibukai Brawl!**

**The Dirty Work**

...yeah, talk about getting sidetracked...but you know there isn't anything else important going on right now. What about Mikoto and Ridley, you say? Right! I forgot about them. Zesiro? Oh, him...he's just walking around...Don't worry somethings are going to happen eventually and when they do, boy, are they going to be big. The rest of this will be reserved to news about the process of SotIP

*For those of you who wondered why I used Colors of Arms and Colors of Observations instead of Busoshoku Haki and Kenbunshoku Haki, I thought about using these two, but realized that if I went with that...there is a one-hundred percent chance I'd misspell them, however, if you reviewers want me take that risk I'd be happy to.

Also, I have some bad news for you guys. Saga of the Infinity Pirates is currently the least popular one of my stories! Yeah, sad isn't it? (It only averages 5 reviews per chapter...of course, this is probably due to the fact that most people only review the first chapter and then stop, but still thought you'd all like to know.)

Secondly, I have made a couple of changes to my profile. First off, Saga of Infinity Pirates now has an index to tell you where one arc begins (Chapter-wise) and ends. I have recently noticed that my arcs are shockingly short (I mean, very short, so I plan to lengthen them more from now on) and lastly, if you still want to submit an OC at the end of my profile is a couple of clues of what I, personally, look for.

FINALLY, some changes have been made to the OC submission form (I added a clothing section as some people forget to send what clothing their character wears in.) Also, I made some changes to the OC list found in chapter two. I stated that I may or may not use Supernovas, I will NOT use the CP9, and I added a Rival Pirate crew...every good story needs a rival. All spots for the Rival Pirate crew is open and it will be made solely of OCs from you reviewers! (I may add one if I feel like it, but it will be up to you to supply them, including the captain!)


	90. Reaper Arc: 90 A Shichibukai Brawl

**The Shichibukai Brawl!**

**The Dirty Work!**

"I'm going to kill you!" screamed Melanie as she drove her sword forward. Her mind clouded with rage as she made multiple thrusts and swings with her blade at Trevor, who could easily see and outperform each and every movement from her blade. He was perfectly predicting the exact speed, timing, and placement of each of her attacks.

Trevor brought his hand down upon Melanie. She swung her blade around and blocked the downwards thrusting arm. Melanie pushed him off and sent him tumbling backwards, he spun about leaving his back wide open to Melanie. Melanie didn't want to waste a moment she drove inwards with her sword driving the sword in deep at him. Trevor's body simply dodged to the side. With Haki he was able to dodge the blow without even looking at the attacker.

Trevor spun about and backhanded Melanie. Melanie grunted as she brought her sword forward again, performing multiple thrusts with her blade. Just because Trevor could predict her blows didn't mean he could dodge them all. Multiple strikes would be her best bet at this point. Even so it didn't seem to be so much of a good bet as Trevor was still perfectly dodging the blows with his expert use of Haki. Trevor opened his hand up and struck inwards with all five of his fingers outstretched they were all super hardened to the point of steel and they formed a perfect blade.

Melanie deflected it bringing the back of her blade into Trevor's hand sending it bouncing off of it and to the side. Her eyes glared as she drove in again, her sword caught the light of the sun as she brought it around and at Trevor. Trevor brought his two hands together clamping the flat sides of the blade still. He held it there for a second and just smiled looking at Melanie's face, which was currently showing an emotion between anger and annoyance. Trevor tossed the sword to his side with his two hands and brought his knee upwards aiming it at Melanie's gut.

Melanie used the momentum from Trevor pushing her blade away to roll to the side and avoid the knee strike to her gut. When she rolled to the side, she yanked on her sword freeing it from Trevor's incredible grip. Once she broke free from Trevor's grip, she drove forward with her sword intending to skewer Trevor in the chest. Trevor backed away causing the sword strike to become shallow. Trevor laughed, "come on. Aren't you going to try? I'm growing bored with fighting you...actually you are putting up a much better fight then the rest of your family."

"SHUT UP!" shouted Melanie as she charged forward, rapidly flailing her sword about. She threw away all of her swordsmanship training and just flailed wildly, her mind reading back, feeling the sword swing about in her hand. She knew where to bring the sword down to and which way to bring it back up in order to maximize its range and speed. Even flailing around wildly her mind was still perfectly thinking about the motions that went through with her arms. With those thoughts still present in her mind, Trevor was reading those miniscule thoughts and was perfectly dodging each and every strike.

"I just love telling the stories about my conquests," stated Trevor, "especially the conquests I obtained when I became a Shichibukai." Trevor dodged another sweeping slash from Melanie's sword. He watched the blade dash in front of him. "One of my conditions for joining the Shichibukai was that once a year I get to go into a jail of my choice and commit mass murder. Every inmate on death row is killed by these hands." Trevor brought his two hands up, which were still coated in the blood of Melanie's crew.

"Yeah, right!" shouted Melanie as she brought her sword around and at Trevor, "like I'd believe the Marines would agree to such a ridiculous demand! They may be monsters, but they still need to do public executions to make the people feel safe!" Melanie swiftly moved into an opening on Trevor's side and brought her sword around aiming for Trevor's shoulder. Trevor rather then dodge, brought his entire body forward and brought two of his fingers forward and into Melanie's side. The two fingers dug into her body and forced her backwards, stopping her swipe in its tracks.

"Funny," laughed Trevor, "they agreed to it. Other then that requirement we had some other negotiations going on. If I became a Shichibukai I promised I wouldn't murder everyone in the Marine Base. Took a couple minutes...and Marines to convince them I could. I murdered your parents after that in case you couldn't keep track." Melanie grimaced. Trevor simply mentioned that because he wanted to keep bringing it up and torturing her with it.

Melanie shook her head, "I heard that you became a Shichibukai and the deal was that you got to be in control of the Underground Rally Arena. On top of that the Marines promised that they wouldn't eliminate it and destroy it. They allowed you to keep it open in exchange for becoming a Shichibukai!" shouted Melanie calling Trevor's bluff. She jumped into the air and brought her sword downwards aimed at Trevor's head. Trevor dodged backwards and let Melanie and her sword fall down right in front of him, piercing the ground there.

"No, no, no...that's just the propaganda," stated Trevor with a cruel smile. "The Underground Rally Arena was more of a benefit for them. I mean, even Marines love a good show of blood." Trevor laughed loudly, his voice echoing. "They basically thanked me for including that in my list of demands. Of course, they never stated that out loud. After all if that got out to the local public...then what? They would learn the true nature of all of their local watchmen...all about their dark natures." Melanie brought the sword straight up to Trevor's neck, but quickly withdrew. Her ears were pounding again...the damn musical pirate had down a number on her. She was starting to lose focus during this fight, her ears were still pounding and now the pain were throwing her off of her game. Her balance was shot.

Trevor walked up, noticing this momentary lapse in skill. He was grinning widely as he approached her. He brought his hand up and was about to put it on Melanie's shoulder, Melanie tried to spin away, but due to her terrible balance she collapsed to the ground and onto the ground. She grunted as she tried to bring herself back to her feet, but couldn't. Her body was still stuck on the ground, her ears were pounding, the world began to spin as she stared at the ground. Trevor was laughing as he looked down, "ke he he he he he! Maybe if you begged me for you life, like your parents did, I may just let you live...of course, I didn't give your parents the same offer, but as a fellow Shichibukai I feel a bit of camaraderie between us. What do you say?"

Melanie grunted as she lifted her body up just high enough to spit on Trevor's foot, "I would choose to be ripped apart by the devil himself then beg you to spare my life any day of any year in any era." She glared up at Trevor. She started to smile when Trevor's face went from his stupid Cheshire smile changed to a frown.

"WHY DID YOU SPIT ON MY SHOE!" shouted Trevor as he lifted his foot up and brought it down on top of Melanie's head. "Didn't you freakin' listen to me? I was being nice to you! I was being goddamn nice to you! I was going to let you live, but you still freakin' refused! Why the hell do I even waste my time with punks like..." Trevor's voice was stopped short as his legs were pulled out from underneath him.

Trevor looked behind him at Ridley, who had woken up and grabbed a hold of Trevor's leg. His balance was destroyed when he lifted his leg up into the air, so Ridley could easily pull the one leg he used for standing out from under him and send him to crashing to the ground. Trevor shouted as he stood up, "You too! I mean seriously doesn't anyone have any morals anymore?" Trevor looked down at Ridley and brought his foot up and slammed it into the side of his head.

"A dirty little low bounty rat like you has no right to touch me!" shouted Trevor as he brought his leg back around and kicked Ridley away. "I really don't like you! I should kill you!" Trevor lifted his hand up in the air, preparing to bring it down in a swift killing blow. He began to bring it near Ridley's neck, but stopped short. "Ke...he he he...you...you're Ridley Blackwell, ain't ya?" Ridley looked up at Trevor, bewildered as to why Trevor would even care about his name.

"How's your old man?" asked Trevor as he crouched down to put his face down on eye level with Ridley. "Your father and me go way back...we used to be pretty close friends, comrades actually. I was his first mate and he was my faithful captain. We got along quite well...the rest of the crew didn't like me at all. They considered me to be rather insane. However, Karasu was holding me back...in the end we fought, me and him fought for control of the crew. I won. In the end it was for the best as Karasu took control of the Black Market. The rest of the crew," stated Trevor as he looked at his blood-covered hands as he thought about them, "met a rather unfortunate end, a rather insane man killed them."

"Funny," said Ridley from his spot on the ground, "my father never mentioned you. I don't think he even remembers you, sorry. He's moved on."

Trevor laughed, "ke he he he he he! Good one! Your comedic talents must come from your mother's side. So who was she? Who did that bastard finally settle down with? I bet it was Susan...he always did have a thing for redheads."

Melanie just stared at disbelief as the man who had just tried to kill her was now having a conversation with the bastard that she just beat the crap out of. From the look on the bastard, he was thinking the same thing. Trevor, however, seemed genuinely interested in his old captain's life. He seemed to actually care, despite his previous psychopathic tendencies.

"Ah," said Trevor as he let out a sigh and stood up, "I would love to sit around and talk with you about Karasu, but I got people to kill. Speaking of which, I was busy before I was talking to you, wasn't I?" Trevor spun about and faced Melanie once more. He let out a swift kick to Melanie's face out of the blue, sending her tumbling backwards across the muddy ground. "Now, I'm back on track! Thank god! I hate it when I get distracted."

Melanie spat out some more blood as she looked up and Trevor brought his foot down into her face. "Ke he he he he he! Yeah, this is so much better! I feel so much better now that I am back on track! Back to murdering and hurting...Trevor looked down at Melanie, her eyes were left wide open, but they had stopped moving, her shouting had stopped as well. Trevor wagged his finger in front of her face. Her eyes didn't move to follow it. "Oh, man, she fell unconscious...there goes my fun...she is a very selfish person, ain't she?" Trevor looked back at Ridley, who was still on ground. "I apologize. I would love to stay and chat, but I gotta leave, I got some more killing to do." Trevor got up and turned around. He quickly left, leaving both Ridley and Melanie stretched out on the muddy ship on the beach.

"Why do I have the sickening feeling that he's going after Mikoto?" asked Ridley. He brought his body up to a sitting position, he groaned in pain. He looked over at Melanie and sighed. "I guess that just leaves you and me."

**Predators and the Prey!**

**The True Hunt of Bloodlust!**

Okay, yes, this is probably my quickest update since the old days (four days). DO NOT EXPECT THIS AGAIN! I was in a very strong writing mood a couple of days ago and I got through this pretty fast.

Melanie had had several problems. She had several injuries still lasting from her fight from Ridley. Not to mention Trevor really knows how to test someone's patience and that was pretty easy to do once you figure out someone's soft spot. Trevor and Ridley's dad do in fact go way back, he wasn't lying about that (congrats to those of you who guessed). So keep that in mind, it may come up again. You guys just better wish that Mikoto makes his way out of this fight alive. He still has that gun wound in his shoulder, that everybody (but him) is panicking about.

Also I'm only ten chapters away from the 100th chapter! Its time to start the countdown! I hope I can write and plan everything perfectly out to have a big moment occur in the 100th chapter, however, I am not known for my planning things out...so, yeah...fingers crossed (knowing my luck it will occur in chapter 101). Also, if you guys have any questions you want any character to answer just send them in! I might do a small Q & A session in Chapter 100...might...


	91. Reaper Arc: 91 Predator and Prey

**Predators and the Prey!**

**The True Hunt of Bloodlust!**

"I'm looking for the Kid Coyote!" shouted Trevor as he exploded into the bar. An entire group of bounty hunters and pirates looked at him. None of them even seemed to care about it. They all had the same disinterested and kind of annoyed look on their face as they all glared at the intruder, most of them with a mug of beer in their hands. All of them laughed for a brief moment before returning to their beers and food that they had ordered. Trevor's face contorted into something of anger. Trevor approached the nearest pirate. He placed his open palm onto the back of the pirate's head. With one almighty oomph Trevor brought the pirate's head downwards and forwards straight into the table, splintering it into thousands of pieces.

Trevor smiled as he pulled the pirate's head out of the table. Small wooden splinters were sticking out of his head. Finally, with a smile, Trevor brought his hand all the way around bringing it slicing straight through the pirate's neck sending his head tumbling to the ground. Trevor looked down at the head and picked it up, checking it out as he bounced it about between his hands. With a final flourish Trevor tossed it to one of the nearby men who was shaking in his seat. Trevor clapped his two hands together and rubbed them together, smearing the dead pirate's blood about. "Anyone has any information that may put into a better mood?"

The bar immediately erupted into a conversation. Several pirates and bounty hunters shouting at the top of their lungs trying to prove themselves the better of the group. Trevor laughed loudly as he started to point at the people rushing to help him. "Let's see...um...eenie, meenie, minie, mo!" shouted Trevor as he ended up on one of the bounty hunters. "Have you seen my little prey?"

"Yes!" he shouted as he began to pour out all of the information he knew as quickly as he could, "he came in here a little while ago and attacked some of us, but after a little bit of a ruckus. He got shot by a fellow bounty hunter! He left a little while ago to go to his ship! I left when the original ruckus broke out, but I came back in time to see him leave! He was heading to the East Harbor! I swear!"

"Thank you for that bit of information, I will allow you to die for the greater good...my good," whispered Trevor into the bounty hunter's ear. The bounty hunter tried to react, he unsheathed his sword and brought it near Trevor's head. Trevor brought his all five of his fingers into the bounty hunter's head all of them splayed out as far as they could be, leaving five different holes in his target's head.` The bounty hunter fell to the ground without making any extra movements. Trevor smiled as he brought his foot over and into the bounty hunter's head. "Another ruined skull...tsk, tsk, tsk. I have got to learn how to hold back."

Trevor brought his other hand back and into the chest of an invading pirate, who was about to lash out and attack him. Trevor smirked as he ripped his hand free from the man's rib cage. "Pathetic," said Trevor as she stood up. He looked over his shoulder at the hundreds of pirates and bounty hunters who had gathered around him, "don't worry. I didn't come here to kill you...just get some information on my target." Trevor stopped talking for a second as he began to think. He was beginning to realize something...as it currently stood he took out a dozen Marine soldiers and a Shichibukai along with her crew. His return to the Marine Base wasn't going to be exactly filled with hearty laughter, especially if he only brought back one pirate...one pirate who just landed on the Grand Line. Not really the grand apology he needed and as scary as he was, he didn't want to tick off the entire World Government

He looked out at the other Bounty Hunters and pirates who were quivering fear. All of them knew that if they ran at least half of them would be on the ground covered in blood. Trevor smirked. "Any person that brings me the head of a pirate worth more then 30 million belies will get off of this island alive...also whoever brings me the head of any Infinity Pirates will get the same benefit. Everyone else will die." He was about to turn and leave when a small problem occurred to him, he shrugged it off. It was nothing a small lie couldn't fix. "Also anyone who thinks about leaving should be aware that I have plenty of men off of the course with large cannons. Anyone who leaves before I leave, dies." Trevor made his hand into the shape of a gun and made a quiet boom sound as he left the bar. There were absolutely no ships waiting off of the coast to shoot down the ships, but they needed a better incentive to stay.

All of the pirates and bounty hunters shared a similar look of disbelief. Their eyes darted to one another as if they thought the other people in the bar had any better ideas of what just happened and what they had signed up for. There was a quiet murmur as they began to discuss between them what they were going to do. Surely they couldn't trust that mad man, could they? He sauntered in killed a random pirate, killed a bounty hunter who helped him out, and then expected people to aid him! What were they insane? There was a loud blood curdling scream in the room as another head flew off of the shoulders of a pirate.

A Bounty Hunter stood still with a bloodied sword fully extended over the decapitated body of a pirate. The dead pirate was 'Rosewood' James...a pirate with a bounty of 32 million. The Bounty Hunter smiled as he tossed the head into the crowd. "We either die running away from the mad man or we do what he wants and get the job done," he said with a thick Scottish accent. He brought the sword up and onto his shoulders. "Anyone who wants that head can have it...I'm going after the Infinity Pirates." The bounty hunter reasoned that since Trevor specifically asked for one of them, he must have some sort of score to settle with them...probably have a higher chance of getting away alive if he gave him one of their heads. He knew he had no chance against Trevor, he recognized Haki when he saw it. Colors of Arm, he may have been able to handle, but Colors of Observation was out of his league still. He had tried to learn Haki once, but he couldn't. His only hope was for the head of one of those pirates.

There was a loud ruckus from the bar as the pirates and bounty hunters alike began to fight each other over the head of the dead pirate, all of them up in arms trying to live. Some of the smarter pirates and bounty hunters acknowledged this and decided to withdraw. Their chances were a lot better at fighting ONE of the Infinity Pirates rather then 50 crazed ruffians. These guys quickly departed in search of the Infinity Pirates, leaving the crazed patrons at the bar battling themselves.

(-on the ship-)

"OW!" shouted Mikoto as Enma sprayed a lot of disinfectant onto the open wound. Enma was meticulously examining and fixing the wound with a large amount of tools at his disposal. He did it in such a haphazard fashion, though that it appeared he didn't have much care or sympathy for his patient/captain. Enma dug into Mikoto's wound with a pair tweezers, this elicited another yelp of pain from Mikoto.

Enma snapped out of his frenzied doctor state and looked over at Mikoto who was still in pain from the bullet, disinfectant, and on top of that the doctor who was digging into him with the tweezers. "Sorry, about this captain," said Enma as he returned to the tending of the wound with his tools. "But we got to make sure the bullet is out of you or else it will be a painful exit for it the next time you get hit and on top of that the vein it shot through will never get healed." Enma yanked the bullet out of Mikoto's shoulder without even telling him to prepare for it, Mikoto grunted as the pain surged through him. "Just feel lucky that it didn't hit anything to important."

"Don't we have anything that might dull the pain, you know make it go away?" asked Mikoto as he fell back to the table. His gaze drifted over to his arm, which was now wide open and gushing more blood. Sadly, according to Enma in order to get the bullet out Enma needed to make the hole bigger so it could fit the tweezers and the bullet in whichever way it comes out, straight forward or, worse case scenario sideways.

Enma paused for a second and let his fingers leave the bullet as he thought about it. "We could've used ice and made the skin numb, but..." said Enma as he returned to his work and with one final yank he pulled the bullet free, "I am already done. No need to worry about it!" Mikoto was on the bed, his hand shot up to his shoulder and grabbed and was holding it tightly. He was glaring sharply over at Enma. He was starting to think that Enma liked hurting him. Enma backed off and stood up. He patted his clothes clean and left the room to attend to the deck.

Enma arrived on the deck and saw both Sage and Rosa sitting together talking. No doubt discussing Mikoto's wounds and the similar. Enma was initially against Rosa coming on board, but Sage seemed to trust her. Mikoto trusted her as well, but Enma didn't really trust Mikoto's judgment. Enma wandered over to the two who were just sitting and talking, not really discussing anything of importance. He sat down across from Rosa and closer to Sage, examining the two beings.

Rosa couldn't help, but feel out of place as Enma looked at her, trying to divulge every inch of information he could from her actions. Finally Rosa spoke to Enma, "is there anything we can help you with?" she asked looking at him questioningly.

"No, its nothing. Its just very uncommon for a Bounty Hunter like yourself to not only to hang out with pirates, but to also befriend them..." Enma paused for a second and then quickly looked at Sage, "she does know we are pirates, right?"Sage nodded. Enma let out a sigh of relief. Enma stared out over the land and thought for a few seconds. "According to Hiro-Shu the Log Pose will probably be set by tomorrow morning. We'll leave for the next island then, probably. We don't want to stay too long on an island full of bounty hunters especially with our captain injured." Enma returned his attention to Rosa.

"Please," stated Enma, "do not take this coldly, but I believe it would be best if you left now." A long ivory white spear appeared in Enma's hands. He didn't particularly wanted to do this, but as a pirate he had a natural distrust for bounty hunters even if Sage did trust her. With Hiro-Shu gone searching for Zesiro and Ridley, Mikoto bed-ridden, Maria knocked out from her day of working, and Sage wasn't that strong if a fight broke out...it would be just between him and Rosa.

Rosa's hands jumped to the hilt of her sword. When she noticed Enma wasn't going to make the first move, she brought her hands up and into the air. "Well, Sage," she said with a friendly smile and a curt, fashionable bow, "it was fun while it lasted. May we meet again in the future." With that Rosa stepped off of the ship and set out towards the city. She heard Sage shout at Enma once she had her feet firmly planted on the ground, but ignored it. Besides she still had to find Lily...she lost her earlier that day when she went to the bar. She should probably try to find her.

**Troublesome Hunt!**

**The Beast on the Prowl!**

Whoo-hoo! Another chapter down! And in under week from the last update (six days, but it still counts, right?) Anyways, not much new foresight to provide in this chapter, but I do feel like I should point out Chapter 8 (The one where Zesiro and Renvont first appear). Why? Because someone pointed out during the last chapter that I already mentioned the Underground Rally Arena. Well this is that chapter! Also in this chapter I mention a man called 'Reaper' Trevor. Yeah, that's right! Over 80 chapters since his first mention does he reappear!

Also, and this is just me pointing this out...but if you add together the total reviews from all of my stories I got like 980 of them! So close to the thousandth review mark!


	92. Reaper Arc: 92 Troublesome Hunt

**Troublesome Hunt!**

**The Beast on the Prowl!**

Rosa walked through the city streets, her hood pulled up over her head, shielding her face from sight. She walked along the paved pathways with a sorrowful dragging of her feet. While she didn't blame Enma for kicking her off of the ship, she also couldn't be mad at him. Nakamas were pretty much family for some people...she knew that if she didn't trust someone, there would be no way that person would get anyway near her family, especially if one of them was as badly injured as Mikoto was.

She sighed as she thought about them while she did indeed miss them, she decided to adventure off on her own. She didn't want to rely on her family or feel as if she needed to them to constantly be by her side. She needed to be able to stand up on her own two feet and not have to worry about them! She shook her head as now she was just worrying about someone else...not only did she worry about Lily, but also her thoughts were also on the Infinity Pirates and Mikoto. And now she was becoming flustered that Enma didn't allow her to stay and see Mikoto get better! She didn't even say good-bye to him. She really felt stupid just thinking about them...she had no reason to care about pirates...and there was nothing in specific about them that made them stand out, but she worried about them nonetheless.

She shrugged off the thoughts. She'd probably run into them again eventually, it was a small world after all. Besides based off of what she had saw in the bar, she knew Mikoto wasn't going to die from a bullet to the shoulder. He seemed stronger then that. And even if he wasn't Enma seemed like a doctor who knew what he was doing, and not just going to let his nakama die. She trusted him...even if he did kick her off of the ship. She shook her head trying to remember why she was roaming the streets, she had to find Lily.

She looked up at the dark night sky and giggled nervously. She was all alone right now...she chuckled as she began to quicken her pace, she didn't want to be out and about when it got dark...or darker. The skies were already beginning to darken up as the sun began to set. She got so caught up with the problems of the Infinity Pirates, that she had completely forgotten about her own. She wanted to be done with everything before it got dark. She didn't want to be out this late...She looked around the pathway hoping to see some sort of light, like a torch...or, or, or, or, or a lantern...or some other kind of lighting device...nothing...she let out an involuntary squeak of fear.

She quickly pulled out her bag and began searching through it in a frenzied fashion. Finally she came across what she was searching so desperately for. She pulled out a book and flipped through the pages. She needed something to get her mind off of the ever looming darkness. She finally stopped at a page. Her eyes widened with panic as she looked at her book. It was too dark to read...especially for a long time. The pages were all tinted black from the lack of light. Rosa quickly stuffed the book back into her bag and started to laugh nervously...it was too dark to read...and she really, really didn't like the dark. She planned on reading to distract her from the darkness, but she can't read!

"Ke he he he he!"

Rosa was about to scream as she heard the laughter, but swallowed it. She turned around and hid behind one of the buildings. She was still uncomfortable in the dark, but something told her to hide. Finally she saw the person who let out the terrifyingly inhuman laugh. It was as far as she remembered a Shichibukai called Trevor. She let out a sigh. Shichibukais were basically pirates turned Marines, she was fine with that. She wasn't a pirate so they had no reason to chase after her. She was about to step back out to the path when she froze. Her eyes locked onto his hands. They were covered in deep red blood. She shrunk back in between the two old buildings and disappeared.

Trevor smiled as he stopped in his tracks. Rosa spun around and hid behind the building even more, shrinking away into the darkness, despite her fear of darkness at this exact moment she was even more afraid of Trevor. She shrunk away and hid herself from his view, not wishing to show herself. She had heard several stupid rumors about him like how he murdered an entire village for fun or how the Marines were always secretly plotting to kill him, but she never believed any of them. But now that she laid her own eyes on the man who the rumors were about, she believed them all. He was clearly not a kind and caring Shichibukai like they were all said to be.

Finally he spoke...not to her, god no...as far as she knew he still wasn't aware that she was here. He was probably just talking to himself, which from the rumors of his sanity...she wasn't surprised by. "Ke he he he...stupid bounty hunters and pirates...they have absolutely no idea about me. They really think I'd spare their heads simply because they bring me someone else's? Since I have no idea about how interesting this Mikoto fellow is going to be, I may...their fate all relies on whether or not this Mikoto kid satisfies my blood lust for awhile. I couldn't give a shit about whether or not they give me some third-rate pirate's head."

Rosa gasped as the mention of Mikoto's name. He was hunting down Mikoto, she had to stop him. She was about to get him and fight him, but Trevor's laugh crackled through the air once more. Rosa brought her entire body back down behind the building. She was starting to panic. There was no way she'd be able to stop Trevor, her only hope was to get to Mikoto first and tell them to anchor the ship offshore and somehow avoid Trevor.

Rosa kept her eyes on Trevor as he left heading down to the docks. Rosa let out the breath that she had been holding. She scooted out onto the path slowly and examined both direction, fearing that Trevor was trying to trick her. She paused for a moment on the path and debated about turning around and heading back to the ship, but she still wasn't sure whether or not Trevor was trying to trick her. She shrugged it off and left off heading down to the ship. She needed to warn them. Trevor seemed like the kind of guy who would've killed her the instant she let it slip that she was there.

She turned about and was about to charge down the island when she was stopped. Another man was in her way. He was a bounty hunter. She remembered seeing him at one of the bounty hunting facilities. He did a plenty good of a job. Rosa smiled and tried to sidestep him, but the bounty hunter reached out and blocked her from walking past him. She stopped and backed away, "excuse me?" she asked, "I'm trying to get through and to the docks, I'd like to get through." The annoying sound of water dripping was sounding on the path.

"Get through?" he mimicked back jokingly, but despite that his Scottish accent was still heard. He brought his sword down to his side, "if I'm not mistaken the Infinity Pirates were helped out at the bar by a certain young girl." He brought his sword back up with lightning fast precision, he brought it straight up and aimed it at Rosa's neck, he stopped short, "I have no reason to kill you, but I need you to point me in the direction of the Infinity Pirates. It could take me forever to find them...there are a lot of pirate ships in the dock. And I'm afraid I don't have a second to waste."

Rosa stepped back, "wh-wh-why?" she managed to stutter out. As far as bounties were considered Mikoto may have a nice sized one, but its still barely comparable to some pirates on this island or in the Grand Line for that matter. She looked around her, it was still dark and she could only barely pick out the lines of the buildings that stretched up and around her. She was lost and she couldn't find her way out of this. The buildings blocked off her escape route and then the man was standing in front of her, making it impossible for her to get around him. She was stunned and frozen in place and not to mention annoyed, the sound of water slowly dripping was still ringing out on the pathway.

"Why?" asked the bounty hunter, "Why! Because Trevor said he's going to kill everyone unless we give him the head of an Infinity Pirates...or any pirate with a bounty of 30 million or more. And I'm not going to die...my aim is for the head of an Infinity Pirate to hand over to him and save mine!" Rosa couldn't barely focus on him due to the insane dripping of water. It had been going on this entire conversation, what was it?

Her eyes were searching for the sound of the water drops, but couldn't find it due to the darkness that surrounded. She looked down and noticed the blood pooling near the man's foot. She looked upwards from there and saw his sword, still dripping with fresh blood. Her hand immediately shot to the hilt of her sword as she braced for a fight...a man who killed someone once is more then willing to do it again. She froze in her spot as she readied to fight him.

"Really?" asked the bounty hunter with a flourish of his hands as he brought them out and around him. "You really want to fight me? I just want to take down the Infinity Pirates. As a matter of fact what do you say if we were to team up? I mean with the two of us we'd easily be able to take them on without even breaking a sweat! What do you say? We take the heads of some more worthless pirates? We are allies, aren't we?"

Rosa barely managed a growl as she backed away and stumbled backwards trying to put more distance in between them. She didn't want to fight him, he was a bounty hunter. He was just doing his job in hunting down pirates, she couldn't be mad at him for that and, yet...she was. She was furious with him for hunting down the Infinity Pirates...was it just that he was a killer serving another killer who intended to kill someone who was injured. For some reason she doubted it. This didn't feel like the hate for some random run-of-the-mill bully...it was much more personal.

Rosa unsheathed her sword and brought it around, holding it in between her and her opponent. Rosa let out a deep breath and focused on her opponent, ignoring the suffocating darkness that was around as she brought her sword down, "we are far from allies."

"Whoa," he said with a tone of surprise as he swung his sword high up and around in the air, "anyone who isn't my ally is my enemy. So I hope you enjoyed your last moments of protecting those pirates, cause its gonna cost you."

The two of them quickly began pacing around in a circle. Their eyes never leaving their opponents, they locked their eyes on their opponent's wrists. They understood the basics of swordplay. Their opponent's wrists were an easy indicator to when and where they would slash with their sword. They both saw and heard of the bounties the other one had brought in so neither of them wanted to make a mistake, one fatal mistake would be all it would take.

The two of them set out for the center of the circle at the same exact moment. They both brought out their swords and brought them together with a loud clashing of metal. Some of the blood from the bounty hunter's blade was flung out off of it and onto Rosa's clothes. She flinched involuntarily, but held her ground regardless. There was another flash and clash of metal as they separated from each other and simultaneously backed off.

As the two highly advanced swordsmen dueled while out on the battle field in the middle of the night they were completely unaware of the two glowing yellow eyes in the shadow. They were intent on watching the two people fight and duel, the eyes locked on them as their swords clashed once more.

**Scarlet Blood on the Streets**

8 chapters left till the 100th chapter...spectacular? No, no, no, I don't like that. I'll figure it out soon. Anyways, this chapter focuses strictly on Rosa, so I hope you are all ready for the upcoming battle, the bounty hunters are still on the lookout for the Infinity Pirates and Ridley, Zesiro, and Mikoto are all beaten up. Only Enma, Hiro-Shu, Maria, and Sage are left to defend! How will they protect themselves from a serial killer Shichibukai, a horde of bounty hunters and pirates, and whatever other trouble finds it way into the mix?


	93. Reaper 93 Scarlet Blood on the Streets

**Scarlet Blood on the Streets**

The bounty hunter drove forward as he produced his sword in a flash bringing the sharp end of the blade around and closer to Rosa's neck. Rosa brought her own sword up and deflected the blow, but the force still pushed her back a bit. She steadied herself against the ground before launching from her position, bringing her sword around for a low blow aiming at the bounty hunter's legs. He laughed as he brought his sword down and redirected both of their swords into the ground.

They both broke their swords free from the earthy mess in a very close time period and jumped back, preparing for another strike from their opponent. "Well, well, well. Its a same that a woman with your sword skills must die...especially since we could've been allies...perhaps even more," stated the man with a suggestive raised eyebrow. Rosa clenched her teeth insulted by what she thought he was insinuating and drove forward with her sword. Their swords crossed in midair, both of them putting all of their strength into the sole focus of overpowering the other, "come on...I am a famous bounty hunter...the name's McIntyre. Or that's at least what people call me. The Bloody Bounty Hunter. I return all of my pirates to Marines drenched in their own blood...each...and every...time." Rosa pushed her sword against his propelling herself backwards and out of his range.

She brought her sword down and back to her side. She wasn't going to tell him that she didn't like bringing in dead pirates to the Marines. She didn't know why, but killing someone was never one of her skills. She always hesitated when it came down to it. She believed that in the end she would kill someone if it was between them or someone she cared about, but without that driving force, she couldn't bring herself to end their life. She looked up and noticed McIntyre was still awaiting an answer, "sorry, but I don't want to hook-up with someone I don't like." McIntyre frowned as he redrew his sword.

"Sorry to 'ear tat lass," he said his Scottish accent being magnified due to his rage, "even sorrier tat now I'm gonna hafta cut ya up for tat!" He spun his entire body, around coiling it up and then sinking forward onto one knee. "**Flash of Steel Lightning!" **His entire body shot forward as he brought his sword forward and around at her. His speed came from the fact that rather then running, he jumped off of the ground instead and shot himself forward in one direction. The sword was equally as fast as he was. But despite his impressive speed, he missed. Well, Rosa dodged it.

Rosa instead was bent over directly beneath where his sword's slash landed, laughing. "I'm sorry..." she managed to choke out between her giggles, "its just that naming your attacks...is so lame!" She stepped backwards separating the two of them once more. "I mean I've tried it a couple of times and I felt like an idiot I mean," she said as she gathered herself up and took up a stance similar to McIntyre's. "Flash of Steel Lightning!" She stifled another laugh as she stepped backwards, "really? You are telling your opponent your attack! You don't go high punch, ax kick, leg sweep, or sucker punch, do you?"

McIntyre's face twitched as he listened to Rosa make fun of him. He wasn't quite sure if she was one hundred-percent serious right now or not. He shrugged and charged anyways, he brought his sword up and down once more upon Rosa. Rosa's body instinctual moved to the left as she continued to laugh. He paused for a second before lashing out again, once more Rosa's reflexes came into play as she dodged it without even focusing on his slash, due to her laughing fit. He brought his sword forward with an almighty thrust, Rosa's body bent out of its way avoiding the blow. The more and more she dodged his blows, the more it reminded him of the Colors of Observation, but if so then why was she just now using it instead of at the beginning of the fight.

"I'm sorry," said Rosa as she wiped a tear from eye, just now recovering from her own laughing fit, "but you got to admit its a bit odd." As Rosa's laughs quieted down, she turned to face McIntrye, only to see him charging in again. McIntrye was leaning over his own sword as he ran at Rosa. With a flourish he brought his sword out and at Rosa's chest. Rosa tried to dodge it with a twist to the left, but wasn't fast enough and the sword scrapped her chest, leaving a small, but noticeable cut on her skin.

McIntyre backed away content with what he had done. Not the damage, oh no...the damage was nothing but a nick, especially considering all the effort he had put into getting that small hit...several attacks gone to waste. However, what he had learned was vital. When she was laughing her defense, reflex, and dodging ability were high, she was dodging all of his strikes, this was different when he launched his last attack. As soon as she stopped laughing and focused on him, he was able to get a hit in. Ordinarily, he'd chalk it up to coincidence or luck...but the fact was that it was inconceivable. When she was ignoring him, her defense was extraordinary, but when she focused on him, it dropped? It didn't add up. While the exact technique or method she used to dodge it was unknown to him as long as he knew what activated and deactivated it, he could win.

"You mocked me for calling out the names of my attack last time, let's see if you dare have the guts to do it again," stated McIntyre as he leaned forward once more. Rosa had to admit that as a bounty hunter it was incredibly unprofessional of her to laugh at him. Ordinarily she would've considered herself dead, but luckily it seemed like he didn't try to kill her when she was laughing. She steeled herself for whatever ridiculous name he could spit out not and focused on him.

He put all of his weight on his front-most foot, leaving his back foot light and free. He struck out with his sword holding it straight out behind him.**"Movement of the Waning Moon!" **He spun around launching a sideways sweeping blow, bringing the side of the blade around and forward with incredible speed. Rosa jumped backwards to avoid the blow, dodging to just outside of his range. Her hand placed precariously on her sword, ready to counter-attack the instant his sword passed her. McIntyre smiled as his sword came into placement just in front of her, even as she dodged backward.

He fell forward. With the change in his weight distribution thanks to his swing it was impossible for him to remain in his previous position and his weight crumbled forward forcing his entire body forward another few inches, including his blade, turning his wide swinging strike into a thrust in a group of mere seconds. Not only that but by falling forward his range also increased the necessary few millimeters to bring his sword forward and into Rosa. However, due to the fact that he fell forward his sword lowered itself and was thrust into Rosa's gut rather then her heart like his original intent. Rosa gritted her teeth and ignored the pain, she swung her sword around and smashed the hilt into McIntyre's head, forcing him away.

"Shit," cursed McIntyre as he grabbed his head and felt the blood trickle down from the wound. He slashed his sword through the air in a pathetic fit of rage. "Today's just not my day, is it?" He whined as he brought his sword back around and aimed it Rosa who was holding her new wound trying to hold the blood in, but failing. "Let's finish this!" McIntyre charged at Rosa bringing his sword forward in another thrusting motion.

Rosa brought her sword around deflected his thrust to the side with a powerful swing. Rosa whipped her arm around and redirected her swing back around and turning it into a downwards slash. McIntyre managed to bring his sword back around just in time to block, but he couldn't fortify his stance well enough fast enough and the force still made him stumble back. McIntyre grunted and charged forward, swinging his sword. He wasn't about to allow this girl force him into a corner, with that he brought his sword out and aimed it at Rosa's arm. Rosa dropped to the ground, letting the sword graze her hair, but nothing more. Rosa backed up away from McIntyre in that instant.

McIntyre was breathing heavily. He knew at this point it was his ultimate loss. Even if he did beat Rosa with his next attack he had already sustained too much damage, taking on the Infinity Pirates would be an impossible task...he kept playing the fighting scenario around in his head...he wanted to make it off of this island around, was it an impossible task from the start? Or was there a secret? Should he have teamed up with the Infinity Pirates and use their power to overturn Trevor? Or should he had just run away the instant he was given the chance and hope that the ships Trevor mentioned just didn't shoot him? It seemed like it was an automatic losing situation for him and an automatic win for Trevor...crap, McIntyre brought his sword forth...despite all of these thoughts running through his head, he knew he wanted to win this fight...he'd rather die after he won a fight then after he ran away.

"Let's go **Reverse Splitting!" **McIntyre flipped his sword around and plunged it into the ground. He placed both of his two hands wrapped confidently around his sword and separated his two legs to give him better leverage. "Bring it on!" McIntyre shouted. Rosa narrowed her eyes at the sight. It was unreasonable...with the sword in the ground it would take him too long to pull it out and slice with it. There had to be a secret to it? Or was that it? Rosa was wasting this perfectly opportune moment to strike while McIntyre was sizing her up? After all if McIntyre would've went on the attack right off the back, Rosa would've attacked back, but now...she was too busy worrying that this was a trap...she already stated that it would be impossible for it to be a trap, right? So, what was she waiting for? Rosa charged.

Rosa prepared her sword for the final slice and readied to bring it about, but as soon as she got into a slicing range she felt the ground shift. She realized she made a mistake. McIntyre was bringing the ground along with his sword! He was heaving the ground up with his sword! And since she was standing on the ground, she was going to lose her footing and fall, giving McIntyre the perfect opening!She had to act fast, she brought her sword back and stuck it into the ground and leaned against it as she felt McIntyre lift the ground up beneath, at least now with her sword for support she wouldn't fall backwards. Finally, as she leaned against it and her legs came up into the air due to the lost of the ground, she launched a kick at McIntyre's gut. McIntyre grunted as the kick made good solid contact with him, but he didn't falter as he brought his sword around and into Rosa's leg, spraying her blood all over the dirt path.

Rosa collapsed onto the ground, knocking her sword free and bringing it back into her hand. She was breathing heavily, her legs and stomach were both bleeding openly. She didn't have any more time to waste. She quickly grabbed her sword and leaned forward charging and bringing the sword around. This was going to be where she either won the fight and escaped...or died...

**Win or Die!**

**The Meeting of the Shichibukai!**

As many of you guys may be able to guess from the title of the next chapter all of the Shichibukai have been decided. So, prepare to witness the true trouble and disasters that are going to occur! However, as you can probably surmise from the actual One Piece the seats of the Shichibukai change often, so don't be afraid to keep sending them in!


	94. Reaper 94 Win or Die

**Win or Die!**

**The Meeting of the Shichibukai!  
**

McIntyre blocked Rosa's swing within the last second. He deflected her blade to the side and stepped back. Both of them had become heavily injured, which meant more then likely one of them would fall soon. McIntyre only had a few minor cuts and scrapes, but he had a blow to the head that threatened to become extremely serious if he let it go untreated. Rosa was in a far worse situation, rather then just one very serious blow, she had several cuts and had to worry more about blood loss.

"Let's end this, sister," muttered McIntyre as he brought his sword back in between them and lifted it way above his head. The sword was lifted as high up as his arms would allow him to reach. His feet spread wide, preparing for a charge. He had a cocky smile on his face as he waited for Rosa to come at him.

Rosa remained where she was, wide-eyed at his stance. It was an odd stance for any real swordsman to take. While it allowed you to put an insane amount of downwards force onto your blade, but that's it. A sideways slash or a thrust from that position are both nearly impossible, not to mention even the simplest act of defense would be rendered completely impossible. It was basically a dead man's stance. "Wha-what are you doing!" she asked as she looked at that stance.

"Isn't it obvious?" replied McIntyre as he took a step forward, "I've decided. I'm going to die today on this island if not by your hand then by Trevor's, so I'm going to put all of my strength into one attack! If you can survive that then I will have no possible chance to defeat you...I am putting all of my determination into this one blow! So, stand up and take it Scarlet Rosa!"

Rosa sighed as she brought her sword in front of her and began to bring it up, but before she could take a decent stance McIntyre charged in. His gait was long and fast and he quickly closed the distance in-between the two of them. Rosa panicked with his stance, the downwards slash from his sword would be too powerful to block. She could only counter-attack with all of her might. She took a half-step forward and pivoted at the waist, bringing her sword around and at him. She brought her sword into him with incredible power, not only making use of the force from her swing, but also from McIntyre's haphazard charge. Her sword dug into his skin and knocked him back with superior force.

She let out her breath as she dropped her guard, lowering her sword down to the ground. She had won...she looked over at McIntyre as she debated if she did the right thing. At the last possible second she twisted her sword around and used the back of the blade rather then the front. She didn't want to kill McIntyre...as much of a jerk as he was...he never killed anyone innocent...he only hunted pirates and brought them down...he didn't deserve anything as drastic as the death penalty. Rosa sighed as she carefully slid her sword back into its sheath and turned around to leave.

McIntyre laid there as he watched Rosa's footsteps hit the ground as she began to leave. Turning her back on him. He gritted his teeth as he pushed himself off of the ground, she should've killed him when had the chance. He wasn't going to leave this earth a winner...his chest hurt like hell from her last strike, not to mention his head was still pounding from the earlier hit to it, but he wasn't going to let them stop him from winning. He charged bringing his sword up once more preparing for one of his most powerful strikes.

The eyes that were hiding in the shadows quickly widened and the being leapt out of the shadow, letting loose a fearsome roar as it charged forward. It brought its entire orange body up and down onto McIntyre with its pure black claws extended as it heaved itself upon him. McIntyre smashed into the ground. The large beast stayed on top of him as he turned and had its eyes meet Rosa's. The beast was a large infamous tiger, all of its teeth were barred as it turned and stepped off of McIntyre and slowly made its way to Rosa.

(-In a Marine Base-)

A young Marine walked through the halls of the awe-inspiring Marine Base. The walls were painted a luminescent white color that perfectly reflected the light radiating from the golden glass chandeliers hanging precariously above him. He himself had little care for these mundane things...they were wasted funds in his minds as well the minds of many other Marines, but the did serve a purpose. Such as today.

It was a meeting of the Shichibukais and, boy, did he hate these meetings. He was the sole Marines in a room full of devastating and famous pirates...of course, that was only if they showed up. During some of these meetings he found himself sitting all alone in a room with eight seats eating eight meals. Suffice to say that he hated meetings like these, but what could one expect...he was Marine Admiral. He was the one of the few Marines fit for being in the same room as those maniacs. A lesser Marine would be killed if one of the Shichibukais just broke a nail or was woken up from his nap.

"This has to be done," he reminded himself out loud. 'Lucky' Lin had just informed him about Trevor not only murdering quite a few of Marines, following that up he refused to return and inform the Marines of this fact. He would have to be replaced...finding a qualified pirate who would be willing to do so would be problematic. Trevor had always troublesome, but while he was under their thumb...he was only about half as troublesome while he was on their side when he wasn't, but now it was official...he had crossed the line...he was to be replaced and, if possible, imprisoned.

He sighed as he pushed aside the two iron doors specifically designed to prevent the Shichibukais from running wild in the Marine Base. He came into the room and sat in one of the seat, taking in the other seats. Most of them empty. Of course, with both Trevor and Melanie gone on their own path and then alongside that Lin only came in to inform of that and then she left...then again chances are most Shichibukais feel just as out of place in a Marine Base as he felt in the same room with seven pirates.

His eyes first fell on the young lady in her mid-twenties. She had jet black layered hair with small curls on the end. Her eyes were a similar black color. She had on a red tank top and despite the table blocked his view of her legs, based on his past meetings with her more then likely she had on black short shorts. He remembered her as 'Black Illusions' Kurai Ai...it's funny how many female Shichibukais there were during this great pirate age. The Admiral gingerly stepped forward and placed his hand onto his seat, checking it out. He gently sat down in his seat.

Aside from that there was only one other pirate in the room. Alan Fox. He smiled and waved at the Marine, "a most flamboyant welcome, Mr. Admiral!" He was dressed in suit, putting his best foot forward for this meeting although he ordinarily he wouldn't dress that way. He had thick dreadlocks that hung from his head as he looked around at the two people he would be sharing a meal with.

"I told you during our last meeting...call me, Nicholas," he said as he reached over the table and picked up one of the wine glasses and sipped it. As far as Shichibukais go, Nicholas didn't like the Fox brothers... they were of a shifty sort. They were originally one crew that caused the Marines a lot of trouble so they made them Shichibukais...but then they basically split up each one of the claiming right to the title of Shichibukai and rather then force them to choose the World Government decided to keep all three on the Shichibukai payroll...and he hated that. He personally believed that they each of them separately wasn't worth the slot of a Shichibukai, but he digressed.

"Aside from the normal meeting, we need to bring forth the recent problems that 'The Reaper' Trevor has caused for us," stated Nicholas as he slumped forward onto the table with a mean frown as he watched the two of them. He wanted to finish this job as quickly as possible. "So, the primary order would be to have me tell you both to eliminate him on sight. This, of course, also includes the Underground Rally Arena. That place is to be destroyed at a later date."

"Who is going to replace him?" asked Kurai Ai as she sat back. She was genuinely interested in the new person who was going to join with them. The Shichibukai has been pretty much the same for the past few years and they weren't many that she had interest in, hopefully there would be a new more interesting person to join.

"Well," began Nicholas as he cleared his throat as he looked at them, "we haven't had any recent ideas." He pressed his fork forward and into the turkey that he had ordered. "The Revolutionaries and the Yonkou have had a pretty recent monopoly on all upcoming talent in that area. Most of our strength comes from Marine recruits, but we need a pirate who can replace Trevor."

"What about the 'Kid Coyote'," offered Alan Fox as he leaned back with a smile. He was remembering when they met and he was pretty impressed with the kid's strength, "I mean, come on! He already attacked two Marine Bases and took them both down! Not to mention we already have Melanie chasing him down...imagine the flamboyant headlines! 'Newbie Pirate to the Grand Line becomes Shichibukai'! That will definitely send a new message to the pirates!"

Nicholas leaned backwards and paused in thought. The idea wasn't bad at all. He had to admit, the 'Kid Coyote' definitely had something behind it. Not to mention if he was still alive at the end of the week, he was at least on par with Melanie. "Hmm...I'll leave it up to Melanie to decide. If she kills him, then he isn't worth the trouble. And if she believes him to be strong enough, then he will replace Trevor. Any objections amongst the fellow Shichibukais...er, Shichibukai?" He turned and faced Kurai Ai.

She shrugged, "I have never met the guy before, I would rather meet him face to face before I make any final decisions. However, based on what I've heard I got to admit he sounds like someone I would support. Besides, you are right. The Revolutionaries have really been trying to take over the market for powerful pirates."

The door leading to the pirates' bay was knocked open. A long staff with a hook at the end came flying through and hooked onto Nicholas' shirt and pulled him closer to the pirate who just came in. The pirate was large, bigger then anyone else in the room. He was easily eight feet tall. His face was contorted into a frown right now, "I'm here to become a Shichibukai and earn my crew their freedom!"

"What makes you think there is a spot open for you?" asked Nicholas as he ripped himself free from the pirate's hook. He wanted to rip the man's head off, but the timing was perfect. That was the only reason the pirate remained standing in front of him, besides after this meeting of Shichibukai a good laugh was indeed needed.

Kraven laughed as he heaved a bag over his back and pulled out a pirate's head. "I'm pretty sure there is a spot open now!" Nicholas was taken back. That was in fact the head of a Shichibukai...or a previous Shichibukai. Nicholas couldn't help but smile. He smiled. The Shichibukai may have lost two members today, but it looks like they just got a new powerful ally.

"Good, good, good. Leave me be for awhile I file this with the higher-ups," he said waving them out towards the door. He smiled as he watched them leave. He sat back down and lifted the chicken up to his mouth. He brought his shiny teeth down into ripping through the meat, the bone, and even the fork with one massive chomp. "I love it when everything comes together for the benefits of the Marines. We are doing even better with every new step that we take, talk about your lovely meeting."

**Assault on the Ship!**

**Problems with the Escape!  
**

Okay...first off new characters! Kurai Ai is the work of ShinuMae! Alan Fox is the work of A. Fox! Kraven Hale is the work of Draco Oblivion! Yes, I did introduce Alan Fox before WAAYYYY back in chapter 19, but I figure it had been a long enough break for the reintroduction. Anyways, for those of you who were wondering I have introduced 6 Shichibukais, but since Trevor has been kicked out that means there are only 5 currently. So there are still two open spots. While I have an idea about who are going to fill these spots in, I am still open to new ideas.


	95. Reaper 95 Assault on the Ship

**Assault on the Ship!**

The large orange lump had just leapt out of the darkness. McIntyre had been taken down in an instant, he let loose a loud scream. Rosa twisted about in her spot and tripped over her own feet as she watched McIntyre pass out beneath the tiger's large paws. McIntyre's head had been smashed onto the ground and was swollen from the force of the tiger's weight. The tiger stepped off of McIntyre and walked a few feet away from it, before turning its attention down to Rosa. It let loose a slight growl as it headed down the path towards her.

Rosa was backed up into a corner as she stared down the path at the hulking beast that had just pounced onto McIntyre, knocking the pirate out. She was frozen as the beast grew closer and closer to her. "Lily!" shouted Rosa as she leapt forward wrapping her arms around the large tiger. "I was looking all over for you! I'm so thankful that I've found you...er, you found me!" The tiger smiled and brought its tongue out and licked Rosa. "I'm sorry I didn't find you sooner, I got caught up with my new friends and..." Rosa twisted her head back down the path, "we got to get down to the docks. Mind if I ride ya?"

The tiger slumped its shoulders down and offered Rosa ride. Rosa leapt on. The tiger quickly twisted about and dashed off down the path. Its heavy paws slamming against the rocky path as the two bolted down the path. Bounty hunter leapt out of the way avoiding the crazed woman on the tiger, who just moments ago was having a mental breakdown because it was dark. Rosa leaned forward, anxious to beat Trevor to the ship. They needed her help, badly.

(-near the ship-)

"Are you sure this is the ship?" asked a large man dressed in a camouflage vest and pants as he walked out on the sand standing in front of another small group of pirates or bounty hunters. The rest of the group nodded. "Supah." He turned around and faced the rest of the crew, "you guys got the cannon you were 'asked' to return?" he asked as he examined his crew. They all nodded. A large cannon was produced from behind them as they dragged it onto the sandy beach. The man removed his pitch-black shades as he looked at the weapon. "But you know my family motto, don't ya boys?"

The rest of the bounty hunters lifted their hats up into the air and shouted, "return all favors halved! And return all pain doubled! That is the motto of Jacques Rouge!" The man nodded as he returned his attention to the ship. The bounty hunters began to pull more cannons up behind him as they prepared to shoot. The man smirked as he gave the final command to fire.

(-on the ship-)

Enma had just finished strapping Mikoto down to the bed. Mikoto wasn't exactly being a good patient and the last thing he wanted was for the wound to open again. Any good doctor would've done the same. It would only be by Lucifer's luck that the kid would make it through without dying, especially seeing as how he kept wanting to get up and go find Ridley and Zesiro. Enma went back up onto the deck, where Sage was waiting patiently for someone else to return.

He didn't know if she was just trying to stage a silent protest against him for kicking Rosa off of the ship or something else entirely. The day was pretty much uneventful for him, asides from the 'accident' with the cannon, but now they were back to square one with all the quiet and serene sounds. They were also leaving the next morning, so there would be very little of interest, but when the captain is aiming to be the next pirate king time is of the essence. He was about to sit down and relax next to Sage when the sound of the cannon fire rang through the air. Sage leapt up from her seat and shared a look of worry with Enma.

The cannonball came crashing into the side of the ship, blowing a hole into it. Enma grimaced as he heard the wood splinter from the force of the shot. "Let's go!" commanded Enma as he leapt down the side of the ship and charged off in the direction of the cannon shot. Sage stepped forward a bit, but paused with a second thought as she looked back and contemplated about the ship and whether charging off was the right idea. She grudgingly set off after Enma, they needed to stop the cannon fire before they worried about the ship.

Enma arrived at the place pretty quickly. The group of bounty hunters had no interest in being cheap bastards and taking them on from a distance. The man dressed in the camouflage vest and pants approached Enma first. Enma had to crank his neck upwards to stare the man in the eyes, "I head you took down some of my men with a cannon and a cheap trick. I'm just here to return the pain..." began the man he slowly cranked his arm around his ear, the rest of the crew suddenly yelled, "doubled!" The man smiled as he brought his head back over into Enma's face.

Enma smiled, "I'd really appreciate it if..." began Enma as he leaned backwards, once he got a good distance back he brought his iron hard skull forward smashing it into the man's face, "if you'd get out of my face." The man stumbled backwards and collapsed into the sand. "There!" stated Enma as he crouched down onto the sand, "now I can finally look you in the face without tiring out my neck."

Jacques grumbled as he stood back up. He stared Enma in the eyes. He let loose a mean growl. When he did so his glasses, which were obviously loosened and broken up from Enma's headbutt, fell off of his face and onto the floor. Jacques stared at his broken glasses and returned his glare back to Enma, "those were my favorite glasses, punk!" The man leaned back and fired one punch at Enma. Enma grunted as the punch pushed him back. The man definitely wasn't a light-weight. Enma hand quickly turned into a white ivory bone as he brought the fist right back and into the Jacques's face. Jacques was knocked backwards from the incredible strength and hardness of Enma's fist.

Jacques quickly brought himself back up and sucker punched Enma in the ribs before Enma could say anything else. Enma collapsed onto the ground gasping for air. Jacques quickly turned around to his crew mates. "Looks like we found our first target to take down! Give me my weapons!" The crew quickly nodded and brought up to him two large metal gauntlets that slid seamlessly onto his hands. He clamped two straps around his arms to hold them in place. "You've caused me and my bounty hunting brothers and sisters a lot of trouble with your earlier trick with the cannon, so now I'm gonna cause you a lot of trouble with my trick of punching you in the face!"

"Enma!" shouted Sage as she ran onto the scene interrupting the Jacques' rant. Jacques paused as he turned his head about to see the young lady running up to them. Sage stopped in her tracks as she noticed the large group of men and women gathered around Enma, who was currently on the floor with a large man standing on top of him preparing to knock him out. Sage's two hands formed a small circle without her even thinking about it, "**Pressure Ball!" **Sage fired a ball of air with incredible pressure forward. The solid ball rammed into Jacques knocking him off of Enma.

Enma jumped up and quickly ran back to the Sage's side. Enma turned around and faced the group while simultaneously producing his long ivory spear. Enma glanced over at Sage, "thanks for coming when you did these guys are kind of annoying. There is a lot of them and they don't seem to really like me." Enma twirled his spear around and lowered it preparing to strike at his opponents. "The big guy back there is also pretty strong..." Enma still felt the pain in his stomach from the man's cheap sucker punch.

"Where is Zesiro and Hiro-Shu when you need them?" groaned Sage as the group of bounty hunters grew closer. She weighed their options and right now her only real option was to use either the pressure ball or make their heads explode and neither one of those two techniques were really designed for multiple opponents. They were made for quick one-on-one wins. It looked like it would up to Enma to take down these numerous pirates.

"Yeah, especially since Zesiro is probably all healed up," muttered Enma, "he could probably remove the bandages and fight now." Enma bit his lip as he looked over at the invading forces. He had to agree with Sage what he wouldn't give for Zesiro's or Hiro-Shu's overwhelming might right now. Neither he nor Sage really possessed the power to take down an entire army. Enma's eyes locked on the man in the camouflage man. He was just getting back up and standing again. Without his dark sunglasses on Enma could easily see his brown eyes which were boiling with rage right now.

"You boys handle the boy...that punk ass girl is all mine!" he stood up and brought his two fists crashing together. "I'm planning to return all the pain you inflicted at me doubled with just one punch!" Jacques laughed as he began to approach Sage. The crew were all wide-eyed as he walked towards Sage.

Sage breathed quietly. They had just played right into their hands. Sage was only going to face one opponent...one who had already taken an absurd amount of damage from her pressure ball. She could finish this off with one or two more attacks. It would be an easy win for them, she just hoped Enma could hold out long enough for her to finish him off. "Okay," said Sage as she gave Enma a small thumbs-up as she stepped forward to meet the man.

"Sage don't do anything stupid," said Enma as he lowered his stance and slowly crept towards his opponent. "Just hold off long enough for me to help you, I'll make as quick of work of these guys as I possibly can." As soon as the last words escaped from Enma's mouth, the opponent' pounced on him. A flurry of swords and blades came crashing down on top of him. Enma brought his spear around and blocked the vicious onslaught of slices. He pushed them off of him and brought his spear around bringing it straight into a man's side, knocking him down onto the ground.

Sage watched Jacques charge at her. Sage brought her two hands together and made a circle once more. "**Pressure Ball!" **shouted Sag as she let loose another high-powered ball. The ball shot forward through the air at Jacques. Jacques stepped forward and fired a punch with his left hand at the incoming ball. The two collided. "What?" gasped Sage as she watched the the pressure ball disappear without even hindering Jacques' charge. Jacques was wearing a cruel smile as he continued to charge forward.

Sage paused as she watched the guy charge forward, almost instantly closing the distance in between the two of them. Jacques brought his left fist forward once more. Sage was too slow she couldn't dodge or block the attack at all. Jacques' punch smashed into Sage's gut. Sage felt the fist hit and then a second blow rang into her body, almost like an explosion from the fist. Sage was thrown backwards, her entire body was aching from the blow. Sage crumbled onto the ground.

Jacques smirked as he looked at the poor girl who was laying on the ground. "Surprise!" he said as he walked up to her, "what do you think? Was that double the pain of your first attack on me? Or should I try hitting you again?" He turned back around and faced Enma who was standing around with about half of the army gathered around him, either knocked out or unable to stand due to the damage. Enma turned his attention to Jacques about to come over and attack, but he stopped.

"Enma...he's my opponent," said Sage as she came up leaning against one of the cannons, "I'll take him out. You wouldn't even think about taking him on or ...interfering with his fight if it was Zesiro or Hiro-Shu...so, treat me with the same respect you'd treat them."

**Sage's High Pressu****re Situation!**

Woo-hoo! Rosa rides off to save the crew from the trouble that's brewing their way, especially seeing as how the only two people left on the ship are Maria and Mikoto. Not to mention that somehow Jacques managed to completely ignore Sage's second Pressure Ball despite the fact that the first one nearly sent him flying.


	96. Reaper 96 Sage's High Pressure

**Sage's High Pressure Situation**

"Whoo, Sage," muttered Enma as he knocked another one of the incoming bounty hunters aside, "don't scare me like that! I seriously thought we may have lost you there!" Sage was barely standing up on her feet as she looked over at Jacques. Enma was starting to panic a bit as he noticed the large distance in their strength. There was nowhere those two were any where close in fighting strength or experience. He would just have to put his faith in her for a few more seconds...until he finished off the remaining insane bounty hunters for the next few moments.

"Pathetic," said Jacques as he took another few steps towards Sage. He rubbed his two fists together, checking the gauntlets. "You got a Devil Fruit power, don't you? That's how you hit me before, but that's nothing...I figured out your ability so now I'm going to take you down in a few minutes. Another couple of my punches should do it."

Sage quickly brought her two hands back up and began to form a circle to fire another deadly blast, but she stopped. The shot wouldn't do her any good if he just negated it again with another blow, however, he did it last time. Not to mention that she was nearly knocked out, the punch was incredibly strong in comparison to most of her previous fighters. Normally their punches were only about one-tenth of that punch. She didn't understand how he did, was it just his normal strength or was there a second trick to it, something she couldn't possibly know from just the first strike.

Jacques quickly closed the distance between them with a charge. His two fists were right in front of his face, blocking his mouth from view. It was reminiscence of one of the boxing's stances. It made sense since with those gauntlets and no other weapon it would make sense that he relied heavily on punches and nothing else. Sage didn't know much about boxing other than the basics...she never paid much attention to many of the fights. She had no idea about his style at all. Jacques brought his fist forward and upwards aiming for her chin, a powerful uppercut. Sage rolled off to the side, her legs were too weak from his first punch to do any running from him, these small rolls was her best shot.

Jacques spun about and brought his punch around in a wide arcing swing...she believed that was called a hook in boxing. She quickly raised the pressure in his ear. Jacques was about to take another step forward, but paused. He brought his fist up to his ear, he felt his balance shift from her power. He was just lucky that he didn't collapse onto the ground, if he had taken that step there would be no doubt that that was what would've happened. He slid his front foot back to his back foot and regained his stance and his balance. Sage's face showed her distress. Her best bet had just been upset, this man had a technique to destroy her Pressure Ball and now he could even overcome her ability to make him lose his balance. Her tricks were slowly being whittled down in this fight.

Another fluctuation in pressure caused Jacques to bend over and empty his stomach of his dinner right there onto the sandy beach in front of everyone. A quick, collective moan of disgust was heard from all of the bounty hunters. Jacques let out his own disgusted moan as he wiped the remaining vomit from his lips and stared at the young girl. "Just some cheap tricks right now is that it? Come on, why don't you try to finish me off with another one of those little girlie blasts of yours? Maybe this time it'll actually work?"

Sage's only answer was a very determined glare at the large man. She was going to win this on her own. She managed to bring herself back up onto her feet. So, far she really didn't feel all too great. Her fights so far were nothing to brag about. Oz was weak, Marx was a pervert, and she wouldn't have beat Kentan if Zesiro hadn't interfered. Jacques' lost would be her victory and her victory only. She just needed to stall him for a few seconds to figure out his trick and then break through it and hit him...one more hit should be all that it would take.

Jacques charged in again, bringing his hulking body closer to Sage. Sage rolled to the side avoiding his incoming punch. Sage quickly formed her small circle with her hands and prepared to fire another Pressure Ball. She let it loose directly at Jacques. Jacques pivoted and once more brought his left hand forward and into the Pressure Ball, once more the blast dispersed. Jacques didn't even bat an eyelash as the bast disappeared. Jacques laughed as he fired a downwards punch with his gauntlet and into the ground. There was a large explosion around his fist as rocks and dirt blew around him.

Sage was blown back along with the force, the stone shards digging into her skin as she collapsed onto the ground. She willed herself back to her feet, only to see Jacques still smiling and walking towards her. "Upset, little girlie?" he stated as he walked towards her, "My fists embody my family's motto! Return all favors halved! And return all pain doubled! In both of my gauntlets is an Impact Dial! Anytime my gauntlets get hit for any reason, they negate all damage and even better I can then shoot it back out and directly into my opponent. In other words, you can't hurt me! I'm invincible!"

Sage quickly increased the pressure in his lower left thigh. Jacques' leg started to hurt, but he ignored the pain and continued to charge at Sage. He brought his fist around firing a simplistic straight for Sage's head. Sage once more dropped to the ground avoiding the powerful forward punch. While his Impact Dials may not have a charge in them as it currently stood, his punches were still nothing to laugh at.

Jacques moved in closer to her, not in the mood to charge and have his charge fail again due to another simple one of her tricks, if he was going to kill her, he'd have to take his time and do this right. She was holding back as well. She was avoiding using the Pressure Ball of hers in order to avoid having Jacques absorb the blast. Only thing she was doing was stretching the fight out. And with Jacques' men being knocked aside by that other fellow, a longer fight wasn't really beneficial to him.

Whenever Jacques stepped closer to Sage, Sage stepped away. They were move in near perfect unison, both of them waiting for the other to drop their guard. Sage lifted her hand up and formed a smaller hole. Jacques prepared to fire a punch and meet her ball head-on. He was waiting to see the slightest change in her movement that would hint on her shooting him, but she didn't do anything. She didn't flinch or blink as she stared at him. Jacques was about to move forward and take her down, when he paused and quickly dodged to the side.

"What was that?" asked Jacques breathing heavily. His hand went to his shoulder...it was only slight, but something was happening to his body. It was as if the pressure was building up and nearing its time to explode...a close call, he was focusing so heavily on her that he ignored his own body's signal to move out of the way. He had to guess it was something similar to the Pressure Ball, but rather then the Pressure Ball that intensifies the pressure in a single area and then uses that intense pressure to slam your opponent, this one creates a pressures so intense that it explodes and destroys it surrounding. If it were to occur in his body like she was trying, his head would've been ripped from his shoulders.

Jacques charged forward, apparently holding back was no longer an option for him. Either way he would be in trouble of getting killed! The girl's only strength was the stupid Devil Fruit...the fact that unlike him she could launch any attack from any stance and any distance. Unlike Jacques who had to be in a specific stance, do a specific movement with his arms and body, and then even be a specific distance away to launch any attack. Jacques did a quick look over at his remaining men, many of them were knocked down and the numbers were so far dwindled, it would only be a few more minutes until the 'White Devil' Enma came over and joined his friend to beat him up...in other words Jacques needed to end this and fast.

"I'm going to end this with my secret technique," Jacques brought his right fist sailing down into the ground. The Impact Dial hissed as the it absorbed the force. Jacques brought his right fist up and into the air, "right now this fist has the power of one of my punches, but if I go like this!" Jacques brought his two fists colliding into each other, once more there was an audible hiss as the Impact Dial absorbed the blow. "The charge from the right Impact Dial is transferred to the left, but that's not all! There is the additional damage from my two fists colliding so its more like its has the power of three of my punches rather then one! And I can keep doing it!" Jacques brought his two fists together again and again and again. There was a nonstop hissing as the damage kept increasing and transferring from one hand to another. "Best of all, all of the power is focused into one hand...right now it is my right! So, that leaves my left open for defense."

Jacques charged in. His left fist primed for battle. Sage once more tried her regular tricks. She increased the pressure in his leg, trying to make him stop due to the pain in it, but Jacques ignored the pain and kept coming. Sage backed up and quickly changed her target to his stomach. Jacques turned his head to the side and let his lunch spill out of his mouth, but he still didn't stop his charge. Jacques brought the brunt of his shoulder into her, knocking her down. Jacques jumped on top of her and brought his right fist into the air.

Sage flinched, she put all of her bets on this one move. Just one simple increase in pressure. Jacques brought his fist down upon her with immense speed and power. The Impact Dial exploded as it came in made contact. A large dust cloud covered the two of them. Jacques was laughing, he felt his gauntlet hit home. He won!

He felt a light prodding in his chest. He looked down to see what it was. Sage was laying on the ground with a smile on her face. Her two hands forming another circle placed directly against Jacques' body. Jacques' fist had slammed into the ground next to her. While some debris and dirt came up and cut into Sage's face, she had avoided any fatal blows. "How...how did you?" stuttered Jacques as he looked down at the girl.

"Same trick I used before, I stole your balance," said Sage, "with your balance gone your aim was ruined and you missed. Of course, it was a very slim chance of it actually working, but I guess Mikoto's luck finally rubbed off on me! Now to finish it...**Pressure Ball!"** The ball formed once more in between Sage's fingers and right against Jacques' body, while his left hand may be able to absorb the force from the blast at this close distance, there was no way he could bring his fist around in time. Sage fired.

Jacques gritted his teeth as the blast lifted him from his feet and off of the ground. He was taken high into the air. Jacques screamed as he fell back into the ground, landing awkwardly, knocking himself out. Sage breathed quietly as she laid on the ground for a few more seconds scared to death of the blow that had just barely missed her head. Enma came over and extended his hand to her and helped her up on her feet, "how long were you standing there?" asked Sage as she noticed the large amount of bounty hunters all lying about unconscious.

"When he began to brag about his Impact Dials and the ability to transfer force from one hand to another...in all honesty he kind of lost me when he began rambling," said Enma with a smile as he looked over at Sage, "but as you said...I stayed out of your fight until the very end."

(-with Ridley-)

Ridley lugged Melanie closer and closer. He just barely managed to lift his feet up and onto the ship as he continued to walk up the plank and onto the wooden floorboards. She may have been a Shichibukai, but he wasn't about to leave her lying out there with the psychopath Trevor running loose. She was on his back, kept up due to his two crossed hands. He was hoping Enma would rush to his side to take her, but he didn't.

Ridley headed down into the infirmary and dropped Melanie off onto on the beds. He was breathing heavily. He had just walked from one dock to another while carrying Melanie with him. He was tired and he felt like collapsing. "Hey," said Mikoto as he tried to lift his head from the table. Ridley jumped back as he saw Mikoto chained to the table. "Who is she?"

"Just a friend," muttered Ridley as he forced himself to his feet, "sort of...Anyways! What the heck happened to you? You and Sage got a little bit too drunk and decided to have some sort of fun?" He snapped one of the straps up and back down against the table, "I'm not one to judge though."

Mikoto lifted his head up and looked over to Melanie, "you came onto the ship carrying a girl who I never seen before and she's unconscious. I'm sure that me getting shot isn't as interesting as to what you did to her." Ridley shrugged. Mikoto looked up at Ridley, since he was strapped down to the table he had nothing better to do then here one of Ridley's ridiculous tales.

**Prey to Predator!**

**Zesiro, Ready for Action!**

Sage took down and finished off Jacques and Enma stayed out of it. Sage is proving herself to be one heck of a pirate as the time goes on. And now Ridley is back with Melanie, one of the people out to kill them.


	97. Reaper 97 Prey to Predator

**Prey to Predator!**

**Zesiro, Ready for Action!**

Ridley sighed as he listened to Mikoto, "fine! I'll tell you what I know. Trevor apparently came here to kill us...or her...I'm not quite sure who is planning to kill, just that he wanted to kill someone. Melanie came here to capture us, so they both wound up on this island. After awhile me and Melanie got into fight..." Ridley looked over to Melanie, who was out cold, he cleared his throat and continued, "anyways, we fought and I won. Then, um...Trevor knocked me down through some dirty underhanded tricks! And then Melanie and him fought...Trevor brutally taunted and teased Melanie throughout the fight talking about how he killed her parents and the like, how he put their skulls on his ship to decorate it. Melanie couldn't focus and got her butt whooped...again. Then I carried Melanie here. That's a basic summary." Ridley smiled, despite the fact that half of what he said was a lie, he got the basic point across to Mikoto.

"Ridley, untie me," said Mikoto as he struggled against the bonds. Ridley looked around him, unsure of how to proceed. He shrugged and quickly undid the bonds. Mikoto flipped his feet off of the bed and stood up. "Where is this Trevor person?" Mikoto asked looking over at Ridley.

"You can't be serious!" shouted Ridley, "That man attacked and beat a fellow Shichibukai! I highly doubt you want to get involved with that psychopath! He was definitely a tough opponent! I think it would be best if we just gathered up the rest of the crew and left as soon as possible!" Mikoto was ignoring him, Mikoto quickly slipped his sandals on and was about to walk out ignoring Ridley, but Ridley ran around him and stood in his way. "Mikoto, listen! This guy has a tremendous killing aura! I don't think he'll hold back in a fight! His hands are like blade and they've probably killed more people then anybody we have ever met before...including my own dad!"

"I'll just consider it a warm-up for the rest of the Grand Line," said Mikoto, "I mean there are another six," Mikoto looked over at Melanie who was stirring as her hand went up to her head, "five Shichibukais out there. I'm not going to become King of the Pirates just by running away from them. I'll have to take them out sooner or later. So, I'll take this one out now then! Cool?" Ridley didn't dare move out of the doorway.

"Are you stupid?" muttered Melanie as she sat up. She looked down and noticed that her sword was missing. Ridley had taken it and stashed it somewhere to make sure she didn't do anything for awhile, even though he highly doubted that she would with all of her injuries. "He is way stronger then some second rate pirate. I mean, what your bounty just barely broke 30 million...and now you want to go fight him? He's taken out pirates whose bounties exceed 100 million...you are just jumping to your own death." Melanie moved her foot to the floor and was about to step off of the bed, but as soon as her weight shifted onto her foot, she flinched and pulled back. "Besides, he's my opponent, not yours."

"Then let's have a race!" shouted Mikoto, "first one to beat the crap out of him, can beat the crap out of him!" Mikoto looked back over at Ridley, who shook his head still not getting out of Mikoto's way. Mikoto stretched his arm out, there was still a slight twinge of pain as he moved it due to the gunshot wound, but Enma did a good enough job fixing it up. Mikoto smiled as he pushed past Ridley, "catch me when you can, Melanie!"

Melanie grunted as she tried to shift the weight off of her foot once more, but Ridley came over and pushed her down. He had given up on Mikoto. There was no way he could catch up to him. Ridley just had to focus on keeping Melanie safe for now. "Does he really want to join my parents' skulls so much?" Melanie muttered as she lowered her head, "I've come this far, just to find out about my parents' death? And that my so-called 'ally' killed them? Let me go out and kill that ass!" Melanie stood up, pushing Ridley away, but her foot gave way almost immediately and she fell back down to the floor. Melanie cursed as she collapsed onto the ground.

"You must've twisted your foot when you fell during your fight," said Ridley as he bent down to pick her back up. Melanie swatted his hand away. She dragged herself back up onto her feet using the bed for support. "What a nice way to treat the guy who even though you tried to kill him, decided to save your life!" Melanie turned her head away from him as she sat down on the bed. Ridley shrugged, "no respect for the guy with the green Mohawk...as usual." Ridley went over and sat down on a nearby bed, he began shuffling through Enma's medicine, picking up bandages and the like examining them for their uses in patching himself up.

"Your captain is going to die," muttered Melanie as she looked down at her feet, "Trevor's going to kill him. That's a fact. Trevor is thirty times stronger, faster, and more beast-like than any other person could be. You better start praying for your captain."

"First off, I don't pray," said Ridley as he pulled out another tube of disinfectant and began applying it to his wounds. "If I can't get something done that I want done...I don't deserve to have it done. Second off, Mikoto is stronger then you'd think. If that guy died every time someone thought he should, he'd have died more times then I can count. And last off, focus on your problems...here!" Ridley tossed the remaining disinfectant over to Melanie.

Melanie caught the disinfectant, but then tossed away without using any, "I don't need your help. I'm just waiting for my foot to feel better and then I'm out of here. I'm going to find out if Trevor really did kill my parents. And regardless of what you say, your captain is dead meat." Ridley just leaned back and wrapped a bandage around his waist to keep the blood in. He had an all-knowing smile on his face as he looked over at Melanie.

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro was stuck out in the middle of a large field. He was glad that he finally had some peace and quiet. Ever since the last island and his last fight, the crew had been very attached to him. He had his sword drawn and was doing some basic practice swings, nothing too strenuous as he didn't want to reopen any old wounds, but he couldn't just not train. After all that time on the ship just sitting around and doing absolutely nothing, he was going a little a stir-crazy. A little light exercise wouldn't hurt him.

It was odd only using one sword. Its been awhile since he had been so...limited. He always used twin swords. Even when he was just learning how to use swords, he only used one sword for only a short time before he moved on to two swords. He knew from the get-go he wanted to use two swords, so he made quick work of one sword techniques and then progressed to two swords techniques without waiting. Now he was regretting it. It would probably be awhile till they met someone who could fix his sword or make a sword on par with it.

Zesiro was trying to stay calm as he continued through his swords practice, but he kept falling back into old habits and began to use his second hand separately as if he had another sword. He sighed as he brought his sword back into its sheath. It looks like he was going to have to call it day with his practice. He noticed the already dark sky and realized how long he had been gone from the ship. He quickly began to head back to the ship.

He tread lightly through the field, preparing to return back to his status as the resident injured warrior. In just a few more moments he would be shooed into the infirmary and sat down, he would be restricted from doing anything as the rest of the crew tried to accommodate themselves to his injuries. With a heavy heart he headed home.

It was only after a few minutes that Zesiro heard something. He didn't dare to slow his pace. If someone was following him then if he stopped, they would know he was on to them. It would be better if he kept the element of surprise. Regardless of that thought Zesiro's hands came to a rest on his sword's hilt, already primed for battle. Zesiro continued walking forward paying no heed to whoever it was that was following him.

Zesiro had walked for a fifteen minutes and still no sign of an attack. But Zesiro still felt the eyes of his follower burrowing into him. Zesiro looked from side-to-side trying to ascertain the location of his follower, but he couldn't find anything. Zesiro stopped and turned about, "where are you?" he shouted, "I know someone is following me. So just show yourself now and save yourself the trouble."

His follower appeared like a flash of lightning, not wasting a single moment as it darted out from a nearby bush. Its entire body was a blur. There was a brief flash of light that hinted at a blade. Zesiro brought his sword out barely in time to block the fast swing. Just as quickly as the attacker came he disappeared into the bushes.

Zesiro pivoted about and faced the bushes that were around him. They were small berry bushes, more then likely what he he had before was his attacker stepping on a branch or something of the like. Zesiro had drawn his sword and remained at the ready for another attack from any angle. His arm hurt a little from the stroke, he had to guess that was probably because his body still hadn't fully healed from his fight with Daimyo. However, from the feel of it he was healed enough that he could fight. Zesiro kept his eyes out, always moving about from bush to bush waiting for another flash of light as his opponent drew his weapon.

Once more his opponent proved himself to be the faster of the two. He appeared as quickly as before with beyond superhuman speed, once more only appearing as a blur. Zesiro grunted as the blur attacked once more with a thrust. Zesiro brought his sword forward and blocked the thrust with the side of his blade forcing it to the side. The attacker vanished into the bush as soon as he could. Zesiro moaned as he retook a defensive stance.

The attacker was faster then Zesiro and also with all of the bushes surrounding him, he had plenty of places to hide. If it wasn't for his wounds, Zesiro would probably just start hacking away at the bushes. However, Zesiro had put something else together about his attacker. He was using a short sword. The two clashes of their blade helped Zesiro understand that much about him. He was probably using it due to its light weight and to shorten his swing and give him less of an opening during and after the rush.

Despite Zesiro's long time on the ocean, he had never encountered a short sword. He recalled the other swords he faced like Gumm's belt sword, Daimyo's six swords, and even the wacky weapon that Ovid used. But the short sword was definitely a new weapon for him face. And it was funny that because of that, due to the fact that Zesiro had never fought a short sword user in his life he was getting kind of excited. It was even a mix of excitement and worry, it was closer to the excitement that a little kid got when he opened his first Christmas present. And Zesiro was loving it.

It was in that moment that Zesiro's attacker charged. The attacker burst through the bushes and at Zesiro. Zesiro didn't even hesitate as he brought his sword around and down aiming for the attacker, ignoring all conceptions of defense. He left his body wide-open as he brought his sword down with immense power and speed. Zesiro had timed his counter-attack perfectly. He knew his opponent's range and speed from his previous two rushes. Zesiro knew all about his sword's range and his own speed as well. The attack shouldn't have missed, but it did. It came down way too soon. Zesiro's sword slashed into the ground, before the attacker even got within range.

And that was a fatal mistake. The attacker moved in as fast as he had before and brought his short sword forward in a flash, driving the blade forward and into Zesiro's body. Zesiro grunted as he fell backwards with the sword sticking out of his abdomen. Zesiro grimaced in pain as he brought himself back up to his feet, not allowing his attacker to see a moment of weakness. Zesiro wrenched the blade out of him and deposited it on the ground.

If it was anyone else, that attack might have been the end. But Zesiro was a Mako Shark Fishman, he had a naturally more toned and hardened body then normal people. He had the instincts of the shark and when that instinct warned him about the incoming attack, his body reacted. Not necessarily by dodging the blow, but by redirecting the blow into a much less harmful area. To his opponent, it probably appeared like dumb luck that Zesiro had survived the attack, but Zesiro knew better. He also knew that if it happened again, he wouldn't live through it.

**A Confrontation of Swords and Hunters!**

Mikoto officially set his eyes on Trevor, and with some encouraging words from Melanie and Ridley, is out to hunt him down. The question is who is the predator and who is the prey? Other then Mikoto's shocking attack on his hunter, there is also Zesiro who snuck out to do some exercises, when he shouldn't have and as punishment an opponent has found him and attacked. And yes, there is a real reason to Zesiro's attack missing it wasn't just some fluke...I'll explain it in the next chapter.

Also, as to why my updates are getting faster (especially if you read Iron Hammer of Justice as well), its due to the fact that I am currently on summer break, so I have more time to write.

Asides from that I want you all to look at the number of reviews this story has...nearly 500, right? Well, I WANT 500 REVIEWS! GIVE ME 500 REVIEWS!


	98. Reaper Arc 98 A Confrontation of Swords

**A Confrontation of Swords and Hunters!**

Zesiro tried to remain calm. He quickly brought one of his feet up and onto the short sword that he had just ripped out of his chest. With any luck that would be the only weapon his opponent had and the fight would end like that. If his opponent couldn't grab the sword it would be his win. Zesiro looked down at the hole in his chest and decided against that. It was 1-0 in favor of his opponent. If the fight ended now it would be his lost. Zesiro kicked the sword out over to a bush. The sword disappeared within seconds.

Zesiro was already preparing for the next attack and the next counter. His body was too badly injured. The exertion of the multiple normal attacks that would be required to take down his opponent would put a lot of stress on his wounds, his best bet would be a one-hit kill and the best way to do that would be a counter, especially considering the fact that his opponent appeared only for attacks and then quickly disappeared. The counter-attack would require perfect timing...and before his swing's timing was off.

Zesiro quickly performed multiple short downwards swing preparing for the next attack. Something was definitely different. His swing was faster, he didn't notice it when he was practicing, because he was focusing on the routine rather then the blade. However, he quickly adjusted to the speed of his new swing. Zesiro turned around and looked at the bushes.

There were a lot of bushes around him. There would be no way to get away from them either. Zesiro looked around, his eyes falling on each individual bush looking for something out of place. The flash of his opponent's weapon or even a group of leaves parted where his opponent could see through it. He didn't see anything.

Similarly, his opponent was also worried about it. His opponent was dressed completely in black with small dark green and brown patches on his skin. He was perfectly camouflaged to his surrounding. He even wore a black head wrap to keep his entire body hidden. He was terrified of making another attack having witnessed Zesiro's last attack. His heart was beating faster then it ever had. He had seen the downwards slash coming, but that didn't make him feel any better. With the speed and power behind it he couldn't have dodged it or blocked it had he been in its range.

He remained hunkered down in the bushes. He had a small thin tube that barely poked through the bushes. It allowed him to see through the bushes and see his opponent, but it was colored just like sticks. So, unless you knew that he was using such a device and that he was in that specific bush, you would never notice it sticking out. It severely limited his eyesight, but it was more then enough for an expert like him.

He liked to remain at the side of his targets. Most people expect an attacker to strike out and aim for their backs, so they put up a barrier against it. They train to counter such cowardly tactics. Of course, what they don't do is train to counter a side attack. Weapon users that hold their weapon in their right hand has a bigger opening on their right side as a result. The longer reach of the weapon creates that opening, so with his speed he could easily take him down as soon as he saw the perfect opening. Even if he had to wait all night, he would take him down and give his head to Trevor to save his own life.

He specifically targeted the Fishman. When they were at the shipyard early, he was the only one not carrying anything heavy. He had noticeable bandages on him and it was obvious to see his injuries. Best of all, if he beheaded the Fishman he would just show the head to Trevor. The head was free of all bandages and even recently healed scars so Trevor would assume he was perfectly healthy when he took him down. He highly doubted Trevor would accept him taking out a half-dead pirate and showing it to him would appease him. He smiled as he quickly dashed to another bush as Zesiro began to pivot around to face him. He only had to remain in Zesiro's blind spot in order to avoid getting spotted.

He smiled as soon as he noticed Zesiro's guard dropped just slightly, but it created a big enough of an opening for him. He dashed, coming out of the bush once more a blur as he hurtled toward Zesiro. Zesiro separated his legs and brought the sword around aiming for his opponent. With his newly adjusted timing to his new-found speed and power. His opponent noticed this and in a brief moment dashed to the side desperate to avoid the blow. Zesiro felt the blade hit home and cleave into meat, however, the attack wasn't enough to finish the fight and his opponent disappeared back into the bushes.

Both of them let out an upset sigh as neither of their attacks resulted in the finishing blow they wanted. There was blood from the attacker that had spilled out on the ground and onto the ground, but that was it. Despite Zesiro's power he couldn't bring the sword all the way through it. His opponent was much more skilled he had used his sword to deflect the blow, not block it, and then he brought the rest of his body out of the way. The two movements didn't amount to much by themselves, but combined it was just barely capable of diverting the blow away from his head and just into his hand.

Zesiro's eyes fell onto a bush. The trail of blood was now a dead give away to his opponent. His eyes flickered into mere slits as he stepped forward approaching the bush. He grabbed onto his sword with both of his hands. He lifted the sword upwards and then brought it down in a diagonal motion. With the combined power of both of his arms on the sword, the attack came down with an unbelievable level of power. His opponent just barely managed to get out of the bush and out of the way of the sword.

For the first time in the fight, Zesiro got a good look at his opponent. His high level of camouflage was amazing. Only part of the human that Zesiro could see was his eyes. And even then his eyelids were painted black, so that the only thing he had to do was close his eyes and his entire body would disappear against the dark sky.

The man once more disappeared running to another nearby bush. "Sorry," said Zesiro as he lifted his sword up into the air, "but with that heavy stench of blood on you...there is no way you can hide from a shark!" Zesiro brought his sword down upon the small bush. The man dashed out of it just in the nick of time avoiding the deadly downwards slash. He was only out of the bush for a split second before going back into a different bush. "Crap," muttered Zesiro as he once again missed, the fight was just getting annoying now. His adrenaline rush from fighting a short sword was wearing off.

The man charged out of the bush using his superior skill to break out of the bush, he was back on the attack. Zesiro brought his sword down and prepared to block the attack. Zesiro saw the flash of the sword as he prepared for a thrust. Zesiro brought his sword down and buffered his defense. Zesiro felt the thrust hit his sword, but something else happened. The man rotated his arm, putting a spin on his blade. Using the rotation on the tip of the blade it rolled to the side and past the blade without losing any momentum from the man's dash. Zesiro was forced back as the blade drove into him.

Zesiro watched as the man drove back away into the bushes. Zesiro was forced to fall down onto a knee as more of his blood pooled onto the floor. Looks like Enma would end up patching him back up. That last attack was definitely something to watch out for. The rotation on the tip of the sword basically turned it into a drill and made it even more deadlier.

Zesiro grunted as he stood back up and watched the bushes. He gripped the sword tightly with both hands and prepared for his next attack. His muscles tensed as he lifted the blade up and into the air. He was about eight to nine feet away from the bush, his enemy was hiding at. His opponent was mystified as he watched him take up such a strange stance, the only thing that would make sense was if he was preparing for a counter-attack, but in exchange he left his entire body open for an attack. It would be a matter of speed...

Zesiro saw it differently. He brought the sword down with tremendous power and brought his entire body leaning down and forward. His attack didn't see anything as the power of the sword sent the air flying forward in a superfine blade. The air blade dug into the man's shoulder and forced him back and across the ground, more blood splattered off of his body as the drove through him. That was it, the fight was over with a win for Zesiro.

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto stood on top of the large ship that was decorated with numerous skulls. Mikoto didn't have a singe clue as to where Trevor would be, but Ridley's description of a ship decorated with skulls brought him here. The ship was giving Mikoto the goosebumps even if Mikoto could get past the skulls and the rest of the unnerving decor, like the blood on the ground, the smell was still there. It was a really strong stench that forced him to breathe through his mouth.

He thought about it for a second and then looked at the skulls. Mikoto jumped off of the ship and began to dig holes in the sand. Once he dug enough, he jumped back onto the ship and began to carry the skulls off of the ship one by one and place them into the holes and covered them back up. He slowly did this to each skull, burying each and every one of them into the sand.

Mikoto didn't like the fact that the skulls being paraded around on Trevor's ship, just to intimidate his opponents...or just to satisfy Trevor's own sick thoughts. The fact that the sand helped get rid of the smell and that burying the skulls would probably annoy Trevor were just small bonuses.

Mikoto stopped as he picked up another skull off of the railing of the ship. He wondered if it belonged to one of Melanie's parents. If it did, should he take it back to her? Give her some kind of closure? Or would that just be some form of cruel torture?  
"Marco Villabon...male, 28 years-old, died within five minutes during our fight," said Trevor as he walked up and onto the ship with a happy smile on his face. "It was one of my favorite kills...it was such a clean slice through his neck...it was such a PERFECT kill! Such a nice sweep through the neck and the head came off with incredible ease! No head trauma at all, no bumps, no breaks. When he fell to the ground, his fall was cushioned and poof no damage to his head."

Mikoto looked over at Trevor and slowly put the skull back up and onto the railing. Their eyes locked as they slowly tried to size each other up. Mikoto was stuck on the ship, still bobbing over an ocean. A fall from the ship would be the end of him, straight into the ocean where he would drown...or Trevor would jump in after him and kill him that way unless Trevor ate a Devil Fruit. No! Mikoto's plan was to dodge past him and get back onto solid ground to fight. There was no need to worry about what would happen if the fight continued on the ship.

Trevor's smile never left his face even as he continued, "now, do you want to tell me what happened to half of my skulls?"

**The Preparations for a Funeral!**

I'm a bit worried about the big 100 chapter thing I was planning. It looks like it should still work, but I'm not sure any more. Its nothing worth getting upset about as its not like the 100th chapter surprise is an entire chapter...I'm not even sure how many of you guys will actually care about it...but I'm going through with it anyways!

Also, 499 reviews...not quite 500...not quite yet.


	99. Reaper 99 Preparation for a Funeral

**Preparations for a Funeral!**

Mikoto dashed forward. He morphed into his coyote form, mid-dash. His shrunken form ran forward aiming for the small gap to Trevor's side. Trevor quickly brought his powerful right hand downwards. Mikoto's eyes widened and his instincts kicked in. He jumped backwards avoiding the downwards thrust. Trevor's hand slid into the wooden floorboards of the ship without a problem.

This was the first time Mikoto witnessed Trevor's powers. He was immediately reminded of a sword, but the sword was incredibly sharp. With that thrust he easily put a hole in his ship. Trevor smiled, he read Mikoto's uneasiness with the situation and took advantage of it. Trevor charged, he brought his hand across, swiping at Mikoto's neck aiming to end it with one quick and final blow. Mikoto leapt into the air above Trevor. Mikoto brought his fist downwards aimed at Trevor's skull, but Trevor's body dodged to the side causing Mikoto's fist to simply slip on by. Trevor smiled as the fist completely missed him.

Mikoto quickly regained his footing and separated himself from Trevor. Trevor taunted Mikoto to try again. Mikoto rushed in and fired multiple punches for Trevor's head. Trevor easily avoided each and every blow with simple weaving of his head. Mikoto's punches all breezed past Trevor's head, none of them made contact. Each blow was close, but Trevor's head always seemed to be one centimeter to the side avoiding the punch.

Mikoto quickly fired a one-two punch, the first punch forcing Trevor's head to the left and the second punch following up. There was no way Trevor would be able to dodge the blow. Trevor brought his hand up quickly and caught Mikoto's arm, halting the punch. "Colors of Observation Haki, kid!" shouted Trevor as he brought his free hand forward aiming for Mikoto's gut. Mikoto morphed into his coyote form, shrinking his body down to a much smaller size. Trevor's hand went straight to where Mikoto's gut should've been, but due to Mikoto's smaller size, the attack came down just below his feet. Mikoto growled and opened his mouth, leaning forward he tried to bring his fangs down into Travor's skull. Trevor quickly chucked Mikoto to the side, disarming his attack.

Mikoto landed awkwardly on the ground. Trevor wasn't letting that go unpunished. Trevor drove in and drove his powerful hand downwards with another thrust. Mikoto morphed into his hybrid form and used the momentum from his transformation to fire a punch. Trevor skirted to the side, "didn't I already tell you? Colors of Observation allow me to see all of your moves minutes before you use them! And that allows me to dodge them all! I can foresee your attacks, dodge them, and then land a blow of my own!" Trevor brought his hand down with frightening speed in a chopping motion. Mikoto tried to move to the side, but was stopped due to the fact that Trevor stuck his leg out and blocked him from moving out of the way, "not only can I see your attack, but I can also see your dodging tactics and stop those as well!" Mikoto struck out and blocked Trevor's arm with his own, but Trevor's force still continued and drove his hand into Mikoto's shoulder, however, Mikoto's tactic shortened the depth that his hand cut into.

Mikoto pushed Trevor back and separated him from Trevor. The two of them were once more frozen as they stared at each other. The swaying of the ship once more reminded Mikoto that the sea was only one misstep away. The path was open now. Trevor immediately dashed back over into the way, blocking the path. "You almost got away...lucky for me your thoughts are like an open book. True its a little bit hazy as you are not trying to fight with me any more, but I can still see it...and without any way off of the ship your death is just a few seconds away! I think I would rather kill you in your hybrid form if you don't mind...the skull looks like a magnificent addition to my collection!"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm rather attached to my skull, so I think I'm going to keep it," said Mikoto as he kept his distance. His eyes still remained trained on the ground past Trevor. He just needed a temporary break in Trevor's concentration to get past him and onto the ground. Solid ground away from the sea. Mikoto tightened his fists as he took a slight step forward. Trevor wouldn't move out of his way, so Mikoto had to do something to create an opening himself. Mikoto brought his fist forward and into his open palm. He took a sideways stance and leaned forward slightly.

Mikoto dashed forward. Trevor lifted his hands up about to bring them both down with lightning fast power and speed to attack, but quickly brought them back down and blocked Mikoto's fist. Mikoto ignored the fact that Trevor caught it and continued with his attack, "**Rapid Fire x 10!" **Mikoto pumped his arm forward, firing ten extremely fast punches that all blended together. Trevor's eyes widened as the attack resonated through his arm. Mikoto blew past Trevor and quickly returned to the solid ground of the beach. Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief as he landed on the ground. He turned back around and looked at Trevor.

Trevor was staring at his hand that took the brunt of Mikoto's powerful attack. "This is the so-called power of the Devil Fruit, huh..." he shook with anger as he talked to Mikoto, "I'll admit it was more then what I was expecting and it would probably be better if I avoided your attacks from now. I don't want you to go ahead and pull off another one of your trump cards. However, now I know to kill you as quickly as I can." Trevor reached out and took a wide stance both of his hands outstretched away from each other. "Come on, let's finish this."

Mikoto grunted as he looked up. He was lucky he didn't decide to use x 25 instead. He highly doubted that that would've been the end of Trevor, not to mention then he would have to deal with backlash of using it. No use of his right arm for the next twelve and a half minutes. While he still had to deal with the minor backlash of x 10 instead, that was only for five minutes. There was a huge difference between the two attacks.

Trevor moved forward, dashing towards Mikoto and onto the solid ground. Trevor brought his hand sweeping over and through the air aiming for Mikoto's head. Mikoto ducked down and brought his left arm forward aiming for Trevor's side. Trevor dodged backwards avoiding the attack with more then enough time while at the same time bringing his other hand forward in a thrusting motion. Mikoto moved to the side and forward, instantaneously closing the distance between the two of them. "**Leg Sweep!" **Mikoto dropped to the ground and brought his leg sweeping across the ground. Trevor jumped into the air allowing the sweeping leg to just slide on pass him. Trevor twisted his body around and brought his arm downwards with his entire body's weight behind the thrust.

Mikoto ducked lower avoiding the blow and brought his left arm forward and upwards. His punch smashed into Trevor's gut. Mikoto raised his entire body upwards and into the air pushing Trevor back even farther. Trevor grunted as he landed n the ground. Trevor let lose a bestial roar as he charged. Trevor brought his arm forward with another powerful thrust.

Mikoto slipped under Trevor's thrust and moved forward. Mikoto brought his left arm forward aiming for just under Trevor's arm. Trevor brought his knee upwards, smashing into Mikoto's gut. Mikoto paused for a second as the pain reverberated in his body. Trevor twisted his body around and brought his elbow down and into Mikoto's back slamming Mikoto downwards and into the ground.

Trevor brought his arm back around and downwards, preparing for another Colors of Armaments infused thrust. His sword-like thrust came crashing down. Mikoto scurried out of the way in a mad panic. Mikoto rolled onto his back and launched two twin kicks into Trevor's back. Trevor stumbled forward, but quickly regained his balance. He twisted around and saw Mikoto was already on his feet.

Trevor grunted and feinted a dash. Mikoto flinched as he saw it. Trevor smiled, "this is how a hunt should be. Both predator and prey fighting with all of their might to survive...but we both know that no matter how hard the prey tries, the predator will eventually rip his head wide open and enjoy the spoils of the fight. Its the way the world was made...each and every one of use fighting and killing. We were made to enjoy the smell of blood, the sound of flesh tearing, the feel of yours own two hands taking someone's life...I'm the only one who hasn't deviated from that path. I am not only the 'Reaper', but I AM THE MESSIAH!"

"That's one twisted world view you have here," stated Mikoto. Mikoto curled and uncurled his fingers on his right hand. The feeling as gradually returning. The five minutes were almost over. Once had full use of both of his hands, he'd try the Rapid Fire again. One straight hit through and into Trevor's body would probably be the finishing blow. He guessed he probably had another half a minute to a full minute left till his arm fully recovered.

"Come on," complained Trevor as he walked forward, "I heard great things about the 'Kid Coyote''s speed! I've heard that for pirate rookie's his speed is unbelievable! Let me see it!" Trevor charged forward, bringing his arm forward sweeping through the air with frightful power and speed.

Mikoto crouched down and moved forward, underneath the sweeping strike. Mikoto got close enough and reached out with his left arm, **"Rapid Fire x 25!" **Mikoto was about to begin the attack when Trevor jumped away avoiding the punch by only a few seconds. Mikoto moaned and backed away. It was the perfect opening and against anyone else it may have worked, but that troublesome Colors of Observation Haki that Trevor possessed was troublesome.

"You tried that move before," muttered Trevor as he examined his hands remembering the last burst. "With that technique you might actually have been able to make a lot of money in the Underground Rally Arena...many of the people who make a lot of money are Devil Fruit users. Zoan-types like yourself are a big draw...its like having a real wild animal in the ring, the crowd really enjoys their fights. Logia-Types are too much of a bore, their ability to instantly heal damage or to become immune to damage bores the crowd and Paramecia-Types are just too random to draw the crowd."

"Are you asking me if I want to join the Underground Rally Arena?" asked Mikoto. He kept his guard up, knowing Trevor's personality all too well that he would probably attack the instance Mikoto dropped his guard whether they were talking or not. "Cause I was already asked to join once and I said 'no' then and I'm saying no now."

"Oh, no!" defended Trevor, "just stating a fact. The three forms of Devil Fruits tend to have a rather surprising skill set that goes with them. Zoan-Types tend to have to rely on power or speed, the things that really interest a crowd! Paramecia-types rely on techniques and Logia tends to rely on technique and stamina. Honestly, I prefer fighting Zoan-Types...because then I can crush them at their own game." Trevor reached out with his open hand and formed a fist. "So, prepared to be crushed!" Trevor dashed forward, firing a single punch at Mikoto.

Mikoto was a second to late to dodge it and instead took the brunt of the attack. Mikoto was forced backwards. The attack was little bit different from Trevor's usual attacks. Ordinarily, Trevor hardened his hand and turned it into a sword, giving it a relatively fine blade allowing him to deliver slashes and thrusts. However, this time around Trevor delivered more of a smashing blow and ignored the ability to create a fine blade. Mikoto was astounded by the large range of powers that Haki could bestow upon someone.

From the looks of it even with Rapid Fire this was going to be an uphill battle. That was the kind of power and pressure of a Shichibukai. Mikoto thought back to the little black journal his dad left for him...the book had a long list of techniques listed in there. In that book was actually the base for the Rapid Fire attack. Of course, Mikoto had been working on moves other then Rapid Fire, but Rapid Fire was the only he had gotten the hang of. Mikoto looked back at Trevor and finalized his thought, if he was going to win this he was definitely going to have to use some of the new moves he had been working on.

**The Evolution of the Future Pirate King!**

First off, as a lead in to the 100th chapter I am going to thank everyone who submitted a character to this story. Its still running even after this long...I'm also proud to say it is currently past 5 reviews per chapter... totaling over 500 reviews so far...pretty awesome...not really...I was hoping for ten reviews per chapter, but we can't all be Oda.

Other then sit down and buckle up for the next chapter!


	100. Reaper Arc: 100 Evolution of a Pirate

**The Evolution of the Future Pirate King!**

Mikoto leaned forward and placed all of his weight onto his front leg. Trevor paused as he looked at Mikoto's odd form with his entire body bent over his leg. Trevor brought his arms across his body and prepared to block any one of the coyote's random attacks. Based on his previous experiences, he knew a powerful attack could come from Mikoto regardless of any stance.

Mikoto lowered himself even further before dashing off at Trevor. His speed was even faster then before as he raced towards Trevor in a straight line. In mere moments Mikoto was already right in front of Trevor. Trevor reached out and lashed out with an incredibly hard hand, he saw his hand slide right through Mikoto's neck. Trevor smiled as he was sure of his own victory.

"**Wolf Cutter!" **Trevor had no idea how it happened, but he felt a sharp slicing pain in his body. Trevor backed up separating himself, his side had been cut open and was now bleeding. He looked up and saw Mikoto standing there, his left claw coated in blood. Trevor was taken back as he saw the man he was confident he had drilled his hand into was still standing and looking at him with his hand coated in his blood! "One more time!" shouted Mikoto as he brought his body back down and brought his weight onto his front leg. It was the same technique as before he must've done something that negated the damage Trevor should've dealt to him. Trevor knew what was coming.

"**Colors of Observation Haki," **said Trevor calmly. His eyes locked onto Mikoto all of his moves would come to light in a brief moment. Mikoto dashed forward with incredible speed, it was just like the last move. Nothing was different. Mikoto quickly got up and into Trevor's personal space. Trevor reached out on instant slicing into Mikoto's neck. Trevor had a brief moment of happiness before his side suddenly got pounded in his side. Trevor was thrown backwards, confused. He saw Mikoto again, once more completely unharmed despite the fact that Trevor saw himself slice into his skull.

Even worse Trevor's own Colors of Observation Haki was telling him that Mikoto's intention was to rush him. As soon as they got close Trevor killed Mikoto and Mikoto's mind went blank. He couldn't see any more into the technique. How was Mikoto avoiding his Haki? He should've been able to predict his every move, but this technique somehow avoided it.

Mikoto's legs were on fire. They were aching. That technique still wasn't trained enough for continuous use, especially in order to use two of them back-to-back. He would have to limit it and restrict its usage for the rest of the fight. Mikoto looked back up at Trevor who still seemed bewildered at the technique just as Mikoto thought. Mikoto came to the sudden realization that he shouldn't...no, couldn't hold back. That was the one attack that seemed to allow Mikoto to land a blow on Trevor. He needed to push Trevor even harder and he needed that technique to do it. He moved his left arm testing it, it was working like it should. He would go straight from that to Rapid Fire, he would blow Trevor back with that combination. His legs would just have to hold out for that time period. Mikoto leaned forward shifting his weight to his front leg to prepare for the fast dash.

Mikoto propelled himself forward quickly covering the ground in between him and Trevor. Just like the other two times Mikoto found no problem entering in on Trevor's personal space. Trevor brought his fist forward smashing it into Mikoto's face, but couldn't. Mikoto had already dodged to the ground, but Mikoto knew that according to Trevor's eyes he thought he killed Mikoto. It was an after-image! A quick dash to Trevor's side created a momentary image of Mikoto in front of Trevor, which was the Mikoto Trevor had killed three times. Best of all is the fact that Trevor's Haki was disrupted. Trevor thinks he killed him, so he drops his guard alongside his Haki even if it is for a second and that's just enough for Mikoto to hit, "**Rapid Fire x 25!" **Mikoto released 25 highly condensed and quick punches into Trevor's side. Trevor was blown back, but quickly regained his footing.

"Crap!" muttered Trevor as he grabbed his side, "if it wasn't for Colors of Armament...that would've hurt even worse." Colors of Armament was commonly known as a way to increase attack power, but you could also use it to increase defense powers. Trevor usually uses it to harden his hands and sharpen them to deliver powerful blows, but this time he hardened his side rather then his hands Trevor used Haki to harden his sides to a much tougher state.

Mikoto grunted and moved back. His legs were still in pain and he cringed in pain as he did so, but he needed to regain the distance. He didn't expect someone to survive the Rapid Fire attack. Rapid Fire had several tricks to it. The fact that it was 25 punches all blended into one was only the tip of the iceberg. The first punch broke down his opponent's defenses, the second further breaks it, and so on and so on, eventually with enough punches the target's defense is completely broken and the remaining punches get past uninhibited and at full power.

Combine that with the Mikoto's after-image attack it was the perfect combination. The after-image created an opening, your opponent drops their guard as they strike at your after-image and could no longer block, this just means that the Rapid Fire can avoid all blocks and land directly on his opponent without any problems.

Trevor decided not to allow Mikoto to charge again and moved in instead. Trevor's arm came flying out, slicing into the air as Mikoto further backed away. Mikoto was struggling not to show the pain that was charging through both his legs and his arm. Mikoto just had to stay away until his body recovered from the damage his own moves inflicted on him. Getting that time wouldn't be easy. Trevor kept closing in and lashing out again. Mikoto's superior speed combined with his beast-like instincts allowed him to narrowly avoid each strike. Trevor's barrage kept Mikoto on his toes, Mikoto needed to stay ahead Trevor's Haki also allowed him to foresee almost everyone of Mikoto's dodge, so he needed to remain as far away from each of his slashes or else Trevor would foresee the dodge and cover the necessary ground.

Mikoto was starting to regret using Rapid Fire x 25. With only one arm he couldn't defend himself much less attack. Not only was that attack sealed during this fight, but his after-image technique couldn't be used either. Trevor kept pressing Mikoto, Mikoto couldn't gain the necessary speed. He had used everything he had trying to defeat him as quickly possible especially with that last move, it was inconceivable that Trevor would be able to survive it and get going as quickly as he did. He wasn't even stunned! The only thought that was in Mikoto's head though was how incredible the Shichibukai was! Were all of them this strong? If so, then the Grand Line was going to be something incredible! Six more pirates of equal power as Trevor!

Mikoto charged forward heedless of his wounds. His mind was filled with thoughts about the remaining six Shichibukai. Mikoto launched a quick punch to Trevor's side, it would've dealt incredible damage if it wasn't for Trevor's Colors of Armaments Haki strengthening his side. Trevor spun about and launched a counterattack, even with Mikoto's quick reflexes the attack still hit him, though it was only a small scratch. The blow drew blood. Mikoto quickly jumped back putting more distance between him and Trevor.

Whether it was Trevor's own lust for victory or his anger that Mikoto had hit him again, he rushed at him. He slashed several times, each time his hand only barely cleaved through the air above or to the side of Mikoto. Trevor brought his fist downwards once more slicing through the air, forcing Mikoto backwards. Mikoto stumbled for a brief second as he tried to regain his footing, Trevor took advantage of this opening with a straight thrust. Mikoto stopped trying to regain his footing and instead fell to the ground allowing Trevor's almighty thrust to slice into his shoulder rather then his chest.

Mikoto fell to the ground and quickly caught himself and charged forward, closing the already small distance between him and his target. Mikoto fired a quick punch into Trevor's gut. Trevor stumbled backwards, but he fired a quick chop while doing so, slicing the air as Mikoto dodged to the side. Trevor was just proving himself to have a tough hide with his Haki, Mikoto's punches were barely dealing anything he was lucky if they hit him and dealt even some small amount of damage. However, he was still leading Trevor was swiping air. Not to mention his Rapid Fire was quickly recovering, just a few more minutes and it would be revived.

"Just keep coming at me," laughed Trevor as he dropped his guard and strolled forwards, "I'm still just getting warmed up. My power is still only at about forty percent!" Trevor knew it wouldn't stay at that level for long. He usually only used that amount of power for playing around and the time to play around was over. It was probably over a few minutes ago, but Trevor didn't want it to be. He enjoyed playing with his targets more then fighting with them. After all who could stand up to him if he went all out. Oh, well, can't be helped. Trevor extended his two arms and focused.

Mikoto rushed in. He didn't like the look of Trevor's position, he seemed to be intently focused on something. Based on previous experiences, he could only push him and hope whatever trick he was about to use would be interrupted. Mikoto got in close and just as he was about to fire a punch, Trevor swung his arm around and down. Mikoto jumped back avoiding his ordinarily razor-sharp chop. Trevor's hand ended up right in front of Mikoto, but Mikoto was still sent reeling back with blood leaking out of his shoulder.

Mikoto was frozen. He saw it, it was just a glimpse, but he saw it. He saw what Trevor did. It was Haki again. It was similar to before where Trevor hardened his hands, but on top of that Trevor even extended it a bit. He brought his Haki forward in front of his hand and launched a downwards chop, extending his range. Mikoto could barely tell when he dodged the strike...well, tried to.

Trevor smirked. The look on Mikoto's face told Trevor everything he needed to know. Mikoto had put it all together, but it was too late. Mikoto failed to realize the destructive powers of Haki early enough. Trevor sharpened his blade and approached Mikoto, it was a shame that he would destroy a perfectly good plaything, but it was a joy that he would add a new skull to his collection. "More lambs have come to the slaughter…more people have come to their graves…more idiots have drowned underwater...more masters have killed their slaves," sung Trevor quietly.

Mikoto's ears perked up at the song. It wasn't unheard of to sing in combat, but the song was just odd. Not just the lyrics, there was something even more foreboding about it. It made Mikoto's blood freeze listening to it. His entire body felt cold as he heard Trevor continue to recite the song, "Bloody bodies scattered on the ground…bloody souls sink down, down, down…soon blood will cover this little town…"

Mikoto leaned forward and forced his weight onto his leg. His Rapid Fire was almost back up and running. Mikoto prepared to use it in a final burst. It worked the last time, so it might work again. Mikoto burst from the starting point and dashed upwards at Trevor. Mikoto's eyes widened as Trevor had already begun his swing, not waiting for Mikoto to get close enough to his body to use the technique again. Mikoto changed direction to the side evading the slash once more.

"And I will feel alive again!" continued Trevor as he slowly began swaying from side-to-side as he began approaching Mikoto, "Destroyed are the church, the bar, and inn! Just to make to me feel alive again! Dead bodies are a hundred and ten! But I am alive one again!" Trevor leaned forward and then leapt forward, spinning his body around launching a dangerous slice for Mikoto's neck. Mikoto backed up avoiding the slice. He wasn't getting away easily though. Trevor, continuing to spin, brought his other arm around and at Mikoto's side. Mikoto brought his arms up and blocked it, but the brute force behind Trevor's attack still forced him backwards and onto the ground.

"Dead are the merry men...dead are the merry boys..." Trevor continued as he approached Mikoto and launched several downwards thrusts at Mikoto's body. Mikoto scrambled backwards avoiding each and every attack. "Dead are the merry girls...Broken are the merry toys..." Trevor swayed back as he brought his body back up, Trevor slowly began to sway back and forth again.

Mikoto was slowly beginning to put together what it was about the song and Trevor that unnerved him. Trevor's mind disappeared almost. He no longer seemed to have any conscious movements. Each and every single one of his movements seemed to simply be focused on attacking. He had transformed into a killing machine, his consciousness gone. He was relying on instincts combined with Haki to attack and move. A human who was moving with only the thought of killing his target in mind. No fear, no worries, no joy. Mikoto backed up desperate to take the distance again and use his after-image move.

Trevor didn't respond to Mikoto's frantic avoidance move. Trevor kept swaying and stepping forward at his slow pace. Mikoto didn't care as soon as he got the distance that he needed he rushed forward towards Trevor. Trevor's hand reached out and fired a thrust at Mikoto. Mikoto dodged to the side causing Trevor's hand to once more only pierce an after-image. Mikoto curled his fingers and tightened his fist. He was lucky that his arm was ready once more for a Rapid Fire. "**Rapid Fi...**urgh!" Trevor had jammed his knee upwards and into Mikoto's body halting the attack. Trevor spun around and latched his fingers around Mikoto's neck. Trevor slammed Mikoto into his ship.

Mikoto had forgotten how close they were to Trevor's ship, much less the sea. He was too involved with fighting Trevor that he had forgotten that the sea was so close to him. Trevor's eyes snapped back open and focused intently on Mikoto. "Well, well, well...I knew it wouldn't take too long once I decided to use my full-power. But killing in that mode is so tiring, so I try to switch back to my normal self before I do so...and I'm glad I did. You know why? Because this is the best part. Watching your squirming victim accept their fate."

Mikoto tried to free himself, but couldn't. Trevor had vice-like grip...whether that was from Haki or not was hard to tell. Mikoto couldn't even move either of his arms as he struggled to break free. Mikoto was still struggling, he was stuck in the air as he looked down at Trevor. Finally, Mikoto did something even he didn't understand, he smiled.

**The Will of D. Lives On!**

Yeah…I feel kind of let down by what I was imagining, but come on! The only other 100 Chapter spectacular I could think was having Mikoto's Dad come in and interrupt the fight…and his dad is dead and is staying dead. Other then that I found out that my computer's Grammar check SUCKS! Seriously, I used my school's computer and did a last minute grammar check…I had like 15 errors in this chapter!

Anyways, I personally feel like the whole Will of D. thing is a good reveal and makes an interesting final twist.


	101. Reaper Arc: 101 The Will of D Lives On

**The Will of D. Lives On!**

Trevor's hand froze in the air inches away from Mikoto's throat. He couldn't move it. He was frozen as he stared at Mikoto's mouth. Trevor had murdered over one thousand pirates, but not one of them ever smiled. Why would they? Would he smile when he was so close to dying? Was he suicidal? Did he want to die? Did he want Trevor to slice into his neck and add his skull to his collection? Cause Trevor would! He would do it without even a second thought...Trevor brought his hand back up and froze again.

He couldn't. There was no fun! There was no reason for Trevor to kill him! Trevor killed for fun! Killing for the sake of killing was what made Trevor happy! It made him feel alive again! But he couldn't...there was no joy in killing this kid, not while he was happy! He didn't hear Mikoto beg for life, he was missing that moment of ripping away what his opponent wanted. Where was that moment!

Trevor brought his hand up to Mikoto's face and flicked his face, the super sharpened hand sliced into his cheek and drew blood. Mikoto flinched for a second as he felt the blade dig into his face, but he didn't stop smiling. He had had a good run with his crew. He would've enjoyed being the Pirate King, but half the people who wanted to become the Pirate King didn't...more like 99.9 % of the people couldn't. Not every one who wanted to become the Pirate King could. It looked like Mikoto was just going to follow in his father's foot steps for one more step.

Trevor spun around and tossed Mikoto onto the ground. Mikoto gasped as he realized the pressure on his neck was gone, but couldn't recover quick enough as Trevor brought his foot down onto Mikoto's chest burying him further into the sand. "Why won't you cry? Your life isn't worth begging for is that? Beg like the pathetic pup you are!" Trevor pressed down harder with his foot. Mikoto's face remained sturdy as he felt the foot press into his skin. "Come on! Let me enjoy this! Don't you dare steal this kill from me! LET ME ENJOY THIS MOMENT!" Trevor pressed down harder onto Mikoto's chest. Regardless of the new pressure, Mikoto's smile didn't fade.

Mikoto grunted and brought his two claws together onto Trevor's leg. The twin simultaneous strike, forced Trevor's leg up and into the air. Mikoto quickly spun around and swept his leg around on the ground and into Trevor's leg, Trevor's eyes opened wide as he fell to the floor. Mikoto quickly moved backwards separating himself from the insane psychopath. Mikoto was breathing heavily. That was a close one. Mikoto would probably never recover from that. With Trevor's foot smashed into his ribs, his lungs were heavily compressed. His body was slowing down. The pain was still in his arms and legs. He had a few moments before his arm would be at its best for a Rapid Fire. It would be a while till the fight ended and the longer the fight dragged on, the higher the chances that he would lose.

Their two eyes met again as Trevor put his foot down to support him. Trevor was growing madder and madder as this fight was going on. Mikoto was beginning to get under his skin. That damn smile on his face. Even now Trevor couldn't get that stupid image out of his head. That smile was stuck in there, he couldn't get it out no matter how hard he tried. "I'm going to rip your head off," ranted Trevor as he began to run towards Mikoto.

In a comparison of speed, Trevor was basically moving in slow-motion. Mikoto ducked down avoiding a wide-slash from Trevor's head. Mikoto moved to the side and fired a quick and powerful shot into Trevor's side like all of his other punches. Trevor smirked. His Haki still hadn't diminished at all, if anything it might have actually gotten stronger. Trevor's desire to kill Mikoto might've boosted it to insanely new levels. Trevor sharpened his elbow to a new level and brought it downwards aiming for Mikoto's back.

Mikoto swayed backwards avoiding the downwards smash. As soon as Mikoto saw Trevor's falling elbow strike past, Mikoto leaned forward and dashed at him. Mikoto moved forward with a quick punch aimed for Trevor's face. Trevor's head bobbed to the side, Haki was making this incredibly easy. Trevor's foresight surpassed something that all forms of experience and instinct that were possible to obtain. He was starting to see through all of Mikoto's strikes, allowing him to foresee them and beat them down. After dodging the last strike, Trevor didn't pause at all and fired a forward thrust at him with a renewed power.

Mikoto spewed blood from his mouth as he forced backward with the thrust into his chest. Mikoto collapsed onto the ground. Mikoto had four small holes in his chest, each one from one of Trevor's fingers. Trevor's thumb was just too short to drill a hole into him. Mikoto's instinct went off, he quickly morphed into his hybrid form and ran forward avoiding a second downwards thrust from Trevor.

Mikoto was starting to doubt whether or not he would be able to escape especially with the new holes in his chest even though his arm was almost fully recovered. His speed and instincts were the only thing keeping him alive right now. His speed was starting to leave his legs, he would need a few more moments of rest and relaxation for his legs to recover. Trevor wasn't going to allow those moments to come.

Trevor moved in ready to press his advantage. Mikoto moved backward, keeping his eyes trained on Trevor as he charged. Trevor spun around and launched a spinning chop downwards at Mikoto's neck. Mikoto charged forward, still in his coyote-form. Mikoto slipped underneath Trevor's legs and through, he moved through out and over the ground with impressive speed, trying to put more distance in between them. He already knew it was hopeless. With Trevor's Haki, he would already know where he went to hide.

Mikoto paused as he looked back over at Trevor. There was no point in running then. Mikoto morphed back into his hybrid form and turned around to face Trevor. Mikoto leaned forward, placing all of his weight on his front foot. Mikoto's arm was back up to full. Mikoto would simply slip past Trevor's guard. He would move past Trevor's guard, avoid his blows with an after-image, and then land a Rapid fire right onto his side. He would win.

Trevor smirked as he recognized the stance. He was completely incapable of stopping the blow before, but he was positive this would be the end. Three times using the same blastTrevor would foresee the strike and behead him before Mikoto even landed a single blow on him. He was ready for the moment that they traded blows. For in that instant, he would win.

(-with Ridley and Enma-)

"Why did you untie him?" shouted Enma as he hit Ridley across the head, "he was injured! If I didn't tie him down he would be running around and getting us into more trouble." Enma had just come back along with Sage moment ago. They came onto the ship to notice their one patient gone and replaced with a new one. One they never met before and one who seemed to dislike them from the moment they met her.

"How the heck was I supposed to know?" asked Ridley as he shrugged it off. "There's millions of reasons for Mikoto to be tied up! I can name at least five of them...most of them happen on Friday nights, but still!" Enma, Sage, and Melanie all shared the same look of annoyance. Ridley didn't care as he sat back and continued to check himself over for wounds.

Enma turned his attention over to his new patient. "Anything I can do for you? Seeing as our musician brought you for some reason?" Enma moved forward to check on Melanie's arm which showed signs of cuts, but Melanie jerked it back and out of his reach.

"No," she said as she scooted away from him, "I'm just waiting to get well enough to move and go kill someone. You guys should be feeling happy, I came here to capture you and ship you off to the Marines, but someone else has my full attention now." Melanie flinched as she felt a shot of pain in her legs again. It would be probably awhile until she was back up and ready to go. With every passing moment more of their crew was coming. She didn't want to imagine what these pirates would do as more of them came. Not all pirates are good guys. She didn't want to meet them at all, she just willed her legs would be good enough to leave soon.

"Found Zesiro," announced Hiro-Shu as he walked onto the ship. Zesiro was in tow. He was currently holding Hiro-Shu's shirt to his wound trying to stop the blood flow. Both of their eyes were on Maria who was woken up due to the attack on the ship. She had went back and began working on the ship repairs from the shot of the cannon. She was grumbling as she did so.

Zesiro quickly went down into the infirmary, expecting only to see Enma down there, but instead found the entire crew there. "What's going on down here?" he asked as he walked over and sat down on one of the beds.

Enma moaned as he walked back over and began fixing up Zesiro. "Trouble. Apparently Mikoto went off to fight a Shichibukai...by the way the new girl is a Shichibukai out to kill us. All of these things are thanks to the one and only, Ridley Blackwell." Enma wrapped the bandages around Zesiro's new wounds even tighter as he spoke.

"Good job, Ridley," congratulated Zesiro, "you brought a killer to us and you sent the only person on this crew who could really stand you off to his death. What's next?" Ridley shrugged as he took another swig of an alcoholic beverage. Zesiro waved him off as he focused back on the task at hand, "patch me up quickly, Enma. After that all of you guys can go off and try to get Mikoto back here. I'll stay here with Ridley and Maria keeping an eye on our new friend."

Sage looked up at them and began to think about the option that they were looking into. A killer was coming after them and their first instinct is to go after him. There was a growing worry in her about Mikoto's health now. Still going after another Shichibukai seemed closer to suicide then a rescue mission, besides did Mikoto really need to be rescued after watching everything he did and all the people he took out he should be okay.

The rest of the crew paused and quieted down as they sat around trying to address their next move. Suddenly there was a loud pounding on the deck of the ship, that got all of them rushing to the top of the deck. As soon as they stepped foot on the deck, they were met with a very big predator staring at them. Sage jumped back while Hiro-Shu moved to the front and became coated in iron ready to fight.

"WAIT!" shouted Rosa as she leapt off the beast, "Its just me!" she declared as she walked up to them. After confirmation from Sage and Enma, Hiro-Shu dropped his guard and backed up. "Trevor...Trevor is after you and is trying to kill all of you! He even hired bounty hunters and fellow pirates to take you down!"

"Yeah," explained Zesiro as he looked over at her. He had no idea who she was, but Sage seemed to trust her, so he decided to as well. "Our captain decided to go out after him."

"What?" shouted Rosa as she stepped forward towards them. "How dense is he? This is a Shichibukai that murdered over 200 pirates...all of them with a bounty of more then 50 million! When he was a pirate his active bounty was about 75 million! This is not someone who you can beat through sheer will-power! Even without a Devil Fruit he became known as one of the strongest pirates while he was sailing!"

"I have the highest faith in Mikoto," said Zesiro with confidence. He paused and looked over the other crew mates on the ship, "and I'm convinced that the rest of the crew agrees. He'll win, come back here, and say how happy he is that he defeated a Shichibukai."

"I wanna kill that bastard first," muttered Melanie as she walked past them. She was limping heavily. Ridley and the rest of the crew watched her as she slowly stepped onto the plank going onto the shore. None of the crew moved to stop her as she put her foot down onto the shore.

**The Conclusion!**

**Dead Men Sailing!**

The fighting is almost over. Mikoto versus Trevor, the next hit will be the finishing blow. Will Trevor's Colors of Observation Haki allow him to perfectly foresee Mikoto's movements and kill him or will Mikoto's speed and instincts prevail? With both opponents so sure of their own victory, its hard to tell. Just wait for the next chapter to find out!


	102. Reaper Arc: 102 The Conclusion

**The Conclusion!**

**Dead Men Sailing!**

Mikoto moved forward. He ran towards Trevor. His entire body becoming a blur and disappearing on his way towards Trevor. Trevor paused despite Mikoto's speed, he was still tracking him with Colors of Observation Haki. He still knew exactly where Mikoto was going. Trevor pulled his arm back and prepared for one final thrust at Mikoto. He could already see his hand going through and piercing Mikoto's skull. Mikoto's movement would place him right there, right within striking distance. Mikoto's after-image doesn't create a random image. Mikoto would still have to move into that place in order to create the after-image, it would only be for a split-second, but Mikoto would be there.

Mikoto's speed allowed him to move as quickly as possible, his speed far exceeded Trevor's eyes. This speed placed him right in front of Trevor. Trevor launched forward with his thrust at high speeds moving at an already impressive level. He brought his hand forward and at Mikoto. He felt his hand tear into human flesh as Mikoto was thrown backwards from the force. Blood was gushing from his shoulder, where Trevor's thrust had landed.

Trevor frowned. His entire body told him that he would slice into Mikoto's head and finish it right then and there. It was there. It was in his mind. He could see his hand sliding right into Mikoto's head. His Haki had told him where he would be, his experience told him when, and he acted upon on it. So, why did he miss? More importantly why was that dumb smile of Mikoto's still in his head. Was that why he missed? Was he so pathetic that that smile was messing even with his Haki? Trevor looked down upon Mikoto with a cruel scowl.

Mikoto was still trying to stand up. His entire arm had nearly been torn off with Trevor's last thrust. Mikoto was starting to have trouble to stand. Without both of his arms, he was basically relying on his legs to lift him up. Standing up without the use of your arms is a hard thing to do and takes a lot more time to do it, and on top of that, Mikoto's legs were still pounding. His entire body was about to crumble as he stood up.

Trevor scoffed as he moved closer. Mikoto stepped back, but he almost lost his balance as he did so. His legs were so weak now, he felt like he was just going to collapse onto the ground incapable of moving. Other then his tired legs, both of his shoulders had suffered disastrous blows now. The shot wound still hadn't fully healed and now Trevor's blow tore into Mikoto's other shoulder. Both of his arms were basically destroyed now. The blood from his wounds were starting to sink down and into the ground. Could he even use his arms right now?

Trevor lifted his knee upwards and into Mikoto's gut. Mikoto grimaced. He was too busy checking on his own body to see if he could keep fighting, he forgot to pay attention to Trevor. Trevor definitely didn't care if Mikoto could keep fighting. He would just keep pounding away into Mikoto if need be. And knowing Trevor's personality, even if Mikoto died that wouldn't stop him. He would continuously kick and pound him just for the fun of it.

Mikoto rolled over to the side and got up. Trevor didn't allow him to get comfortable. Trevor stepped forward and brought his elbow into Mikoto's face. Mikoto as forced backwards and back down onto the ground. "Congratulations! I still can't kill you!" shouted Trevor outraged as he swung his leg forward and into Mikoto's gut. Mikoto groaned as he rolled around on the ground. "I've killed hundreds among hundreds of men. I can tell you all about them. I can describe each and every one of their stats along with their dying words! NONE OF THEM EVER SMILED! So, why do you?" Trevor lifted his leg upwards and forward and into Mikoto's gut once more.

Mikoto morphed into his Coyote form and dashed away avoiding Trevor's reach. He only got so far though until he stumbled over his own legs. His two front legs were too injured to keep up the stress of having his full body weight on them. His beast form wouldn't be able to run any more without tearing an even bigger hole in his arms. Mikoto returned back to his human form as he tried to stand back up onto his legs.

Trevor only laughed as he looked down at Mikoto, frantically trying to avoid him. It was a problem for him, though. Watching this was reawakening his hunter's instinct...he was being put back into the mood for a hunt, but with who as the prey. Mikoto was supposed to cure the urge, he was supposed to fill that hole for awhile, but now he was just reawakening it. Trevor was already shivering with anticipation, he wanted another fight. Another prey to hunt.

Trevor smiled as he turned around about to leave Mikoto and go on his hunt. He froze in his spot. His side ached. It felt as if his body was tearing itself open. His hands quivered as it came down to his side and grasped onto his side. It wasn't anything as simple as a bruise. It was something for worse, his ribs were broken, split in two. His Haki had hardened it and kept the rib in place for the fight, but as soon as he dropped it, he felt the pain. He cursed as he felt the pain surge through him. The kid was capable of blasting through his Haki and even worse, it continued with enough power to break his bones!

He should've survived that blow without any injuries. Did he pull of some last minute trick? No, that wasn't it. There was no way he would've been able to do that. Trevor was aware of every thought that crossed into that mutt's mind! So why didn't he see what trick he pulled off to damage his ribs? Or was that kid really strong enough to blow open his ribs along with his Haki without any troubles?

Trevor turned around and walked back over to Mikoto, more like wobbled over to him. The broken ribs did everything to screw up his balance and probably even his power. That kid did this to him, that newbie to the Grand Line managed to push him this far into a corner. Trevor stopped in his tracks as he looked back over at Mikoto. Mikoto was already starting to stand again. He wasn't standing, yet, but he was still trying...he was still straining to bring his body up and stand up. His upper body was collapsed and leaning at his waist, but he was on he was still on his feet. A shiver ran up Trevor's spine as he watched Mikoto lift the rest of his body into the air. A shiver of exhilaration.

Trevor had been a hunter all of his life, he had chased after an endless chain of preys...an endless chain of victims, but this was truly the ultimate prey for him. Trevor was nearly salivating with joy as he watched him struggle to stand. A prey who would never give up, a prey that would allow him to beat him to death without ever giving him a rest, this was true joy for him.

It reminded him of an old folk story he had heard when he was growing up. A story of a long extinct tiger, the Awinan Tiger. A ferocious hunter in all regards, it killed everything that was in its path with all of its strength. No animal had ever been able to handle its power, that was Trevor, a perfect example of the Awinan Tiger. Rumor has it that the reason the Awinan Tiger died was due to starvation. Not that it couldn't find any food to eat, but that it became an incredibly picky eater.

Once the Awinan Tiger found a specific kind of caribou, the golden Caribou, and it hunted the caribou and when it began to eat the caribou, it became overjoyed. The meat was the most delicious thing in all of creation. The Awinan Tiger started to only hunt the golden Caribou, it only went after its meat, no other animal. Eventually, the golden Caribou died out forcing the tiger to return to its previous menu of shrews, monkeys, and other random animals. Except it couldn't...the tiger was repulsed by any other animal it ate. The meat tasted like crap compared to the Caribou's meat it had previous gorged on. The tiger refused to eat at all soon, it couldn't force the crap meat down its throat, so it just laid down and died dreaming of the golden Caribou.

Trevor was starting to think that the kid was his golden Caribou. Would any other meat be as satisfying as his? Melanie's sure as hell wasn't...if a Shichibukai couldn't get him as stirred up as this kid could who can? It was a desperate fact that he wanted the meat again and again and again. He was already in his highest gear, his highest desire for the hunt, but what beast could give him the same drive? He paused as he looked at him with a smile...a beast cut from the same crop could. A prey of the same blood, a bird of the same feather, a human from the same crew...Trevor brought his boot back into Mikoto's back and smashed him into the ground. The Infinity Pirate crew...that would be his next his target, his next prey, his next golden Caribou.

As a hunter, a predator, Trevor was perfectly versed in setting traps. He had the bait already. He looked down at Mikoto as he was already imagining the crew the kid had formed. Ridley was on his crew...the kid of his former captain had to be just as delicious as Mikoto was if not more so. Trevor was already bending over with anticipation as he imagined the rest of the crew's strength...he wanted them...he wanted them badly! He'd set the trap at his home turf, the Underground Rally Arena. That's where he'll taste the meat once more!

"Trevor!" screamed a voice. Trevor's ears perked up and he turned around to face his target. It was Melanie, she had come back. "I've come to take your head." Trevor tilted his head out of curiosity as he stared at Melanie's leg. She was favoring one side over the other, she was still injured. She wasn't going to have a good taste in Trevor's mouth if she was injured. "Did you really kill my parents?"

Trevor was taken back at the question. She was still thinking about that, she must not trust him to tell the truth. "Of course, I did!" boasted Trevor, "I killed them along with twenty other morons that day! It was a great feeling as my hand soared through their necks! I've still got their skulls, you know, they are..." Trevor turned around and faced his ship. His eyes sunk as he noticed the skulls that were decorating his ship were gone. Mikoto had buried them. "They're buried. The kid here buried them, probably tried to give them a funeral or something...its really pathetic. If you want, I'll be glad to bury you alongside them."

Melanie took a step forward, but flinched in pain as she did so. Her leg was still injured and bruised. If she was thinking rationally, surely she would've waited to recover, but she couldn't think rationally about the man that killed her parents. She was surprised when she looked back up to notice that Trevor had already closed the distance. He thrust downwards at her, forcing her down to the ground. "I'm going to go to the Underground Rally Arena..." muttered Trevor as he turned his back to her, "be sure to tell the kid's friends that...I'm sure they'll want to save him."

Trevor returned onto his ship, dragging the unconscious coyote behind. Trevor was breathing heavily. He had completely forgotten about his rib, the charge towards Melanie almost killed him in itself. The thrust had sealed the deal. Trevor's side was aching and he couldn't run any more or move his arms...if he fought Melanie now it would be a fight between two half-dead pirates. He highly doubted he would be alive after it...he would just recover back at home and wait for his prey.

Melanie grimaced as she rolled back onto her stomach and tried to stand up. Her leg was twisted, she couldn't feel it any more. She should've stayed back on the ship with the pirates. She could've had them heal her. NO! She wouldn't accept any help from anyone! She would save her parents and that's it! That was her goal, her parents, no one else! She slowly opened her eyes as she remained crouched over on the ground.

Beneath her was a small piece of bark that had been driven into the ground. On it was some writing that had been etched into it with a sharp edge. It read:

_R.I.P._

_Here lies a group of people who died before they should._

_I never met them, but they deserved better._

_Their fate should've been better._

_And I swear I will get them their revenge._

_Sincerely, Mikoto D. Azgard._

It was poorly written. He probably had no idea what to write...he didn't know them at all, what they would like their tombstone to read. He didn't have to do this at all, the stupid coyote. However, Melanie couldn't help but smile when she read the print.

**Gathering of Arms!**

**To the Fight!**

Bad news, first...I have currently injured one of my arms (my elbow is in bad shape, but its not broken. It just hurts LIKE HELL!) This means that chances are my next update will be slowed due to the fact that I can't type that well with just one hand. Anyways, onto the Author's Note.

I was on the fence about how the fight should've ended. I wanted the crew to go to the Underground Rally Arena for such a long time, but I really wanted Mikoto to put Trevor down. Also, with the Image Manager thing I am planning to add a cover for this story, as stated before though with a ruined arm my drawing will be delayed so until then you will either have to wait OR you can submit your own cover for this story just include a link in either the reviews or in a PM and I will use that for the time being.

Finally, after reviewing other OC submission stories, I noticed that my submission form is...kind of...bland...so I want to spice it up and make it more unique! So, if you ever thought "this form is missing something" or "I wish they would add this" send in your idea and I just might add it!

(In other words...I want you guys to do all of the work to improve my story...bye-bye!)


	103. Chapter 103 Gathering to Arms

**Gathering of Arms!**

**To the Fight!  
**

Melanie had managed to get to the ship in time. She was tired, she wasn't asking them for help. She was just telling them about their captain. The two of them would simply sail down to the Underground Rally Arena together and stop them, they were both acting in their best interests...it was just a coincidence that their best interests collided.

Melanie stepped onto the ship. She heard her foot hit the plank, it sounded loud. She flinched as the rest of the crew flooded to the plank to see their captain return victorious. The entire group paused as they looked down the plank at Melanie. They all turned away, disappointed. Most of them left, leaving only Ridley standing there staring down at her. Ridley noticed that her leg was still injured. He sighed and began to go down to help her up. Melanie pushed past him refusing his offer for help. She walked up to the top of the ship, "Mikoto's been kidnapped!"

Despite all of the crew's previous disinterest in her, they all turned around and gave her their full attention, "what do you mean, he's been kidnapped?" asked Zesiro, "Mikoto's not the kind to get kidnapped, even by a Shichibukai."

"He was!" shouted Melanie as he stomped her foot down on the ground. She grimaced as she felt the pain go through it once more. "Trevor and him were fighting and Mikoto's must've lost!" She didn't find it all too surprising, she lost to him after all. No matter how strong Mikoto was, there was no way he could beat her or even worse beat someone who beat her. She wouldn't accept it. He was just a run-of-the-mill pirate and nothing more. She was the number one pirate on the sea.

"How do we know this isn't a trap?" asked Enma. He had already tried to fix Melanie once. He tried being nice to her and she refused to accept it, people like that rarely ever try to help other people out like this. In the end he had absolutely no faith in someone like her. He would protect the crew at costs and based on Melanie's limp, it would be fairly easy to protect them from her.

"I'm not lying! You got to believe!" demanded Melanie as she took a step forward towards Enma, "I would never work with that bastard! I'm just trying to screw over Trevor! That's my goal! Nothing else! And if he decided to kidnap Mikoto then I want you to go out there and stop him. Ruin whatever it is that he is trying to accomplish! I'm just going out to beat Trevor and ruin his day! He's taking Mikoto the the Underground Rally Arena!"

"We don't even know if you are telling the truth!" pointed out Enma, "for all we know Mikoto is still on this island. If we leave now we could be leaving him all alone on this island for the bounty hunters on this island to hunt down...he'll eventually get worn down."

"We're leaving," said Ridley standing up and turning around. "Hiro-Shu go to the store and get us an Eternal Log Pose for the Underground Rally Arena. As soon as he gets back we are leaving. We are going to save Mikoto."

"Are you insane?" asked Sage as she walked up to Ridley and jabbed him in the chest. "Enma just said we could be leaving him here and you say let's go? I thought you at least liked Mikoto! I thought you trusted him not to lose!" Sage stood up tall in front of Ridley. The rest of the crew shared a similar look of disappointment for Ridley.

"I think you are all forgetting something," said Ridley as he looked around at them. "I was his first nakama! I've fought with him twice! Only other person on this ship to ever fight with Mikoto is Zesiro! I know Mikoto...and as much as I hate to admit it...I know Mikoto's limits. Mikoto fought with my dad before, remember? Mikoto lost that fight and the more and more I think about it...the more and more I'm convinced that Trevor is even stronger then my dad. They are both cold-blooded killers, but the difference in their skill is obvious...

"My dad relies on pure brute force to overpower his opponents. To attack and keep on attacking eventually beating them into the ground until they can't move...that's my dad, sounds pretty dangerous, right? Well, Trevor is even more so. Unlike my dad who uses sheer power, Trevor uses sheer power along with technique. My dad is only capable of punching, while Trevor can do that and more. His entire body is a sword," pointed out Ridley. "Since Mikoto lost to my dad, I'm not surprised he lost to Trevor."

The crew all shared a similar look of worry now. While both Maria and Enma never met Ridley's dad, Ridley seemed to completely hate him. Not only that, but apparently he once took on the entire crew...and won. A man like that must be incredibly powerful. Not only that, but Ridley had an immense hate for that man. He hated him in every way and as a result Ridley fully believed that his dad was an unstoppable monster. If he admitted that there was someone out there capable of beating that monster, a monster that was even more unstoppable then that...he meant it.

"Hmm...fine," said Hiro-Shu agreeing with Ridley. Besides if he had to go out to the middle of town just to get the Eternal Pose for the island, he could look around for Mikoto. If he didn't see him or hear anything about him, it would be obvious that Mikoto really did leave, so they should leave as a result. Besides Hiro-Shu did have a pretty ominous feeling now.

"I'll go with you," said Zesiro as he tried to stand up, but Enma forced him back down. "What? I was capable of fighting! I took down a bounty hunter already...I'm more then ready to go into the fight once more. So, let me go off with Hiro-Shu. I can help him out by taking out any annoying bounty hunters. The two of us can handle anyone on this island, so let me go."

"No," stated Enma. "If we really intend to go to an island prized for their fighters, we are going to need all of our fighters at the top of their game. In which case we need you, Hiro-Shu, and Maria to be at full power. Me, Sage, and Ridley would be better off in the supporting stand. I'm not too worried about Hiro-Shu being beaten up as he is basically an iron wall, you are lucky if you can scratch him. You on the other hand tend to get injured fairly easily. Hiro-Shu will be more then enough for any bounty hunters out there."

Zesrio grumbled a bit, but accepted his fate. He was starting to feel like his power was starting to increase dramatically. He was just getting better and better as the time passed. Part of him was actually anticipating landing on the Underground Rally Arena. If he was right then his power was still growing even more and at the Underground Rally Arena his strength would probably increase even more. If he remembered correctly, Daimyo had a Douriki of 3300...and according to Daimyo Zesirio's was just above 1500...if Zesiro had to guess, probably somewhere in 1600's maybe even 1700 based on how Daimyo beat him. But with the way Zesiro was feeling now he felt closer to 2000 and he knew his power was still increasing beyond that. He'd eventually overpower even Daimyo's power of 3300.

(-a few hours later-)

Hiro-Shu had returned from the shop a few hours later. Other then just the Eternal Log Pose for the Underground Rally Arena they had several other pieces of memorabilia for it. It was actually kind of creepy. The winners of the island were actually highly praised and revered as incredible heroes in the modern world. It was liking normal fighting matches, except it took even that to an extreme. Since they were mostly fought between pirates and a few other more legitimate fighters, even if they died most people just shrugged it off. People have very little sympathy for pirates. It was slightly eerie that they were sailing to the one island that sent dozens of pirates to their graves in the name of entertainment and fun.

The crew had set sail as soon as Hiro-Shu got back. They were all regretful when they decided to leave and a lot of them still debated about leaving the island, but they decided they had no better option. They all just ended up trusting Ridley. He may not be the official first mate in any of their eyes, but they still trusted him for some reason. He seemed confident in Melanie...besides with Melanie sailing with them they basically had a hostage. They couldn't sink them without sinking her. They weren't exactly proud of it, but they did what was needed to be done. She was sitting still in silent disapproval of the entire event completely, but going with them was the quickest path to take down Trevor.

"I can't believe we are sailing to the island famed for killing pirates," muttered Sage. "Do we even know anything about the island that we are sailing to? I mean, other then the island's terrible reputation?" Sage looked around to the rest of her crew. The majority of the crew, even Hiro-Shu and Zesiro, two of the crew members that actually researched islands, shrugged.

Maria cleared her throat. "I've been there before. It is a huge draw for fighting fans, so several of my fights have been there in the past...and I've won them all," bragged Maria. The rest of the crew didn't seem to be all too interested in her victories. Maria sighed and continued talking, "the island was once like any other island, but rumor has it that a great meteor came crashing down ripping into the island and forming an incredibly deep crater. Over many, many years the island slowly became smaller and smaller in size. So, now its basically shaped like a giant pit. The Underground Rally Arena is on the bottom floor of the island."

"Following that the island is extremely cold as well," continued Maria, "even if you ignore the fact that this is a Winter Island we are going to, you run into the next problem of the island. The fact that the lowest level of the island is beneath the ocean only makes it even colder. There are rumors of pirates even freezing to death while they are heading down to the bottom floor of the island."

The crew all shared a similar look of fear as they began to think about the idea. This island was probably one of the deadliest islands in the Grand Line. Its hard to think of an island that was more terrifying then one filled with thousands of pirates itching for a fight, the island was also ruled by a Shichibukai, and it was freezing called. The island was scared the crap out of most sailors.

"If we plan on getting there and getting out with all of our lives then we are going to need to be at our absolute best," said Rosa as she walked up in between them as they talked. "But it certainly is a lovely day today, isn't it?"

"What?" shouted Ridley as he jumped back, noticing for the first time that Rosa was still on their ship. "What are you doing here! This mission is for Infinity Pirates and Infinity Pirates only...and Melanie, but she's more of an insurance plan than anything else! Bounty Hunters were supposed to remain on the island!" Rosa's tiger walked up to Ridley and roared ferociously into his ear. "FINE!" screamed Ridley as he jumped back away from the tiger, "as first mate of the Infinity Pirates I now officially dub Rosa and her tiger friend as honorary pirates! If anyone on the crew has a problem with that they can take it up with me!"

"Agreed," said Enma. His trust for Rosa was still small, but as far as he was concerned she did try her absolute best to help them out and tell them about Trevor, even if she was late. Other then that it would be nice to have as much help as possible for this mission. There is no telling how much trouble Mikoto would be in at all. Enma started to head down to the infirmary once more, "I'm going to be working on something until we arrive at the island. So, until then try not to accidentally injure yourselves."

The crew shrugged it off and headed in opposite directions. Their next destination was going to be their ultimate goal. For the time being they were going to put their dreams on hold, in order to rescue their precious captain.

(-meanwhile aboard Trevor's ship-)

"Ku ku ku ku!" laughed Trevor with a mean smile on his face. He had heard from some of the people on the island through his Den-Den Mushi that the Infinity Pirates were heading off after him. He laughed at the prospect of them chasing him down. He had to thoroughly thank Melanie the next time he saw her, she delivered his message to them and now he would have over five new animals to hunt down and kill, things couldn't have turned out better.

He paused though and stopped laughing. Something had happened though that made him think. That Ridley punk. He made him think back to his old partner, Karasu Blackwell. He hated to admit it, but he was starting to remember the old days with the crew. Even as cold hearted as he was, he still remembered the days with the crew fondly. He had spoken with Karasu on several occasions, but each of them had been business transactions and frightfully short. He wondered if the bait that the Infinity Pirates found so enticing would be as equally enticing to Karasu. He smiled as he moved over to the Den-Den Mushi and called Karasu. It would be nice to see his captain one more time.

**An Unexpected Interruption!**

**The Three Guards!  
**

****Well, my arm is almost all better. Its still hurts, but nothing major. Luckily, I thought ahead and already had most of this chapter (well...half) written before I injured it. So, I was able to put it up. Next up, on the list of things I should talk about is the new cover for this story that I shall try to put up (I never tried to put it up before and with the previous problems I had with polls, you never know.) This cover image was done by Shadow40000. I added the words above it to make it follow the guidelines. This will serve as a place-holder until either I or another reader does something better.

Next up, if you remember quite a few chapters back I mentioned how psyched I am for the next arc. I personally believe the next arc will be the high point of Infinity Pirates. And for those of you thinking "Mikoto was kidnapped. Karasu will make an appearance. He's already done everything that can make this arc exciting"...you are all very, very, very VEERRRRRRYYYYY wrong.


	104. Arena Arc 104 An Unexpected Interruption

**An Unexpected Interruption!**

**The Three Guards!**

The crew was brimming with confidence as the island came into sight. Everybody was on the deck of the ship, except Enma and Sage who were both strangely absent. It was a modest island that barely peeked up over and ocean. The temperature had already dropped. The entire crew had dressed up and prepared for such dangerous weather. They were all currently dressed in heavy coats, except for Zesiro who chose to remain dressed in his regular clothing, but with a shirt added. Enma had warned him about the dangers of frost bite and the rest of it, but Zesiro ignored him for the most part. It seemed to the rest of the crew that his burning ambition for the fights were keeping him warm enough as is. Like a regular shark, he seemed drawn to the blood.

Maria seemed to be in a similar mood. She had never once returned to the Underground Rally Arena ever since she had arms and legs replaced. It seemed like a fitting reunion between a fighter and the arena. There was no reason for a fighter to go to an arena unless she had absolutely every desire to fight in it once more. It was almost like returning home for her. She was itching for the moment she would step back into the ring and prove herself as the strongest amongst dozens of spectators who were looking for a blood-bath. This right here would be one of her proudest moments as a fighter.

They were so close to the island that they could smell the dozens of concession stands already bursting with business for the huge draw of the fight. Rumors of the newly infamous Infinity Pirates were probably a reason for that, but knowing the island it probably had another reason for this impressive draw. The island was an expert at drawing large crowds with its rumors of blood, battles, and deaths. It was probably growing from that as well.

Suddenly the ship came to a grinding halt. The entire hull of the ship froze in the water as if stopped by some force. "What's up!" complained Ridley as he paraded about on deck and up to the wheel, "Hiro-Shu! Did you drive us into a reef or something!"

Hiro-Shu shook his head. There wasn't any reefs around this island. Trevor specifically used some of the funds of the Underground Rally Arena to remove the reefs and make sure that any ship could get to the island regardless of size or navigator's skill. It was Trevor's way of accommodating the travelers. The more travelers that come the more money he makes after all. But with all that...they were no more reefs in place, so what could've halted their ships in their tracks?

They were nearing a winter island. It was possible that they came across a chunk of ice, but the sea around them didn't even look like it was even slightly frozen. The sea was still blue. It was possible that is was an iceberg, even small icebergs had been reported to stop ships. But Hiro-Shu was sure he didn't see any icebergs when he was steering. He was sure they didn't crash into that, but then what did they hit?

"Hu hu hu," laughed a voice. The crew looked around frantically as they tried to find the source of the voice. "Poor punks...weren't expecting to run into an obstacle already. Let me guess...expecting smooth sailing, right? WRONG!" The crew rushed to the sides of the ship and looked down off the edges of the ship, they didn't see a single thing.

"Who are you?" shouted Rosa, drawing her sword preparing for battle. She shifted her attention from the ground to the sky, looking for a hint that they were about somewhere. Her only response was the same deep-throated laughter.

"We are the three Underground Rally Arena Expert Ambushers," chuckled the voice. "We await big wig ships to sail by and then we attack them and loot them. Their precious cargo becomes ours! Most ships are either merchant ships coming to enjoy some bloodshed or pirate ships. Best of all, most of the powerful fighters are resting up for their fight in the arena, so we ambush them while they are at their ABSOLUTE WEAKEST!" The water began to bubble on both the sides and in the front. Three fishmen jumped into the air.

"I am the first, Ichi, a Flying Fish Fishman!" He came bursting up from the left side. He landed on the side in between Ridley and Maria. He had a bright smile on his face as he landed on the ship. His mouth was large enough and he also had two huge fins sticking out his sides. He was wearing a skintight suit, probably to protect him from the freezing waters.

"I am the second, Nito, a Swordfish Fishman!" He slammed onto the ground, launching a downwards punch into the ship. He knocked wooden floorboards up into the air as he made his entrance. He was away from the entire crew. He had darker skin then most Fishman. He had an incredibly long nose with multiples spikes sticking out of it. His entire body was slicked back and had a shiny luster to it. On top of the skintight suit his partners were wearing he also had on a pair of goggles.

"I am the third, Sanada, a Catfish Wotan!" The final Fishman exploded from the water in front of the ship, rather then jumping onto the ship he remained in the water in front of the ship. He was a hybrid of both a Fishman and a giant. He remained stationed in front of them as he looked downwards at them. He was also in a skintight suit to protect even his huge body from the impossibly cold waters. He had two long whiskers that due to his immense size were as long as the ship's mast.

"Huge!" shouted the crew as they stepped back in awe o the huge beast that stood in front of them. The three fishmen all smiled in response as they shared a look.

"That's right!" shouted Nito, the Swordfish Fishman, as he stepped forward and towards the pirate group. "You see, if we wanted to we could smash this ship with one slap of our buddies' almighty arm. "That's the kind of power we possess. We would all survive, since we are all Fishman pirates, but you guys on the other hand would be helpless and all drown. Even if you don't, once you are in our native element...me and Ichi would all be more then capable to take you down."

"That's right!" agreed Ichi as he looked around at the crew. His eyes fell on Zesiro. He froze for a second. "Holy crap! Brothers! They were actually four of us that decided to ambush this pirate ship! We are Ichi, Nito, Sanada, and...Shiro! The four Underground Rally Arena Expert Ambushers!"

"I'm not one of you guys!" shouted Zesiro bearing his three rows of sharp teeth at the intruders. "And my name is Zesiro, not Shiro."

Nito, Ichi, and Sanada all looked at each other quizzically for a brief moment. "Are you sure?" asked Ichi as he looked at Zesiro. "I mean, you said it yourself your name is Ze-shi-ro. That's exactly like our brother's name."

"I told you my name is ZESIRO!" shouted Zesiro as he charged forward and brought his sword upwards and into the air aiming to slice Ichi straight down the middle and split him in two. Zesiro's eyes widened as he felt his sword slice through nothing, but air. He stopped his slice and looked around him. The Fishman was nowhere to be seen! "Where the hell did he go?"

"Flying Fish, remember?" said Ichi as he came crashing back down on top of Zesiro slamming him into the ship. "I'm a Flying Fish fishman. In other words the power of a Flying Fish have been instilled in me from the very moment of my birth. I can pretty much fly into the sky and come soaring back down with incredible force and power."

"Zesiro!" shouted Maria as she started to run over to her fallen comrade to help him out. She swung at Ichi, but once more he evaded into the air to avoid the punch.

"Hu hu hu! **Shark Lance!" **shouted Nito as he dashed forward. His entire body came sliding across the ship. His incredibly long nose came first slicing at Maria with a thrust. Maria quickly turned around hearing him cut through the air as he moved forward. She barely managed to avoid a full-on thrust from him. Once more though, Ichi came flying down from the air and landed on top of Maria as well knocking her to the ground.

"Just as I thought a couple of weak pirates," muttered Melanie as she walked up to Ichi and Nito with her sword already drawn. "I guess two Fishmen and one Wotan are almost good enough to count as a warm-up for me." Melanie stepped forward. Nito didn't allow her to get any closer as he charged forward, once more thrusting his long nose at her. Melanie swung her sword inwards and brought the back of her blade into his nose. Nito was knocked off balance and sent crashing into the floorboards of the ship.

"Don't take your eyes off of me!" shouted Ichi as he charged at Melanie's back with his arm prepared for a punch already. Melanie stepped to the side and watched the punch glide right past her. Melanie chuckled as she stepped into Ichi's chest and brought her sword hilt around and into Ichi's gut. Ichi dropped his jaw as he doubled over in pain. Melanie didn't stop there, she brought her hand back around and twisted the sword around, plunging the blade into her opponent's back. Ichi's blood splattered onto the floor.

"SANADA JUST SINK THE SHIP AND LET THEM ALL DROWN!" shouted Ichi and Nito through gasps of breath as they tried to recover from Melanie's vicious attacks. Sanada nodded and lifted his entire arm into the air. He brought his open palm down, toward their ship.

"Stop," sung Melanie. Sanada's hand stopped in midair. He was frozen in the air as he looked down at the crew. "Now, for the finishing blow." Melanie jumped off of her ship and sent her body flying up at the giant. She quickly landed on the giants' body. "Life me up to your head," Melanie continued to sing. The giant froze as he lifted his hand up underneath Melanie and then slowly picked her up. He stopped as soon as Melanie was on eye level. "Thank you," she said. She drew her blade as she swung her blade around and into the giant's eye. Melanie jumped off of the giant and landed on the ship and watched as the giant roared and fell backwards into the cold waters.

"Sanada!" shouted Nito as he got up and rushed to the front of the ship alongside Ichi. "You bastards! How dare you do such a disrespectful thing to him! You are a bunch of child murderers! Especially you Zeshiro, to betray and kill your own brother! Have you no shame!"

Zesiro brought his elbow into Nito's face, knocking him to the ground. "For the last time, I'm not related to you guys at all. And what do you mean little brother? That guy was the size of a building or two! There is no way that guy was little!"

"Giants and Wotans have exceptionally long lives! So, even though Sanada was actually thirty years in comparison to giants' lives...he was more like ten!" shouted Ichi standing up for them as he looked down at Nito and Sanada, "congratulations you beat up three helpless orphans! We never did anything to you!"

"You were the ones that attacked us!" shouted Ridley as he swung his guitar around and into the face of the Ichi, knocking him back. Nito and Ichi both flinched backwards away from him.

"Oh, well, we are almost at the Underground Rally Arena," muttered Zesiro as he looked back over at the island. Once the giant Fishman got knocked out, the ship managed to regain it speed and was sailing again. "So, if you three want you can hang out with us until we get there and then have your wounds treated at THEIR infirmary." Zesiro emphasized the words 'their' in order to make sure they didn't they were going to treat.

"THANK YOU!" howled Nito and Ichi as they recovered from their daze long enough to bow to them. "I have no idea about how we are ever going to repay you...oh, wait! I know! We'll make all you guys our honorary brothers! First off, we have Ze-shi-ro..." Once more Zesiro responded by smashing his elbow into Nito's face.

**Entrance Forms!**

**The Three Groups!**

OKAY! I know...I used some pretty high ball humor in this chapter, right? Most of you probably didn't get, right? Well, here's the reason to Ze-shi-ro. Ichi is Japanese for one, Ni (NIto) for two, and San (SANada) for three. Shi is Japanese for four and incidentally death...bet that didn't pan out that well for them. Also, the next chapter will be them arriving at the Underground Rally Arena (which I am going to shorten to U.R.A. from here on out).


	105. Arena Arc 105 The three Groups

**Entrance Forms!**

**The Three Groups!**

"We are here!" shouted Hiro-Shu as the ship came up onto the docks of the island. "Everybody get ready to board the island!" The ship immediately became ten times more lively even Ichi and Nito were jumping around excited, despite not knowing why they were here at this island. They probably just figured they were here to win tons of money and even more fame at the island. Whatever was good for their new friends was just as good for them.

"I'll go get Sage and Enma," announced Rosa as she charged down to the lower levels. Lily followed closely behind her galloping along on the ship. First up was Sage. She still wasn't sure how Enma felt about her, so she decided it would be best to get the cheery and helpful Sage first and then talk to Enma.

Rosa quickly came upon Sage's room and walked right in. It was the middle of the day, they were drawing in on the island, she had no excuse to be hiding anything right now. But still Rosa was shocked at the sight. Sage was curled up in a ball underneath her blanket. Rosa walked up to her. Her hand paused as it touched the blanket, "I have no confidence to live...I should just die," murmured Sage from beneath the blanket.

"Wha! What was that!" Rosa dashed off. She ran to Enma's room and barged in on him. Enma didn't hear her entering instead he remained focused on his work.

Enma's head was in his hand and he was doubled over a beaker filled with a mysterious liquid. He had several books that surrounded him, they were all opened with several dog-eared pages. "I still can't figure out how to create it. Even after all these years no one ever figured out how to create that miraculous drug."

Rosa didn't waste a second for Enma to finished his thoughts. She grabbed him, pulling him away from his work and dashed off back to Sage's room with Enma in tow. "Something is wrong with Sage!" shouted Rosa as she walked over to the blanket once more, "She's not in a good mood. I think having Mikoto kidnapped took a bigger tole on her then we thought!"

Rosa gripped the blanket and ripped it off of Sage. Sage was curled up in a ball. The air around her seemed incredibly heavy. "If I'm going to be reborn...I want to be a shell," murmured Sage as she grabbed the blanket and pulled it back above her. "I'm the worst...I should die." The blanket continued to curl up with Sage in the middle of it.

"You don't know, do you?" asked Enma as he paused looking at her. "You see, the majority of the crew is perfectly healthy, only a few of us have any abnormalities when it comes to health. Sage...is the exception. She suffers from a disease called Seasonal Affective Disorder. In other words, during the winter and spring months her personality becomes one of two extremes. We've previously experienced happy Spring Sage, but this is the first time we've experienced negative Winter Sage...I think."

"I think the world would be a better place if we all just gave in and remained in all of our houses...never working...and then we'd all be reborn as seaweed," mumbled Sage as she retreated further beneath her blanket. Rosa stared at Enma expecting some big medical cure to return Sage to her bright and shiny self, but noticed that he had already left. Lily was sitting in one spot with her head twisted around in the direction that Enma left.

Rosa jumped up and landed on Lily's back. Lily let loose a mighty roar and chased Enma, back up the stairs and to the final floor. "Why aren't you doing anything?" asked Rosa, "Sage needs your help!" Rosa jumped off of Lily and walked up to Enma. Enma waved her away and collapsed into the nearby chair. Rosa paused as she looked at Enma.

Before she had been so consumed with Sage's state of health that she had ignored Enma's. After all, he was the doctor, the thought of him getting sick seemed impossible. But looking at him as he was now it was obvious he was less then healthy. He had enormous bags under his eyes, probably from several sleepless nights working. He was less then clean, he normally worked hard to keep himself in prime condition and with good hygiene, but his hair was messy and his clothes looked absolutely horrid. He was already starting to fall asleep on the floor.

As she paused to think about it. The entire crew seemed to be in a similar state of grogginess. These past few days she hadn't bumped into many of them. Zesiro had been busy training with the three brothers ever since they picked them up, but even before that he had set aside several hours of the day to train with Maria or Hiro-Shu. The entire crew was working over time in order to prepare for the upcoming days. Rosa was an honorary member of the Infinity Pirates, but compared to how hard these people were working...she wasn't even an 'honorary' honorary member.

"Let's get going!" shouted Ridley as he came up from the bottom of the deck. His loud voice seemed to give the necessary boost to the rest of the crew. Enma immediately stood back up. The entire crew began moving off of the ship and onto the island. Rosa was in the back, behind all of the real crew members and even the three Fishman brothers who were attached to Zesiro. Melanie was resting on the ship, waiting for them to leave as she didn't want to be seen with any pirates.

At the front desk sat a Longarm. He was wearing a shirt with horizontal black and white strips and black pants. His eyes were kept down and at the table. His hands were continuously moving from one side to another, moving papers about as he finished page after page of registration forms for the big upcoming fight. When the crew appeared in front of the desk, he moved his arm around and lifted up one finger to signal them to wait.

The crew waited impatiently for their turn. The pirates and bandits and all other forms of warriors that surrounded them murmured. The name of the Infinity Pirates had grown apparently. There was no shock to it as the crew's reputation was known for taking down not one, but two Marine Bases. Even worse at the most recent Marine Base the causalities were incredibly high. Even so, the majority of the pirates around them didn't even bat an eye at the pirates whose bounties were on the rise.

Loud music was playing in the halls and it seemed to put everybody on edge. It was the kind of tension that even simple eye-contact would start a fight between two people. The crew was too focused on the Longarm in front of them to pay any heed to the pirates bustling around them, itching to fight the newcomers to the Grand Line.

"And done!" shouted the Longarm as he pulled the remaining paperwork aside. "Nice to meet more customers of the world-wide famous Underground Rally Arena. Are you here as participants or..." the Longarm finally pulled his attention away from the paperwork and up at the pirates, "UWAH! You are the Infinity Pirates! The boss said that you'd be coming!"

"Yeah," muttered Ridley as he reached across the table and grabbed a hold of the man's collar. He pulled him across the table and towards the entire crew, "we are here to meet with Trevor and only Trevor. The rest of this crap doesn't interest us."

"Sorry!" apologized the Longarm, bowing his head. "But you see...the boss knew about you guys coming, so he set up a bit of a back-up...big name rookies like the Infinity Pirates are the biggest draws in this business. After all, really big name pros don't come around all too often and when they do, their fights are usually completely one-sided and that bores the customers! So, you see, the boss doesn't want to lose you guys! You are too valuable of an attraction!"

"I think you got us mixed up with somebody who likes your boss!" shouted Ridley as he pounded his fist on to the desk. The Longarm cringed, despite being the front man of a bloody business like this he didn't seem like he could stomach violence at all.

"I understand...but the boss said your friend, Mikoto, I think his name was, deeply wanted you all to participate," said the Longarm with a shudder. "Trevor said that he believes it would be most regretful for you guys not to participate. He told me that Mikoto asked for you guys to take part." Ridley loosened his grip and let the Longarm slide back into his chair.

"Sign up some of the guys behind me...they'll tell you who," Ridley grabbed his guitar and left the room. It was an obvious threat, but the bad news was it was a threat that Trevor could easily carry out. In the long run it would've been best to just go out and beat Trevor, screw the URA and the fights, but that wasn't about to happen now. At least not easily...the rest of the crew would just have to provide a distraction.

The Longarm ignored Ridley and returned to the rest of the crew. "Well, the entry fee is about 500,000 belies for Fishmen and 300,000 belies for humans. Its our corporate policy since Fishmen have innately stronger bodies then regular humans we make them pay more in order to lower our loses. Like how Fishman slaves sell for more then human ones do."

"SLAVES!" shouted Nito looking around panicky, "What slaves? We are just a bunch of pirates and ambushers! We are innocent, we have never been slaves before! We are the three Fishman brothers!" The saying lost a certain amount of impact since Sanada was outside, incapable of fitting into the building and Zesiro refused to join in. But Ichi and Nito's nervous energy seemed to provide a certain boost to it.

"Ignore them," suggested Zesiro as he moved forward, trying to distract the entire area from Nito's and Ichi's weird little panic attack. "I'm sorry, but we aren't exactly rich pirates. Is there any other method of payment that we could use?"

"Well, there is one method," proposed the Longarm, "its not exactly widely used as in comparison to the other one it sucks. But you can bet your lives...if you win...or since you are Trevor's guests if anyone on your crew wins you get away free of charge and even pocket a small amount of money, but if you all lose...you are put under our care as slaves to do with and sell as we please."

Rosa was about to speak up. The idea was ridiculous! Put their lives on the line to become slaves rather then spend money, who would do that. Especially fishmen! Fishmen slaves cost millions of belies, but they are exchanging their lives for only half of that, it was insane, but even as she was about t voice her opinion without even thinking about Maria, Zesiro, and Hiro-Shu agreed in a heartbeat. "What are you guys thinking becoming slaves?"

Zesiro chuckled. "The stakes were already incredibly high. Trevor is using our captain as a betting chip, so we are going to use us. Besides, didn't you hear what he said...only if we all lose do we become slaves. Me, Hiro-Shu, and Maria will just meet in the finals."

Rosa nodded. "Then as an honorary member of the Infinity Pirates, sign me up, too!" Enma nodded. He would stay back and heal the crew's wounds. He didn't trust the enemy's doctors to necessarily play fair. He'd just have to make do with Sage's help as well. That just left Ridley to do whatever he was planning.

(-With Ridley-)

Ridley was back on the ship. He went straight to Melanie. The crew was simple-minded and simply wanted to play by Trevor's rules. Ridley chuckled at that premise. He knew that Trevor wasn't going to play fair. Trevor and his dad were on the same crew and were the same kind of monster, they were going to do whatever it took to win. Too bad for Trevor, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. Ridley was going to do whatever it took to win, but for him to do that he needed to play a different game.

The crew would enter the fight and be the perfect distraction. Trevor would be satisfied that some of them joined the fight and he wouldn't kill Mikoto. Then while Trevor is watching the fights, he and Melanie would easily avoid all of the troubles and break Mikoto free. With Melanie's powers of control it would be simple.

"Melanie?" shouted Ridley as he got on the ship and finally saw her. Saying that the sole reason he wanted her help was to save Mikoto, wouldn't motivate her. She needed something else entirely. She needed a personal motivation to help him out. "If you wanna stick it Trevor then your best bet would be to work with me!"

"I thought I told you I didn't want to be seen with any pirates!" she reminded Ridley. "As it currently stands I am one of the proud Shichibukai, I cannot be seen with pirates or else my standing will crumble. This island may seem lawless and forsaken by the Marines, but the reality is several Marines come here, off of the books, to get the same enjoyment pirates come here for. Of course, no arrests are allowed to be made under Trevor's agreement. Each pirate ship has a good five minute head start since it leaves this island until it can be arrested by Marine forces."

That was a nice thing to know. "Still we need to save Mikoto and you need to defeat Trevor! Trevor is in there with several pirates and since you can't make arrests on this island either, you might as well just say you met us here and you were just checking out your enemies."

Melanie paused for a moment as she considered this. It was true that on this island the title of Shichibukai didn't mean that much. The only title that mattered here was 'The Strongest'. Of course, Shichibukai were also forbidden to enter the tournament. She did not know if that was one of the Government's conditions for Trevor to help prevent Shichibukai from ruining the name of the World Government by taking part in such merciless blood baths like this or if it was Trevor's idea in order to stop himself from killing any and all participants. That meant she could do nothing, but sit around and watch...

"Sure," said Melanie with a smile.

**The First Round!**

**Zesiro versus Magic!**

This was supposed to go up Friday...I have been really blanking when it comes to actually updating my stories. I wonder if I should get checked out?

HOO-HAH! Another chapter, another day! Okay, the three groups are the contestants (Zesiro, Maria, Rosa, and Hiro-Shu), the supporters (Enma and Sage along with the Fishman brothers), and Ridley's group (which consists just of him and Melanie). Just wait for the next chapter for the action to begin in a truly...weird way.


	106. Arena Arc 106 The First Round

**Round One!**

**Zesiro versus Magic!**

"So, what was up with you and the word slave?" asked Zesiro as he tightened his bandages on his arm once more preparing to fight. Nito and Ichi shared a glance. Zesiro was the first one to fight. He would be entering the ring in a matter of moments. After him Rosa, then Maria, and finally Hiro-Shu was last. Zesiro was lucky, he was starting to grow impatient with waiting already, he was hoping that whatever Nito's and Ichi's tale was it would help lighten his mood.

"ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!" they shouted in unison. "Slaves? Slaves? I've never met a slave in my life...and I'm absolutely not a slave! We aren't slaves, right? Right?" Nito and Ichi looked at each other and backed away from Zesiro. Zesiro shrugged and returned to his bandages. He knew they were hiding something, but he didn't have the time nor the energy to hunt them down and force it out of them. The fight would start soon.

"Those of you who bought your tickets to this wondrous fight club be proud as we have three special guests that will be appearing in this very special edition of Underground Rally Arena!" shouted the Longarm from the front desk who had taken over the job of announcer. "Sadly, one of them is still missing in action, but he is coming, he'll just arrive a little bit late...so for now, you'll just have to live with the one and only benefactor of this island, the mass murdering madman, the serial killer Shichibukai, the 'Reaper' Trevor!"

Trevor smiled from his seat. The entire stadium filled with loud voices. Some of them were cheers for the man who made this establishment possible. One of the Shichibukai who made a deal with the government to keep this building open as long as he followed their command and didn't kill too many of them. The other half was disgusted boos for the same reason. A pirate that became a government dog was terrible and their respect for him was 0. Only a few of them seemed to hate the man as much as the Infinity Pirates did right now. Trevor didn't say a word and instead nodded for the Longarm to continue.

"And the next guest is one of the shooting star rookies! A newbie to the Grand Line, but people are believing he is going to go places and possibly become a big name in the pirate world! Is he one of the soon-to-be Supernovas!" shouted the Longarm.

"You guys are all wrong!" shouted Mikoto from his chair. He was just sitting one place in a chair next to Trevor, but something was different, unlike Trevor who was sitting up free from the chair. Mikoto was sitting straight with his back right up against the chair. On top of that he had a collar on around his neck. Most of the people in the audience probably believed it was just a part of his look, just a dumb dog reference, but his crew knew better. Trevor put it on him for some reason. "I'm going to be the next King of the Pirates!" The crowd roared loudly with laughter. "Oh, and I'm also going to collect and create the world's greatest riddle book!" The laughter in the stadium grew louder. They didn't know if the kid was joking with the statements that he just said or he was being serious. They both seemed so stupid!

"Well! Give the kid a hand!" shouted the Longarm, "but as nice as special guests are we all know why you are all really here! Let's get started with the blood bath!" The entire stadium let loose a horrendous holler. "Our first fight is an incredible bout between the first two fighters. First off, its Zesiro! The Fishman swordsman of the Infinity Pirate crew." Zesiro came out and walked onto the stadium. The stadium was a giant circular area above a pit. The way onto the area was just two planks that were pulled away as soon as Zesiro stepped foot onto the stadium.

"Get killed you stupid fish!" shouted the crowd. "You should be sauteed and sliced and served with chips! WE HATE FISHMEN!" Zesiro closed his eyes and remained fixated on the match. The noise of the stupid crowd was just a meaningless distraction. The fight would start in a minute and once it did. He would have his hands full with them. A metal can came flying into the arena, nearly hitting Zesiro. After that the crowd seemed to form a game out of who could hit Zesiro with their trash.

"Next up is one of the most mystifying pirates in our entire arsenal," announced the Longarm as he pointed to the other entrance. He was trying to distract them and make sure they wouldn't further pester the contestant, "He is the one and only! 'Hell Magician'!" The entire stadium calmed down and stared at the other entrance. Nothing. No man came out of it. The entire stadium was in a still quiet. Zesiro chuckled. It would be his win by default.

Suddenly the entire stage went up in a black smoke. The crowd's attention was immediately jerked back to it trying to see what was going on. The Longarm quickly began narrating, "something is malfunctioning with the stage we are trying to get a visual! But we have no idea what is going on down there! Why would someone do something like this?"

"Why would someone do this you ask?" said a voice. The smoke slowly began to clear. A new man was in the arena, "It is to show the world true magic!" He stood with his arms spread wide-open. "I am 'Hell Magician' Frederick Van Gauner! My magic tricks never cease to amaze and bewilder! Now that my entrance is over may I attract you to the center stage where my show shall begin!" The smoke continued to clear revealing a brightly colored wheel in the middle of the arena with Zesiro strapped in completely tied down to it.

Frederick Van Gauner was wearing a black tuxedo and tall silk hat on top of his head. He was incredibly lean without any visible muscles. In left hand he held a tall wooden cane. He wore a smiling face even as he walked about in the arena of death. He paced around in the arena, slowly distancing himself from Zesiro.

"HOW THE HECK DID HE DO THAT?" shouted Mikoto from his spot in the chair, "that's awesome! I had no idea you were a magician, Zesiro!" Zesiro growled at Mikoto as he struggled against the bonds that tied him to the big wheel. Suddenly something zoomed in through the air and stuck into the wheel next to Zesiro. It took Zesiro a couple of seconds to understand what it was. After all it didn't seem possible. But there it was. A playing card sticking out of the wheel. How the hell was it capable of cutting into this board?

"Behold the powers of magic in the world!" shouted Frederick as he took his tall silk hat off of his head. He reached into his hat and produced a new stack of cards. **"Miracle Cutter!" **shouted Frederick as he tossed one of the cards off of the deck and at the wheel. Once more the card stuck into the wheel behind Zesiro, but this time it was much closer only a few inches away. "And another **Miracle Cutter!"** Once more the card came flying into the air, this time the card stuck into Zesiro's arm. Zesiro grunted through the pain.

Zesiro tried to free himself, but the straps that held him to the wheel held fast and didn't give at all. He was still stuck. His sword was down at his waist, but his hands were spread out and far away from it. Zesiro struggled even harder, but the heavy straps remained strong. Frederick laughed and took a couple of steps forward towards his opponent.

Frederick flipped his cane out and into the air. "**Miracle Cane!" **A small blade slid out of the end. "And now for my greatest trick, I'll transform this living Fishman into corpse in a matter of second!" Frederick leaned forward and charged with his cane outstretched aiming for Zesiro's head.

Zesiro opened and closed his mouth crunching down on the cane preventing it from moving any deeper. Frederick looked worried for a second as he wrenched his cane loose from Zesiro's powerful jaws. Frederick's cane had been split in half with Zesiro's strength bearing down on it. He frowned for a second before tossing it aside, "ah, looks like the fish still has a minor amount of resistance to it, but too bad for him...I have the tricks to break it down! **Miracle Cutter!" **More cards zoomed through the air. They found their marks, several of them digging into Zesiro's skin. "Looks like he is still alive, but my magic show must come to an end!"

"Don't end it just yet!" shouted Mikoto from the chair, "I wanna see more magic! MORE MAGIC! MORE MAGIC!" Mikoto slowly began pounding his feet against the floor, seeing as how his hands were most likely tied to the chair.

"YOU DO REALIZE YOU ARE CHEERING AGAINST YOUR OWN CREW!" shouted Zesiro as he strained against the straps.

"I must warn you," stated Frederick as he produced two small rubber balls from his vest. "One of these rubber balls is a regular ball, nothing deadly about it at all. The second one on the other hand is deadly. You see when it makes contact with a person, several sharp spikes will explode from it piercing your skin!" He began to juggle them about in a fast circle, finally he tossed them both at Zesiro.

Zesiro broke loose from the wheel with one final pull. Unbeknownst to Frederick, it was his own Miracle Cutter that Zesiro was able to escape. Several of the Miracle Cutter had struck into the board weakening it and allowing Zesiro to break the wheel and free himself. Within a split second he had drawn his sword and brought it into both of the two rubber balls, slicing them in half without even the slightest bit of resistance. Zesiro kept charging across the field closing in on Frederick with frightening speed. Zesiro quickly lashed out with his sword. He had no time to waste, the quicker he sliced this Hell Magician down the quicker his crew would be complete and sailing again.

The Hell Magician spurted blood from his mouth as he collapsed onto the ground, soiling the stage already with a crimson color. "I'm...I'm...I'm sorry, but the fight was so quick, that even I couldn't relay the action quick enough, but it looks like the fight is already incredibly in Zesiro's court. The 'Hell Magician' may not even be able to stand up much less continue this fight."

Zesiro looked down at the man he had just sliced, something was wrong. He knew it. He had sliced into people several times over during his journey and that's how he knew the slice was wrong. The hit was completely wrong. But still, the attack apparently had an effect on him. Frederick was on the ground gripping his stomach, the same exact spot Zesiro was trying to cut into. He may have done something to screw up his slice, but apparently it wasn't enough. Zesiro sighed as he returned his sword to his scabbard.

"**Fool's Reaper**!" shouted Frederick as he stood up with lightning fast reflexes. Without wasting a second he brought a card out of the deck and turned it around using it to pierce into Zesiro's back. Zesiro stumbled forward and only barely managed to bring his sword out and spin around before Frederick struck out again. Frederick backed up once more taking his distance from the Fishman. Zesiro was breathing heavily as much as the wound hurt, he was lucky. The card could only pierce so much into his body, the cane that Frederick used previously would've went in his back and came out the front. The card, only being a couple of inches long just went into his back.

But still the damage was done and Zesiro had already taken numerous cards flying through the air and into him while he was strapped to the medieval torture device. He took up his stance and waited for Frederick. The distance between them was minimal. Zesiro had to thank the arena for that. Frederick could throw his cards at a distance if he could get far enough away, the only weapon Zesiro had against that was the Flying Slash. Unlike Frederick's cards, where he could throw dozens of them quickly, the Flying Slash was a one-at-a-time attack. If the arena was too big then Frederick could easily distance himself and just use that attack to whittle away Zesiro's life and Zesiro would be nearly helpless to stop him, but the arena was small enough that Zesiro could close the distance.

Zesiro brought his sword around in slow motion preparing to fire a single shot. He stopped for as he looked not at the 'Hell Magician' but who stood past him. His eyes locked firmly on Trevor. He brought his sword up and into the air, without stopping, he completed the circle, bringing the blade down, "**Big Wave!" **The swinging downwards blade sent a huge shockwave slicing through the air. Frederick stood no chance as the slash closed in on him, ripping his tuxedo into bits. The slash didn't stop, though as it continued through the air. It was aimed straight at Trevor.

The slash stopped cold right in front of Trevor, disappearing in an instant at Trevor's chair not even nicking it. Zesiro smirked and turned around. They lowered the drawbridge once more to allow Zesiro to crosss.

"I'm...I'm shocked! The challenger just launched an attack into the crowd...no, not even into the crowd, but at the holy man, Trevor himself! How could this happen! What is Trevor's thoughts on this occurrence!" shouted the Longarm as he examined the attack. He walked over to Trevor, "luckily the attack stopped a few centimeters before it hit Trevor, but let's hear Trevor's thoughts on this matter and whether or not the challenger should be punished."

Trevor simply smirked and said, "I am impressed. Its been awhile since any man...or Fishman has shown such guts even here. A place where people lay their lives on the lines just by stepping into the arena, but here it is...the ultimate declaration of guts...attacking me." Trevor looked down at the slash's mark. It wasn't coincidence that the attack stopped before it hit him, but it wasn't that Zesiro tried to make it do so. Zesiro launched an incredibly powerful attack intending to split Trevor in half right then and there...it was only because Trevor reacted quickly and stopped it with an attack. If he didn't, he would've died from the attack.

**Round Two!**

**A Hole Lot of Problems!**

That is not a typo in the title for next chapter, okay? Its a pun...a horrible, horrible, horrible pun, but a pun nonetheless. Also, give a round of applause to Frederick Van Gauner, an OC submitted by DeathAuthor! Its been awhile since he was submitted, so here he is! I plan on using a very large percentage of submitted OCs for this Arc, so if you want to have an OC show up, now's the time to submit it! Trust me, the next two chapters have...3-4 new OCs in them.


	107. Arena 107 Round Two

**Round Two!**

**A Hole Lot of Problems!  
**

Rosa took a deep breath as she was pacing nervously in the room. Enma was too busy tending to Zesiro's wounds and the three Fishman brothers were in the room with Zesiro talking to him. The Fishman brothers seemed to genuinely be interested in whatever it was that Zesiro did. They looked up to him like a brother, so they were adamantly discussing the story of the fight with him. Even worse Ridley and Melanie were both missing in action, so the only person left to comfort Rosa was...Sage...the incredibly depressed girl who had been wrapped up in her blanket ever since they landed.

"If I were to die I would like to be reborn as a mollusk," moaned Sage as she laid down. Rosa looked fearful over at Sage for just a brief second before flashing back over to the doors. The fight would be beginning soon, but she didn't want to leave Sage all alone in here. It would be just too cruel. Sage's arms reached out and grabbed one of the weapons that were laying around for the previous contestants to use. "I'll just commit Seppuku for my sins of breathing the same air as the rest of the world. I'm sorry everyone..."

"NO YOU DON'T!" shouted Rosa bringing her blade down on Sage's blade separating it from her grip. The blade was sent flying and across the room. "LILY!" called Rosa. The large tiger hunkered into the room. "Okay, since I gotta go out and beat some people up, I am going to entrust Sage to you, okay?" Lily nodded. Rosa went over to Sage and picked her up after a few minutes of fussing. Rosa managed to wrap the blanket up and around Lily's neck. With a couple of quick pats, Rosa confirmed that she wasn't going to come loose. "Go take her to Enma and see if he can do anything to make her even a little bit better, okay?" Lily let out a huff and ran out of the room.

"Next up! We have Rosa! Who is apparently also fighting on the side of the Infinity Pirates for the time being!" shouted the Longarm, "but why? What reason does she have for joining sides with the pirates! A Bounty Hunter and a pirate crew! That is the modern day's Romeo and Juliet! Let's see if she has any feelings about this upcoming match?"

Rosa shrugged it off and walked forward towards the ring. She had no worries about this fight. She was going to win it with ease. Zesiro was her last match and he had finished the fight up with an incredible flourish. His slashes cut the time it ordinarily takes to finish a fight down so quickly! As a fellow swordsman, she felt a certain rivalry between them. So, now her goal was to finish the fight in a matter of seconds and show Zesiro her strength. Not to mention the next fight would be between the two of them.

It was questionable about whether or not they should fight, after all they were both in this fight to accomplish the same thing, right? Why should they care who won the final round, Mikoto would saved either way! Only problem was...she didn't feel like that was the case. And more then likely Zesiro was the same way. While it was true that Mikoto was the ultimate goal, the steps they would take to get there were what mattered to the two of them. This was almost a completion between the crew. You were either the winner, who saved the captain...or someone who got beat up along the way. Everybody wanted to be the hero!

"First up, is a man who signed in shortly after the famous Infinity Pirates!" screamed the Longarm into the microphone system. Everybody in the audience remained quiet listening to the announcement, "he is a newcomer to this arena also one of the first dwarfs! He is Simon Dew!" The crowd went into an uproar as the man walked into the arena.

Rosa remained in her room, breathing heavily now that her turn was almost up. The anticipation was killing her, forget about the fight. Right now she was sitting in a room waiting to be marched into a room filled to the brim with pirates and other crazed people hoping to see her ripped limb from limb. She was starting to feel fear just sitting here. Her hands scrambled into her bag to pull out a book to read. Finally she heard her name, the rest of the Longarm's announcement disappeared into inconceivable babble. She got up and walked into the arena.

The sharp lights beamed downwards at her. She covered her eyes as she tried to adjust to the light. She looked up at the man who was in the arena. Her opponent, the man she was going to have to beat. The man was short. Rosa wasn't very tall herself, but the man was short even by short standards. She guessed that was probably what made him a dwarf. He stood probably at three feet. He had orange hair and rough white skin. He wore an miner's helmet. He had gray pants and suspenders, but one of the suspenders had been snapped clean off, probably due to another fight in the arena.

Rosa drew her blade and pointed it at the opponent. She was going to end this fast, so she was going to start strong. She charged. The man had a very determined look on his face. There was something else on his face, Rosa thought it was worry, but wasn't sure. It didn't matter, though. She was going to win and beat him. Rosa moved forward and she brought her sword forward with a powerful thrust.

The man didn't move instead he smiled as Rosa launched her thrust at his chest. The blade came close to his body and went right through it. However, it wasn't a thrust that guaranteed victory. Instead it only unsettled Rosa more about the fight. The man swung something off of his back and brought it down at Rosa. Rosa quickly recoiled and separated herself from the man.

She stared at the man's chest where she had driven her blade. There was a hole there, but she wasn't the one who inflicted it. It just opened up when she struck. When she got her blade close to him, the hole opened up on its own allowing her blade to just harmlessly pass through it. Then there was the matter of the man's weapon. It was a pickaxe. It was a weird weapon albeit, but not unheard of. Especially probably for this arena, where any weapon imaginable would be entered.

"Looks like Rosa is finding out the difficulties of fighting a man who ate a Devil Fruit!" shouted the Longarm. Rosa's ears perked up as she listened to the Longarm give the man's secrets to the entire audience. "You see Simon Dew ate the legendary Ana-Ana no mi* with that he became a Hole man! He can now create holes anywhere on his body or anything that his hand touches! It looks like this SMALL man has some BIG surprises!"

"Aye!" shouted Simon as he lifted his pickaxe into the air and waved it at the Longarm, "you best not be messing with us, Dwarfs, me laddie! We got a proud heritage and we won't be taking no insults from yer folk or anyone else! You gots that!" The Longarm flinched at the man shouting at him. His rough and heavy Irish accent only seemed to help accentuate the point he was trying to make. "Now it is time fer me to get back to business."

Rosa held her sword out at arm's length. A Devil Fruit spelled trouble no matter how strong you are. Even if the powers did seem a little bit weird it allowed the user to make unexpected advantages in a fight like this. Rosa looked over at the audience. She could hear their chant for blood and carnage. It only made her even more wary of her opponent. He may have been a newcomer to the island and the arena, but that didn't mean he was a newcomer to this kind of pressure nor did it mean he couldn't deliver.

"**Diggy-Diggy Hole"** declared Simon as he brought his hand down and touched the ground. The ground opened up revealing a hole as Simon jumped into it. Rosa stopped in her tracks as the hole closed back up over him, concealing him from the view. Did this count as a ring-out? The arena had rules for that after all if a fighter escaped the ring it drastically cut into the gore that would occur. **"Diggy-Diggy Hole!"**

Rosa didn't have time to think about the second burrow cause as soon as Simon said it the ground beneath her opened wide. Rosa fell down into it, but only for a brief second. Simon was waiting for her. With a mighty heave he brought his pickaxe around and into Rosa's back knocking her up into the air again with a huge wound in her shoulder. Rosa quickly caught herself as she adjusted her fall to the ground. She landed safely just as Simon was getting out of the hole.

Simon charged forward at Rosa. Rosa brought her sword forward. If she used a thrust, Simon would just open his body up with a hole and let it pass through him. It looked like she would have to rely on slashes. She brought her sword up and waited for Simon to get closer, but he didn't. Instead he stopped short and placed his hand on the ground. Rosa prepared her guard, he would probably just slink back into the ground and do the same trick as last time. "**Burrow!" **This time it was different. Rather then opening the ground up beneath him, he opened the ground up right beneath Rosa. Once more Rosa fell down into the hole.

"Shit!" cursed Rosa as she tried to regain her ground. Simon jumped in after he already lifting his pickaxe above his head and preparing for a powerful downwards swing. Rosa brought her sword up and parried the swing, but it cost her her already feeble footing. She fell to the ground.

Simon jumped back up into the air and out of the hole. He could just close the hole up and win the fight that way. But he couldn't help but hesitate. If he closed the hole then she could forget about everything. She would immediately be surrounded by rocks. She would lose the space necessary to move and even breathe. If he did so, she would be buried alive in an instant. She would die shortly after. His hand hesitated as he brought it to the ground, he didn't want to become a killer...but he had to.

Rosa's sword came flying across the pit and into Simon's head knocking him back. She recognized what he was trying to do, but he had to put his hand on the hole in order to close it back up. As long as he didn't put his hand there, he couldn't close it and he couldn't kill her. Rosa quickly scrambled back up to the top of the hole. She was at least free for the time being, but with this guy's Devil Fruit it was probably only a matter of time till he trapped her again.

Rosa remained calm as she recovered her sword. She had to finish him off before he trapped her again, so she had to finish him off soon. Of course, with a sword it should be fairly easy to deliver a finishing blow. She dashed off at Simon already preparing her sword for a final slash across his body. Simon reached out and tapped onto Rosa's head. "**Burrow Punch!" **Simon created a single hole in Rosa's head with his Devil Fruit power, just straight through the middle also through where her brain should be, but Rosa didn't feel anything. She was still living and thinking. She guessed it was because it wasn't destroyed or anything, it was just removed temporarily. She guessed that as Simon's Devil Fruit couldn't just destroy things. In which case she didn't have to worry about getting close to him.

Rosa was about to swing her sword when Simon put his hand into the hole in her head. Rosa didn't pause at all, she immediately backed up. Simon undid his Devil Fruit power refilling the hole in Rosa's head and returning it to normal. Rosa paused for a moment as she tried to figure out what happened. She was breathing heavily as slowly put it together. If he created a hole it would just be removed temporarily, but if he stuck his hand into her body and then filled said hole with his powers...it would destroy whatever should've been brought into since there was no room for it! In other words, he would've destroyed her brain with that move.

Rosa didn't like to admit it, but this man just might outclass her. At close range he could create a hole in her and destroy it with that hole punch. At mid-range he had that trap where he would just imprison Rosa in the ground. That just left far-range, but that means he'd just use the Diggy-Diggy Hole and attack her from below. It appeared that this man dominated whatever distance they were at. In that case she would just have to get into her favored distance and hope that she just managed enough to defeat him. Close-range it is. She charged forward towards Simon.

Simon stepped back avoiding her first swing, then he quickly brought his pickaxe up to block the second. Now that her weapon was out of the way, he'd take advantage of the moment. "**Burrow Heart." **Simon put his hand up against Rosa's body. Immediately a hole appeared in the body, except it stopped halfway through exposing Rosa's heart to anyone who looked. Rosa jumped back and examined the newly formed hole in her body. It was frightening. No matter where he attacked, he created an opening with that pesky Devil Fruit.

Simon dropped to the ground and created a large hole in the ground once more. There was no space for Rosa to jump to, the hole was just too big. Rosa was already falling into the hole, he would seal it up instantly. Rosa needed to force him back just enough to buy her time to get out. She landed on the ground and jumped up into the air immediately as her feet touched the ground. It didn't seem like it would be enough as Simon put his hand back over the empty hole about to fill it up again. She was going too slow!

**Dangers in the Arena!**

...I'm so afraid I messed this chapter up...that I accidentally said something that would...would insinuate and create the wrong visual image as apparently I have done that before (if you see what I mean please tell me so I can correct it). The new character for this chapter, Simon, was designed by Labyrinth-Designer. This fight will continued into the next chapter, so I hope you are all super excited!

On a side note...BLAST THIS FRICKIN' HEAT! Its too hot to do anything! 90 degree weather all last week and 100 degree weather all this week...I DEMAND 60 DEGREE WEATHER!


	108. Arena 108 The Dangers in the Arena

**Dangers of the Arena!**

Rosa had to react fast, Simon was only mere centimeters from closing the hole again. She wasn't high enough. Her body might be safe, but her feet and legs were definitely going to get sealed up. She just needed to be a little bit higher. She brought her lower body up and into the air performing a back-flip, hopefully in doing so she'd be able to bring her lower body high enough to escape the filling in of the hole. The ground closed in underneath her in an instant. Rosa's body collided with the ground as she fell down.

She sat up in the arena and looked at her legs, praying that she had managed to avoid having them encased in stone. It was a hollow victory, her legs had managed to escape the stone imprisonment, but her shoes were not as lucky. It looked like they had just barely been captured by the stone, but nonetheless they were frozen in place. Rosa struggled free. She squeezed her feet out of the shoes. Her shoes were still stuck, but at least now she could move again.

Simon didn't let her recover and charged. He brought his pickaxe up above his head preparing for a downwards swing. Rosa brought her blade up to block it. A large hole appeared in the pickaxe. The hole was well-placed. Rosa's blade had no hope as it passed through the hole and had no effect on Simon's swing. His swing continued downwards smashing the tip of the pickaxe into her shoulder. Simon pulled the pickaxe out of her shoulder and once more took his distance. He quickly touched the pickaxe and filled in the missing hole.

Rosa muttered something under her breath as she stood back up. Her shoulder was bleeding heavily now and she was pretty sure that the pickaxe had damaged even the bone. Upon closer look it appeared that the pickaxe had a glittering edge to it, like it was a jewel. It had a diamond tip to it. Rosa grunted as he tried to take up her own fighting stance, but her sword weighed heavily on her damaged shoulder. She gritted her teeth and ignored the pain as she charged at Simon.

Simon once more dropped to the ground. "**Diggy Diggy Hole!" **the ground beneath him opened up and he disappeared into the hole. The ground immediately closed back up sealing Simon beneath the surface and away from any of Rosa's attacks. Rosa brought her sword upwards and prepared for a quick downwards slice. While the Diggy Diggy Hole may temporarily protect himself from any attacks, he still had to come up from the floor. He couldn't just magically appear in midair.

"**Burrow!"** shouted Simon as he exploded from the ground using a small hole. He came up in front of Rosa, but further away then she was expecting. He swung his pickaxe out and aimed it directly for her exposed heart. Rosa brought her sword up and struck at the head of the pickaxe. If she struck at anything else, he could just create a hole for her sword to pass through. She needed to deflect it at the most important part. Her sword rebounded off of the pickaxe, knocking them both away. Rosa was the first to recover and launched a desperate attack during those few seconds of luck...only problem was she used a thrust. She wasn't thinking straight. She was so caught up in the cheers of the crowd and the heat of the battle that she had forgotten about Simon's powers.

Simon noticed this and immediately created a hole in his body, where Rosa's sword would go. Her sword slipped right through him and into his chest. Simon had recovered by now and in an instant brought his pickaxe swinging down at Rosa's already damaged shoulder. With the power he put behind it along with the damage it had already taken, it would cleave her arm straight off. Rosa spun to the side, using her own momentum as well as her weight, to put power behind her sword and launch a slash from inside of Simon's chest. Simon couldn't react and felt the sword rip into his chest and pulled out of him, taking skin and blood as it went.

"That there hurt little lassie!" he grunted as he swung his pickaxe up and onto his shoulder. The attack had a lot of power behind it due to her also putting her weight onto the blade, but the real problem was the location. It wasn't cut up on the outside. Oh, no, the blade was inside him and cut him up from there. It would be nearly impossible for any doctor to get to to fix. He would just have to hope that it healed on itself. He couldn't quit this fight, he had to win! "Argh!" shouted Simon as he charged forward swinging his pickaxe wildly, but with incredibly speed and force behind it.

Rosa backed away, trying to make sure she wouldn't be caught off guard from one of those swings. She was trying to focus on the swings, but someone in the audience kept shouting at her, "give up already, girl! We all know you aren't meant to be in the arena! Go to the kitchen and cook us men up something real nice!" Even worse the entire arena was starting to get into it. They berated Zesiro cause of his race and now they were berating her because of gender. This arena was the home of pigs. Rosa couldn't focus on the swings because of the jeers and shouts.

She turned her head away from the pickaxe only briefly, "YOU WANNA COME INTO THIS RING AND FIGHT ME!" she screamed as the spectators. The entire arena calmed down in an instant. It wasn't uncommon for fighters to scream at the spectators, challenging them was more uncommon, but it still happened fairly often. However, coming from a woman in the middle of fight, rarely happened.

Simon grinned. The stupid girl looked away, it may not be very sportsman-like, but he didn't care. He had to win this fight and she just gave him the perfect opportunity to do so. With a mighty swing of his pickaxe, he brought it around and aimed straight for her head. The diamond-tip would make it go in one side and out the other with ease!

Rosa's head bobbed, barely causing the swing to miss. Simon was amazed, she still hadn't turned around to face him and yet she dodged his blow with such accuracy. While it may have been amazing, he wasn't about to stop. He quickly twisted his body and changed the swing of his pickaxe back around bringing it swinging in the other direction now. This time he would aim lower, he would strike her chest and pierce her heart from the side.

Rosa took a slight step forward. He felt his pickaxe graze her clothing, but nothing more. Did this woman have the luck of the devil? He brought the pickaxe forward in thrust, while a pickaxe had absolutely no sharp object to make a thrust deadly it still had plenty of power behind it. Rosa once more easily dodged to the side letting the pickaxe glide right past her.

Simon backed up and took his distance. He found it hard to believe that she was perfectly dodging each of his blows without even finding the need to pay attention to him. Stuff like that just wasn't possible! Even more surprising was the fact that she was actually doing a better job dodging them then she did before. Now she was using such minimalist movements to dodge his mighty swings, unlike last time when she was doing huge movements to dodge the swings.

Rosa finally tore her attention away from the audience and back to the fight, "Sorry about that I just wanted to put the audience in their place. I thank you for not attacking me while my back was turned to you. You are a true gentleman."

Simon's eyes twitched as he listened to her thank him, finally with a smile he opened his mouth and boasted, "of course! I am a gentleman! There is no way I would something as unsportsmanlike as attack a young lass from behind!"

Rosa took her stance up immediately. Simon had an unnatural sort of strength even beyond the Ana-Ana no mi. He had an incredible amount of sheer physical strength. Simon was also still creating new and new tricks and traps with his Devil Fruit, so Rosa had to keep her eyes focused on Simon's hands. Whatever he touched turned into trouble. Rosa's fingers went up to her heart, the missing chunk there was still her main reason for concern. Just because he didn't attack her while he back was turned didn't mean he wouldn't take advantage of her exposed heart.

Rosa let out a deep breath as she decided on what to do. She was going to end this fight as soon as possible. She lowered herself down and braced herself. As soon as she moved Simon would probably create a hole in front of her to trap her...unless she could cover the hole in a single jump there was no way she would be able to land a hit on Simon. However, luckily for her she had the perfect technique to cover the distance.

Sure enough just as Rosa planned, Simon crouched down to the ground placing his hand on the ground. **"Burrow!" **Before it had the chance to activate, Rosa quickly landed on the ground and launched her compressed body like a spring. The form was incredibly similar to McIntyre's Flash of Steel Lightning. It was actually based off of it, Rosa remembered the great distance it would cover in just a blink of the eye, so Rosa had decided to use it as a last ditch effort to strike down Simon.

The ground beneath Rosa opened up revealing a giant pitfall, but Rosa was already in the air sprinting towards Simon. The speed she had going for her allowed her to quickly close in on Simon. Simon lifted his pickaxe into the air, intending to parry with her with one hand and then landing a clean blow to her heart with the other. He brought the pickaxe down towards Rosa. Rosa struck out with her sword, sticking it into the ground, then she used her upper body strength and the sword to swing her out of Simon's path. She landed perfectly next to Simon, with his weapon already swinging down.

Rosa yanked her blade out of the stone floor and swung. The blade cut into Simon and drew blood. Simon backed up, letting go of his pickaxe for a brief second. He tumbled onto the ground defenseless and startled by Rosa's attack. "Is this the end?" shouted the Longarm announcer. "This fight that has raged on up until now is there anything else left for the two combatants to do other then have Rosa plunge her mighty blade down into Simon's throat herself! EEK! Whoo, there...I scared myself."

Rosa smiled as she sheathed her sword and reached down to help Simon up. "I dislike unsportsmanlike behavior like striking an unarmed man." Simon pulled his helmet down over his eyes as he accepted the hand of his opponent. He surrendered.

(-in the audience: Left Side of the Stadium-)

"Cah ah hah hah!" laughed a large man in the stadium. He was incredibly well-dressed in a suit and tie, fitting for the occasion. He wasn't here as a fighter, but merely as a spectator for the time being. He was rolling a gold coin between his thumb and forefinger. "I'm starting to like these Infinity Pirate fellows. The captain's insane dreams, that Fishman's courageous attack on Trevor, and now this girl...making a mockery of the entire Underground Rally Arena by showing pity to her opponent. They are my kind of crew!"

The man was none other then Armani Dove. He was considered a Golden Boy amongst the rest of the Underground Rally Arena, he was a rising star here and in the outside world. His bounty already exceeded 60 million belies. However, he didn't come to this island cause he wanted some time off. Oh, no, he believed he had visions of the future randomly inflicted upon his own dreams. And those visions led him here...he had a strong feeling that this was where the current world would be taken for a spin and flipped on its top. And he was beginning to believe that the Infinity Pirates were the reason for it. "I love that crew!" he shouted once more reiterating his thoughts.

"SHUT UP!" shouted a nearby woman who shoved her finger into his face, "can't you see you are disturbing my captain!" She pointed at a nearby man, whose attention was still focused on the ring rather then the spectacle occurring besides him. "He just wants to focus before his fight later today, so if you don't mind shut your loud trap!"

She turned around and returned her attention to the other man. Just like the way she was facing, her personality took a complete 180. "SHANE! I'm so glad we could come here together and have some fun! I just hope you didn't mind that obnoxious pirate next to us."

The man just grumbled something under his breath and kept focused on the fights. The fights weren't done, yet. There were two more fights for this tournament and then a bunch of single fights, which he was participating in. He was a large man, nearing 6' 4". Most of his body was hidden beneath a cloak, but Armani could still make out the goatee on his face as well as his hat.

Armani smiled as he leaned back and shut up. He wasn't too happy about being told to shut up by someone, but it was well worth it. The person sitting next to him was the 'Dark Knight' Shane. Another person with a huge bounty. He was getting excited. With his 60 million bounty, Shane's 90 million bounty and the 'Kid Coyote' Mikoto's 38 million bounty this was truly a treasure trove of powerful fighters. His vision was without a doubt going to be correct again!

However, with just these three big shots that he saw sitting next to him, it made Armani wonder exactly how many of them were present in this arena at this very moment.

**The Staff of the URA!**

**A Special Request!**

More OC's! Just like I promised. Okay, 'Dark Knight' Shane was submitted by Shadow40000 and Armani Dove was submitted by Broken Bow Fan. Also, I was asked about the dealings of the URA a couple of times, so here is a basic rundown of it.

-There is always an ongoing tournament running. There is a big cash prize for the winner. The Infinity Pirates are currently enrolled in an eighteen combatant tournament. The fighting days alternate to ensure that no one fights two days in a row and are always in top shape.

-Then there is a series of one-on-one fights. Small cash prizes, but less commitment. They can also enter as many as they want.

-Then there is a chain fight. Where one person fights multiple people and they keep going until they lose. The more fights you win the more money you make.

-Finally if time permits the URA do a special fight. A staff member from the URA (possibly even Trevor) steps in and fights any and all takers from the crowd. Based on which staff member enters there may be a large cash prize. Since Trevor joined the URA staff members currently hold an impressive record of 94 wins, 17 draws, and just three loses.

Other then that they may also do halftime shows and the like to help people who don't care for blood gore. And of course, there is round the clock betting going on. All of this, however, is overlooked by the Marines. (Please keep this in mind as I will be mentioning this again).


	109. Arena 109 The Staff of the URA

**The Staff of the URA!**

**A Special Request!**

The hallways of the URA was bustling with an incredible amount of noise. Tensions were rising high now. Some of the people had bet their money on and lost during the last couple of fights so they were enraged and causing a ruckus, complaining of being robbed or cheated. One of the men there were truly causing a ruckus with his tantrum. He was only about 5' 6" and was dressed in the traditional pirate clothing even the pirate hat. "I hate this crap!" he shouted, "you guys are just trying to cheat me out of my hard earned cash! I demand to be repaid in full!" He drew a blade and brought it smashing into one of the front desks. "I'LL KEEP SMASHING THINGS UNTIL TREVOR HIMSELF COMES OUT AND SEES ME!"

He walked about and was rapidly swinging his sword from side-to-side endangering the lives of anybody who walked by him. Finally, a single man came up and placed his hand on his shoulder, "please, excuse us. I am with the Underground Rally Arena and Trevor-sama, himself, feels like he should apologize for this inconvenience, so everybody who feels cheated please come with me!" announced the man.

The man was the head guard of the URA and for good reason. He had halted many of riots like these all by himself. The people who had saw those riots immediately stopped what they were doing and quieted down. He would make quick work of the bastard that was threatening the well-being of the URA just because he was unlucky. The head guard was Duncan Sawyer.

"That's more like it! Trevor thinks he is a big man just because some Marines decided he should be a Shichibukai! Its clear that the Marines that made that decision were idiots, because, hey, I'm not a Shichibukai!" shouted the man as he sheathed his sword. He waved a large percentage of pirates forward. If Trevor was refunding this one man's cash, they might as well all get a refund.

They were all led to a room in the farthest corner of the arena, far away from prying eyes. "Sorry, but Trevor-sama doesn't want to show himself in front of all of these people. He's afraid that they would get star struck and interrupt this business transaction that's about to happen." The man opened up the door and led the group in with a wave of his hand. The pirates strode in there with pride.

The man was the last one to walk in. Once they were all in the room, he turned around and locked the door sealing all of them into the room. "What do you think you are doing!" shouted the pirate that was previously making a big ruckus as he strode forward towards the door. "Locking us in here! I don't think you understand who I am! I am the 'Single Stroke' Maeda! I obtained my bounty by killing so many pirates! And each pirate only cost me one stroke, hence the 'Single Stroke'!"

"Trevor-sama doesn't associate himself with trash," said the man as he looked beyond him and at all of the other pirates in the room. He did a quick tally of the pirates in the room, their total bounties, and the like. "We are currently understaffed here. Some of the staff tried to escape a little while ago...or at least we think that's what they were doing, but either way we decided to kill them. That just means it is your lucky day I'll hire the strongest one amongst you as a new staff member, the rest will die! Deal?"

"Screw that! We'll just kill you then that bastard Trevor will follow!" shouted Maeda as he brought his sword up and back down aiming for the man's head. The rest of the pirates joined in several of them bringing out their swords and thrusting the blades into the man. He stood there letting all of the blades sink into his body. Maeda grinned as he saw the human pincushion that stood before him, his mouth soon dropped to the frown as the guy lifted his hand up and placed it on his shoulder.

"Thank you for not wasting mine and Trevor-sama's time with you lackluster pirates," he said. His entire body began to dissolve into some sort of heavy black liquid. The liquid began to ooze all around the blades that were jammed into his body and up the swords and onto the guys who held them. By the time the guys had recovered from the shock of the spectacle, there arms were already engrossed in the black liquid. The pirates couldn't break free. The liquid was incredibly sticky and heavy. The liquid stuck to their bodies and hands as they tried to rip it off.

"What is this?" shouted Maeda as he tried to break free of the liquid's grip, "is this tar!" He couldn't even utter another sound as the thick black liquid sucked him up causing him to disappear completely. The same fate awaited the rest of the pirates as they were slowly sucked up one-by-one. Just five minutes after they had all entered the room, the room was completely empty. The man smiled as he left the room.

Outside the room sat another guy. He was another one of the staff of the URA. On his waist was an incredibly long and thin blade. It was at least eight feet in length, making it about three feet taller then the man who wielded it. He sat there and looked over at his partner. He pulled the sunglasses that covered his eyes out of the way. His eyes were odd, one of them was green while the other one was blue. He looked up at his partner with a frown, "offering them a job? I know we are understaffed, but I don't want to work with shit." He was known 'Two-Eyes' Makada.

The two of them were the two most prized guards for the URA. Makada caught Trevor's eyes during his first fight, but he fought over twenty battles before he accepted a position as a guard here. Makada was relatively knew to the staff, but ever since he had the URA had a noticeable decline with trouble. People walked straighter when he was around.

Duncan opened up his arms, reverting his arms and chest to tar. Finally chunks of bones, including whole skulls plopped out of his skin and onto the floor. "I've been holding these in for months now...you think Trevor-sama would like any of these?" Makada grimaced at the sight. He didn't care for Trevor, he was just here for the job. Duncan, on the other hand, treated the URA like a shrine and Trevor like a god. He had been here for a much longer time than any of the other staff members nowadays. All of the staff-members that were around in the pre-Trevor days were either killed or left when Trevor and Duncan came in.

The Underground Rally Arena was running for a very long time, some said that it existed even before the last great Pirate era. Trevor wasn't in charge of it since its opening. He just swooped in and made sure the Marines wouldn't close it down. Duncan arrived at the same time and the same crew as Trevor. He was a right-hand man to both Karasu and Trevor. When Karasu abandoned the crew, Trevor and Duncan tried to hold it together, but failed. When Trevor was promoted to Shichibukai, Duncan came with him to watch over the URA. Duncan was in all ways, shapes, and forms Trevor's second-in-command. However, the truth still stood that Trevor wasn't the original owner of the URA. As a matter of fact, the last owner was still alive. Of course, Makada never saw him. He only talked to Trevor and Duncan, the two who had been there when he resigned from his position of power.

(-With Rosa and Zesiro-)

Rosa and Zesiro were sitting across from each other. Their fight was in two days, but they were already fighting in the room. They were adamantly sitting and staring at each other. They were competing already. "So, are we really going to fight tomorrow?" asked Rosa as she tapped her foot on the ground. She was staring at Zesiro, she already knew the answer, but she couldn't believe it. She just made friends with these guys and she was already about to try to slit his throat.

"Yup," said Zesiro as he looked at her as well already sizing her up. His heart was still racing from his previous fight. His hands were already fingering his blade impatient for the next fight. The next fight would be even better then this one. He had asked Ichi and Nito to go find him a suitable replacement for his broken sword. Hopefully, they would find him one and he would be able to use it properly. Frederick was strong, but he still firmly believed that Rosa would be several levels above him. It would be a tough fight with just one sword, with two of them he would increase his chances at winning.

"We're back!" shouted Ichi and Nito as they rushed into the room interrupting the tension. They were both holding one blade in each of their hands. They stopped as they saw that Rosa was still in the room. They both immediately hid the swords behind their back, "oh, hi! Rosa, we...uh didn't see you. Zesiro, we got that thing you wanted, so if we could just see you out in the hall...or something."

"Don't worry," said Rosa thankful for the two idiots destroying the tension, it gave her an excuse for leaving now. "I'm going to go check on Sage and Enma. See how they are doing. I hope Enma managed to fix her and make her less...whatever she is right now." Sage got up and left. The two Fishmen brothers made sure their backs were always away from her. They didn't want Rosa to see the swords.

Ichi and Nito rushed up to Zesiro and desperately tried to show him their swords. Zesiro looked each of them over. He lifted one of the ones he noticed up and into the air. With a quick swing of it he tested the blade and its weight. He paused for a second and then set it down, moving onto the next one. After repeating the process for each sword he finally settled on one of the one's Ichi got him. Ichi beamed with confidence and a bit of cockiness towards Nito.

The sword was a poor replacement for his actual blade, but as he didn't know anyone who had the skills to repair it he would have to make due with what he got. No matter how unimpressive the swords were. Just like Trevor to provide sub-quality swords to his contestants, it ensured that the swordsmen who brought their own blades to the fight would win. Zesiro was lucky he brought his own sword...using just one sword as a replacement wasn't much of a handicap. Zesiro stretched out trying to relax, but instead he accidentally dropped the extra sword to the ground.

Ichi dove down anxious to prove his reliability to Zesiro. When he did so one of the cuts he obtained from Melanie's fight ripped open revealing his back. On Ichi's back was a big black circle. On the top of the circle was three triangles pointing upwards, a fourth triangle was on the bottom pointing downwards. Ichi immediately turned around and jumped backwards, keeping his back away from Zesiro, "what Hoof of the Soaring Dragon? I didn't see nothing! I think you need to have your eyes checked Zesiro, right Nito?"

"Definitely!" shouted Nito as he came rushing back into the room carrying a small suit of armor. Nito immediately slammed the armor onto Ichi's back covering up his back. "Yeah! There's nothing suspicious on my brother's back! We just really think he looks cool in armor! We all look awesome in armor!"

Zesiro bit his tongue as he looked at the two of them. "I want you two to know that I know you two are hiding something, but I just need to relax and rewind." Even just from that short glance that Zesiro got, he still knew what the mark was. The mark was a dreaded fate amongst all Fishmen. It was the embodiment of both the cruelty and racism towards them. It was the mark of the slave. Zesiro was lucky and had never seen any of the slave traders try to make off with a Fishman. The island he lived on was too far out of their way to come down, kidnap a Fishman and then sail back to a human auction house.

He recalled in some of the history books he read, that there was a group of pirates that existed solely for liberating slaves, the Sun Pirates. However, as famous as a group of pirates as they were when Jimbei died nobody felt like picking up the torch. Nobody saved slaves any more. Some of the old Sun Pirates still tried to save some of the slaves, but without the brute force of Jimbei or Fisher Tiger...there was nothing they could do. Slave trade was at an all time high in this current world. The word slave trade didn't seem to come up during Marine investigations. Zesiro shrugged it off and dropped the subject. He shouldn't pry.

"I heard that this was where one of those Infinity Pirates was," said a gruff voice as the door swung open. Once more Ichi and Nito dove down and covered up the swords hiding them from view. The man who walked in was the man from Rosa's fight, Simon. He was dragging his pickaxe behind him. He had several sword wounds from his fight with Rosa, but none of them were life-threatening. "Now don't be takin' what I am about to do as an insult towards Dwarfs, okay. We are normally a strong and proud race!"

"He's going to assassinate Zesiro for revenge!" shouted Nito. He and Ichi both jumped up and held their arms out ready to protect Zesiro with their lives. They awaited for the attack that never came. Simon dropped down to his knees and bowed his head to them. "I don't think is an attempt for Zesiro's life," muttered Nito as he dropped his arms.

"Please, you got to help me!" shouted Simon through tears. "My son...they have my son here!"

**The Unwanted Request and the Unwanted Visitor!**

Duncan Sawyer is another OC created by Labyrinth-Designer. Makada is my own. The fights are taking their place on the back-burner for a few chapters where I can introduce an actual storyline and some very important, overlooked details for this arc. Seriously, important stuff is coming up.

This chapter however, mentioned Ichi's, Nito's, and even Sanada's tragic past of being slaves, but I'll get more into that later. Plus it also shows Simon's true reason for joining the URA is to rescue his son!


	110. Arena 110 Unwanted Guest

**The Unwanted Request and the Unwanted Visitor!**

"Crap," said Ridley as he crept through the halls of the URA. Melanie was in front of him by a good five feet. She found it demeaning to be either with him, so she refused to walk alongside him, but she found it even more demeaning to walk behind him. So her only option was to walk around in front of him. Ridley was anxiously checking out each doorway that the URA held. He had the premise of searching for his crew mates, the rest of the Infinity Pirates. The truth wasn't far off actually, he was out looking for Mikoto. This was a jailbreak. According to Hiro-Shu their Log Pose was still latched out to another random island. An escape was their best bet.

It would be fairly easily. The fights provided the perfect distraction and the noise provided the perfect cover. Worst case scenario, Ridley would just tick a couple random pirates off and create a riot, giving them the perfect path to freedom. His confidence was only boosted being with Melanie, a Shichibukai. While Ridley could boast about fighting on an even level with her, it wasn't that he was strong...it was that it was a horrible match-up for Melanie. Melanie's Shichibukai status was due to her ability to control the minds of people with her singing...Ridley, for whatever reason, wasn't affected. He lucked out when he was fighting with her. If he was stuck fighting Trevor, he would be dead...

Ridley busted into another room without thinking. He peered into it and immediately jumped back. It was the room for the next fighter. A single fight and the man was apparently pretty pumped up. He could tell just from the aura that surrounded him. Ridley tried to back up out of the room, but the man's hand snaked out and grabbed a hold of his collar.

"You are the 'Noise Maker' Ridley, aren't you?" he asked. Ridley paused for a second, thinking about how to respond. "Another one of those Infinity Pirates that has been getting the crowd ready for my entrance." The man was 'Dark Knight' Shane, the same one that was up in the stadium during Rosa's fight. Ridley couldn't help, but feel a little bit guilty that he missed his two nakama's fights and as a result had no idea what the heck he was talking about.

Ridley shook his head clear of thoughts and pushed Shane's hands off of him, "that's right. I am one of those Infinity Pirates, so you really shouldn't mess with me after all I'm not just one of the Infinity Pirates, I'm the first mate!" Ridley smiled with pride as he looked at his opponent's dumbfounded look as he tried to put it together.

Suzanne, the girl, he was with in the stand rushed to Shane's aid. "So, does that mean you think you are stronger then him?" she asked as Shane pulled the weapon forward. It took Ridley a second to put together what the weapon was. It was halberd to a certain degree. The only thing that made it different from a regular halberd was the fact the on the bottom as well as the top there were large axes protruding from the pole.

"Ah..." said Ridley as he let out his breath, "It, uh, doesn't matter. You are a pirate captain and as such you should fight my captain, right? Anything else would be beneath you! A real fight should be between pirate captains not first mates, right?" Shane twisted his mouth into a content smile as he turned around and walked back into the room.

"You are lucky Shane has a fight next or else he would take you out, right here and right now!" she shouted, "he is already in a bad mood from another man in the stands ticking him off!" Suzanne slammed the door in Ridley's face. "I wonder where the rest of the crew is? Don't they know they should all be here ready to cheer you on, Shane?"

Ridley flinched as he tried to think of some possible comeback, but couldn't. He shrugged as he turned back around and began to leave. From how Shane made it sound the rest of the crew had finished their fights. Ridley should go back and check up on them, it was only fair. They would do the same thing for him. He whistled at Melanie. Melanie turned her head around and noticed Ridley was already nodding for them to go back.

Melanie twisted her head back down the hall. She didn't like the idea of leaving already. They barely checked a tenth of the rooms located in this place and they haven't found anything. Trevor was without a doubt further in. Turning back now would only hinder their progress. She went to take another step forward, but stopped. Makada and Duncan came around the corner at that exact second. Melanie bit her lip as she watched the two of them stroll through the halls talking. They were pretty well-known guards of the URA and Melanie didn't want to fight them this early on in the break-in. She swallowed her pride and turned back around.

Ridley and Melanie arrived at the crew's ship fairly easily. Most people just parted ways for the likes of a Shichibukai. "Hey, what's up!" shouted Ridley as he came onto the ship. Zesiro and the rest of the crew glared over at him and shrugged as they returned their attention to something else. Ridley looked over at what was attracting more attention then him. It was some weird old guy...kind of short. The man glanced over his shoulder at Ridley and Melanie, but returned his vision back to Zesiro and Rosa. Ridley walked around him and stood in between Zesiro and Rosa. The old man looked kind of familiar to him.

"This is Simon," informed Enma as he walked over to Ridley. "He fought with Rosa during her fight, but lost and now he came to ask Zesiro something. Zesiro wants the rest of us to hear his proposal. You know make a group decision."

"AH!" shouted Ridley, "I know where I know you from! You are Simon Dew, right? You were the owner of the company 'Diggy Diggy Hole Company'!" Ridley smiled with pride as he pieced the guy's face together. All those years with his dad paid off. He was supposed to take over the Black Market when he grew up, so Ridley had moderate business skills. He also spent a long time studying other businesses where he could make good trades. That's how he recognized Simon Dew.

"Diggy Diggy Hole Company?" asked Rosa, she knew of the company, but as she never cared for business she never looked around to see who owned it. "I heard that the business was worth over 2.2 billion belies nowadays. Wouldn't someone recognize the owner of such a big business?"

"On another island maybe," said Ridley as he explained the situation. He turned around and looked the URA's entrance. "The URA attracts people like Zesiro or Maria, fighters, not business people. So, that helps hide his identity, not to mention he retired recently and basically dropped off the grid for how long? Four of five years?"

"Five years," muttered Simon as he looked down to the ground, "that's how long ma son's been missin'. After becoming a very lucrative millionaire, I decided to retire. Quit my job and just relax, I had purty woman to do it with to. So, I quit and just handed Diggy Diggy Hole Company over to the World Government, they appreciated the chance to make more money. Anyways, after retirement me and ma wife had a son. She...she died during the childbirth, so he was all I had. He was ma pride n' joy! That's why I am doing everything I can to save him! He was out playing in the field one day and then some downright disrespectful pirates came and kidnapped him! I set out ta kill them and rescue ma son!"

"And your chase led you here?" asked Zesiro as he looked over at Simon. "I guess some pirates would've done something like that, steal some kid and then come here to train. But you should just wait at home and wait for a ransom note."

"If anything were to happen the villagers got a Den-Den mushi to contact me with, but the ransom note will never come! I already destroyed the blasted pirates that kidnapped him. I destroyed the ship, the captain, the crew, the whole nine yards. I destroyed everyone all in the hopes of saving ma son, but he wasn't there no more!" Simon fell downwards and onto his knees. "I heard from the captain that they came here and do to the fact that they didn't have enough money to pay the entry fee...they used my son!"

The crew rustled as they heard this. It was the same way they were able to compete in this tournament. Since they didn't have any money, they just put their lives on the line. It was hard to imagine that they just waved it on by for someone to use somebody else's life in order to pay their way into the fight. Definitely not something any of them would've thought of.

Melanie scoffed at the idea, "I'm sorry Simon, but I don't think you quite understand what we are. We are pirates. And pirates don't go around helping people just for the sake of it. Try asking some Marines they may be more sentimental to your plea." The crew glared over at her, they weren't too happy on having her talk on their behalf. Most of them still saw her as enemy, who just happened to be on their side for the time being. However, they couldn't exactly say that she was wrong...they were pirates and they had their own problems.

"I'm not asking you to do it for free," pleaded Simon as he reached into his pockets and pulled out several gems. He let them all clatter to the ground. "I'll pay you...400 million...no, 500 million belies if you just save my son!"

The price immediately attracted the crew's attention. They were broke, if not worse. They had just signed up three of their crew members and one honorary crew member to possibly become slaves for the rest of their lives just because they were broke. Besides even if they weren't broke 500 million belies was absolutely nothing to sneeze at. The bounties of most pirates never exceeded even 300 million. This was just too good to throw away!

"Deal!" declared Ridley as he extended his hand to Simon. They were already busting Mikoto out of this place anyways why not increase their revenue while they were at it and save somebody else? It sounded like more then a fair deal. It sounded like fairly easy money.

"Really?" asked Simon as he bowed his head again. "I thank you immensely! I am so happy that I'll be able to see my son again! When I heard your captain declare his dream, I thought 'This crew might be able to do it', when I saw Zesiro attack Trevor I said to myself, 'this crew could probably do it', but then I fought with Rosa and I realized, 'this crew could definitely do it'. I know that for a fact! Trevor, the guards, they are all no match for you!"

Ridley sighed as he leaned up against the railing. While it made him happy that a guy who just met them already thought so highly of them, he also knew that the guy was wrong. While Ridley never met the guards, he already knew that Trevor was too much for them to handle. He took out both Melanie and Mikoto in the same day. The rest of the crew had to be aware of this fact and be feeling the pressure. Ridley looked over at the crew. They were apparently not feeling the pressure...instead they all looked incredibly giddy over being praised that they were on the same level as a Shichibukai.

Enma chuckled as he stood up and left the group. As much as he appreciated the compliments, he had other things to do at the time. The rest of the crew was busy training and getting ready for their upcoming fights and the like, but Enma had something else to work on. A secret weapon in this war against Trevor. While everybody else was working on strengthening their power, he was working on something a little a different. He was taking advantage of his own medical expertise and finishing something up.

Enma paused as his hand touched his doorknob. He heard something in his room. The rest of the crew was definitely on the deck, talking about how to save Simon's son...and Enma knew he heard a voice just past this door. They were a big name pirate crew, who just made a huge ruckus at their fights. It could very well be anyone past this door, bounty hunter, another fighter wanting to send a message to them, or even Trevor coming over to talk. Whatever it was, Enma had to be ready. His hand turned the doorknob and forced the door open.

**The Intruder!**

For those of you who are wondering why I updated today, I mean the last update was like two days ago! Simply put I got a lot of this story saved. As a matter of fact I just finished up Chapter 115…that's five chapters in the future and I got no reason not to update those…so for the time being I plan (and hope) to update this story every other day until you guys are caught up with me (or almost caught up at least chapter 113). So, get ready to READ!

Well, it looks like the Infinity Pirates just got another reason for being here. You know, in case saving their captain wasn't enough…now they are also getting paid!


	111. Arena 111 An Intruder

**An Intruder!**

Enma paused as he opened the door. He was right somebody else was in the doctor's office. Someone he didn't recognize. It was a young woman. She looked similar to Rosa, except taller. She was wearing some tiger print clothing. Enma was very unsure of what she was doing or what she was doing here. Nobody told him that they were going to have any visitors especially no one who would enter his infirmary. Enma opened his hand. Out slid his ever faithful bone spear. Enma charged knocking the girl down onto the ground. Enma moved over and jumped on top of her, he brought his spear down holding it sideways against her neck.

"Who are you?" asked Enma as he began to apply pressure little by little to her neck. The girl looked frightened for a brief second. She managed to get her hands around the spear, but not much else then that. "Who are you?" reiterated Enma as he applied a little bit more pressure onto her neck.

"I'm Lily," she gasped, "Rosa's tiger." Enma paused for a second as he looked down at her. He thought for a few seconds then shook his head clear of those thoughts. Rosa didn't mention anything about her tiger being human and he never heard her talk. He heard growl and roar, but never talk. He wasn't falling for this. "Don't believe me, fine!" Rosa's body began to grow larger and larger. Enma's spear was thrown off of her as he throat expanded as well. Lily was back on the ground staring over at Enma. She definitely looked like she could be. She was a large lion and she was leering over at Enma.

"I still don't believe," said Enma as he brought the spear around and aimed it at her throat. He stopped search, "I say we should just go back up and ask Rosa about this. She'll tell me the truth." Enma began to back up to the door, but couldn't. Lily leapt forward and grabbed a hold of his spear and held him still. Enma tried to shake the spear free, when he finally did he brought is around and slammed it into Lily's head knocking her down. Enma moved forward and spun the spear around. Once more he positioned the spear pointed at her neck. "What's the matter don't want your little lie to come undone?"

"No, that's not it, I swear," pouted Lily. "You see, I am Rosa's little sister. She left the island and insisted on traveling by herself, but...but Rosa wasn't that strong when she left. I thought she would be in trouble so I followed her. I didn't want her to know because Rosa is kind of headstrong...I thought that if she found out that I was following she would feel insulted and never talk to me again...so I did it in secret using the Neko-Neko no mi: Tiger model. After awhile, Rosa noticed a tiger following her, so she let me tag along with her as a partner. I never came clean with her because of that."

"So, what's your real name?" asked Enma as he lightened up on the spear. What she said made sense, but that didn't mean it was the truth. She could still be lying to him. He wouldn't put it past anyone he met on this journey so far. He didn't meet that many trustworthy people.

"Its...uh, Lily," muttered Lily. She looked away. "Rosa liked me so much...that she named me after myself." She paused as she considered how that sentence made very little sense. "She named the tiger she found, which is me, after her little sister, which is also me."

"Yeah," said Enma as he got up and was about to leave. "Why are you here again?" asked Enma as he put his foot out the door.

Lily lifted up her foot and revealed a pretty huge cut in it. "While I was carrying Sage to Zesiro and you for Rosa's fight, I slipped and accidentally cut myself on some of the swords lying about." Enma came back into the room. He pulled off of the shelves some disinfectants and bandages and laid them out in front of Lily. "Just read the instructions and treat yourself while I check with Rosa about your story."

Enma headed up stairs and onto the deck. The crew had decide to accept Simon's offer. Enma looked around. He noticed that Maria and Hiro-Shu both left. They had fights tomorrow, they probably wasted enough time talking to the crew and listening to Simon. They needed to get focused and train for the upcoming fights. They didn't even know a thing about their opponents, so they had to be prepared for anything. Especially Maria. This was a homecoming for her, she wasn't about to lose her first professional fight in a long while. She was aiming to win.

Enma walked over to Rosa. He didn't quite know how to ask it as if he just came straight out and asked, 'Rosa do you have a sister named Lily?' he could potentially screw over Lily and he didn't want to do that, but what else could he ask? He decided to just ask about her past. "Rosa, you've been traveling with us for awhile, but why did you start traveling in the first place? Got any family back home?"

Rosa looked over at Enma. She was lost. Enma was one of the crew mates, who she didn't really think got along with her. She didn't understand why he would ask her about it. "Um...yeah, yeah, I do." It was the first time in quite some time since Rosa thought about them. "I got two sisters. One older and one younger...and also a little brother."

"What are their names?" asked Enma.

"Um...Lily and Sakura are my sisters. Ren is my little brother...actually Sakura set out on the sea before I did...she's out there somewhere," said Rosa. "Lily and Ren are still on the island at home. I remember leaving them like it was yesterday..."

(-under a year ago-)

Rosa paused as she stared out over the seas. Today was the day, she could feel it. Today was the day she was leaving this island. The sea was nice and calm today. A year ago from this day her older sister left. Now she was going to leave. She going to set sail and accomplish her dreams. Her family supported her decision. She knew she was going to be leaving them all alone. Their parents had died earlier...but she had to set sail.

The island wasn't big and exciting enough to contain her dreams. She needed to set sail and find everything. The island was small and didn't have very much exciting at all. When she set sail she would find a crew, another family almost and get along great with them. With them at her side she'd write one of the best adventure books the world has ever seen. Who knows what else would happen on the way.

Rosa turned around and headed down the steps to the bottom of the pier. It was still early in the morning. She was planning on sneaking off in the middle of the night. She hated the idea of having to say good-bye to everyone. They had grown up together and all that, but now they had to leave and depart. Rosa wasn't planning on seeing them again for a very long time. It was a sad thing to admit...but she had to. The last time they saw each other would be the last time they saw each other.

Rosa took a step forward and onto her ship. The water moved forward beneath the ship. She stumbled a bit. She still didn't have her sailor legs. She had to take a moment to breathe in the last breath of her home town. Finally the ship lurched forward as she cut the rope holding it to the dock. With that she was officially a sailor!

She sighed as she set sail. The wind at her back. The ship continued to sail across the sea. She was relaxing so easily. She was enjoying this brief respite before all the action would hit her. The she was rocking her, it was so peaceful. She was kind of sleepy due to how early it was. She laid her head down on the ship, slowly slipping away.

Just as she was about to fall asleep. The sound of a siren cut into the air. It was incredibly loud. Rosa jumped up. She couldn't believe the timing. It was just as she was leaving the island. She couldn't just leave the island now. If the island was in trouble she had to defend it. It was her job as a sailor to defend the island that raised her. She turned the ship around, ignoring the cutting siren. She jumped off and landed on the island. She raced off to the siren.

Whatever was happening she was going to stop it. She needed to stop the carnage, this was her home and she wasn't about to let anything happened. The town council would point her in the correct direction. She burst into the door, her faithful sword on her side. She looked them in their eyes. "What's going on?"

The town council stood up and were strangely calm during this situation. It even looked like they were smiling as they pointed her down the island and towards her own house, "its your family. They were preparing a big banquet for you to see you off today, but something terrible happened. I...I'm so sorry." Rosa's eyes went wide as she turned around and left. She lost her parents to some bandits, she wasn't about to lose her little siblings. She raced home.

As soon as Rosa got home, she didn't bother knocking. She struck out with her foot, knocking the door open and rushed in. The scene inside was nothing she could ever have expected. Her little brother and sister were both together and had huge smiles on their faces. In their hands was a cake, on the wall were numerous banners. "I thought you were going to leave without saying good-bye!" shouted Lily as she wrapped her arms around Rosa, "Ren said that you were going to leave early in the morning, so we cooked up this plan!" Rosa was stunned and speechless. She just stood there looking over at her brother and sister, lost in thought.

She had rushed all the way back here, thinking the absolute worst had happened and she came here just to find her brother and sister were plotting a party that she was trying to skip. Rosa smiled as she walked over to them and hugged her brother and sister.

(-Back to real time-)

Enma shrugged off the story. He was glad to know that she at least seemed well-adjusted and the girl he left downstairs in his infirmary was in fact a friend. He sighed and relaxed. He was thinking about his past as well. He also had a little sister...chances are though she had already set sail. The sea just drew people into it guessed Enma. "Well, thanks for..." Enma was beginning to say, but he was interrupted by Maria bursting onto the ship, panting and trying to talk.

"The arena..." she huffed out in between breaths, "we all need...to go to the...arena..." Ridley and Zesiro wasted no time, both of them already jumping over the railing of the ship and onto the docks. They rushed down towards the door to the arena.

"Why?" asked Enma. He didn't see how any of the current fights could possibly affect him. His only concern was with his crew, whose fights weren't till at least tomorrow.

"Mikoto!" gasped Maria as she finally caught her own breath. "Mikoto is fighting in the arena right now!"

Those words caught Enma's and Rosa's attention like no other words could. They were both up and out of their seats rushing down the flight of stairs. They charged down the steps and towards the URA. "Why is Mikoto doing this? Why is Trevor allowing him to do this?"

"According to the program of the URA," explained Maria as she raced down to catch up with Enma and Rosa, "this is a special fight. The staff at the URA put it on just to show off their strength and their dominance over the spectators. A staff member of the URA steps into the ring and fights anybody who is brave enough to step into the ring to fight them. There is a huge cash prize if you manage to win so there is always a bunch of takers. I guess they are using Mikoto to drum up more interest."

"Yeah, and I got a sinking feeling that Mikoto didn't have any say in the matter," muttered Enma as the group finally got at the doors to the URA and pushed them open. They charged into the room.

Just like the previous fights the stage was a large circle hanging over a dangerous pit. In the arena was currently just Mikoto and the Longarm announcer. Mikoto was relaxing in the corner of the ring. He was standing up and even jumping back and forth getting in the mood for the fight. The Longarm was explaining the current rules of the fight. The crew was stuck outside of the ring just waiting and watching the fight and hoping that Mikoto could come out of it in one piece.

**Mikoto Fights Again!**

Trying to keep up with my promised every other day update. Next one will be in three days though, just because it fits into my schedule a little bit better. Also! I want to thank all of my reviewers! Thanks to you guys Saga of the Infinity Pirates has the eleventh most Reviews of all One Piece stories! Not good enough for you? How about the fifth most Reviews of all One Piece stories that have updates during this year and the third most amongst the OC crew stories! I would like it to be higher, but THANK YOU ALL NONETHELESS!

None too happy with Rosa's back story, but I didn't have too much to work on. I just had to mention that Lily was actually human before this story got too much further. Its kind of a huge turning point later on! Get ready cause the next few chapters is when the fun happens!


	112. Arena 112 Mikoto Fights Again!

**Mikoto Fights Again!**

"Shit," mumbled the 'Dark Knight' Shane from the stands. "If it wasn't due to the fact that my earlier opponent was a little bit stronger then expected I would've jumped into the ring and challenged that kid to a fight. See which one of us is stronger!" Shane growled. He relaxed into his seat and accepted his position as a stupid audience member.

"Oh, Shane is stronger no doubt!" chimed in Suzanne as she sat down next to him. "No one is as strong as Shane."

Armani Dove was still in his seat. He hadn't moved from it very often glued to the fights. He had considered this to be an enjoyable experience. He had only counted on seeing a bunch of small fries fight and was almost dreaded coming here, but in this one day he had seen both the 90 million bounty Shane and now the 38 million bounty Mikoto fight. It was a good day after all. His prediction of the world being turned on its axis from this day was definitely going to be true, the question was was Mikoto going to be the one to do it? He would just have to watch and find out.

(-In the front center stands-)

"Captain!" crooned one of the men in the stands. He was dressed in a black trench coat and was hiding most of his body underneath his clothing. He had a hat and a mask on to cover his face. He combined that with gloves and boots to cover any and all extremities. The man was trying to hide anything that connected him to the Marines. While the Marines were strictly forbidden from arresting pirates here, it didn't mean that the pirates were forbidden from holding a grudge against the Marines. "Isn't that..." he was interrupted by the sharp barking of his captain.

"YES!" shouted a young woman who was in the stands beside him. Despite being in a heavily pirate visited area, she was dressed in a Marine uniform. She was a very formal Marine. She had no contraband or even weapon on her, despite being in this lawless area. She had on silver earrings and a silver ribbon tied in her hair. She stared down past the idiots in the audience and at the arena. "That's the kid who is being offered the position of Shichibukai. That's the 'Kid Coyote'...Maybe you'll learn how to get some moxie from him. After all, you are disgrace! Hiding your proud Marine uniform from pirates like these."

There were absolutely no pirates around them. They were all back a couple of seats giving the two Marines at least one seat distance from any pirates. The ones closest to them who actually tried to sit next to the Marines had marks on their faces to prove the Marines' strengths. Heavy swelling on their faces as well as bruises and cuts galore on their bodies, showed the Marine's inhuman strength. None of them even tried to move in closer to her.

"I am increasing inquisitive to see which ruffian amongst this audience will be gallant enough to step into the arena with him," muttered the woman as she looked onwards and into the field. The Longarm was still finishing the introduction and explanation of the next round, but he was almost finished and when he was there was no doubt in her mind that the crowd would burst with eager anticipation to enter the ring against him. However, most of those hands would be due to stupidity or ignorance of the kid's power rather then strength and courage.

Finally the Longarm finished the introduction and as if on cue, the crowd erupted with shouts, 'I'll take him on!' and 'let's see if the future pirate king can take on me' or even 'that punk doesn't look like he's worth 38 million belies!' They all sounded like idiots. The Longarm paused and turned around to Mikoto. Even if Mikoto was being forced to do this it was still his choice who he fought.

Mikoto paused for a second as he looked at them. "Um...I don't really know who to face. They all look pretty weak..." the crowd groaned and severally of them began shouting even louder. Several empty pop cans and bags of popcorn was thrown into the ring. "I know how to decide this!" shouted Mikoto with a genius idea. "Whoever can answer this riddle can fight me!"

Trevor cackled loudly at the proposal of the kid. It was a naïve idea, but he wasn't too upset with it. It was almost like a random lottery without it being quite so random. When Trevor entered he always picked the person he could sense the biggest blood-lust coming from, others always had an auction, whoever paid the most could enter the arena with them. Of course, Mikoto had no interest in fighting a man with insane blood-lust or making money for the Underground Rally Arena, so he understood the ridiculous idea.

"Those who buy my don't use me, those who use me don't know that they do. What am I?" asked Mikoto. The entire audience moaned at the idea. They cam here for a fight not to solve some stupid riddle.

"Is it a coffin?" asked a man as he stepped forward and down the flights of stairs towards Mikoto. The man was taller then most at 6'5". He had dark skin and dark brown eyes. He wore an open jacket that revealed his well-muscled body as well as a gunshot wound just below his heart. He was wearing shorts despite the freezing weather outside. On top of that he had long bushy hair, right now it was tied up, but it still stretched down far past his neck.

"It looks like the man who had answered Mikoto's riddle is Koizuma 'Ko' Fullbrand!" shouted the Longarm introducing the man. "He's famous around these parts as a shipwright and as man who can talk his way out of anything, but he's also a lesser known fighter with some pretty decent wins under his belt here!"

"I don't particularly like doing stuff like this, but I figured it beats working," muttered Ko as he cracked his neck preparing for the fight. "Besides I need the money and according the longarm over there, if I beat you the URA will pay me a sum of money equal to your bounty...38 million belies will keep my unemployed for a pretty nice amount o' time."

"Okay!" shouted the Longarm, "By some miracle Ko managed to answer Mikoto's riddle, he will fight Mikoto! The intense fight will begin as soon as..." The Longarm was shut up as Ko charged forward blasting past him and knocking him down as he charged Mikoto already firing the first punch. The Longarm stood up and shouted, "I was going to say as soon as I exit the arena!"

"Oh, yeah," shouted Ko back as he walked back over to the Longarm. "Well, you shouldn't have said 'the intense fight will begin'...as far as I can see it is your fault for not being clear." The Longarm turned around and ignored him. It was an honest mistake, but still that was no excuse. "As an apology let me help you get out of the ring faster!" shouted Ko as he lifted the Longarm up and tossed him out and into the stadium. Ko smiled as he turned back around and towards Mikoto. Earlier today the entire audience was already in a bustling uproar as they talked about the insane antics of the Infinity Pirates, but he may have just showed even them up with his own antic.

"I'm gonna warn you, I'm going to start off serious," shouted Ko as he took his jacket off. "Let's begin with just an observation phase. **Jacket: Shield." **Ko's jacket hardened and even enlarged a little to become a solid and round shield. "You see, my jacket has had the powers of the Atom-Atom fruit. In other words it size and shape can be changed through the manipulation of its atomic structure. Combine that with my Colors of Armaments Haki and I can even change the density and hardness of my jacket. So, for all intents and purposes this jacket is a real-life shield."

Mikoto ignored him his entire focus was on the fact that Ko mentioned Colors of Armaments Haki. Those words were enough to intrigue him beyond any normal measures. Trevor was the same. Trevor also had Colors of Armaments Haki, so to Mikoto this guy would just be practice. Mikoto morphed into his coyote form and charged off at Ko already moving fact. Ko laughed as he brought his shield around and into position to block. "**Wolf Missile!" **shouted Mikoto as he morphed back into his hybrid form and fired a single punch at the shield. Mikoto's coyote form was faster then any of Mikoto's other two forms, so by changing into his hybrid form right before the impact he was capable of putting the speed of his beast form and the power of his hybrid form together into one move. And Ko felt the full force of the combination behind his shield.

Ko grunted as he forced backwards on the ground. The force of the kid wasn't like anything he had ever witnessed. It was actually enough to push through his shield, which was as tough as iron. Ko sighed as he brought his shield off to the side. He didn't have the time to just sit back and take in his opponent's strength and find a weakness or create a strategy, the kid was aiming to finish this as fast as possible. Ko would just have to step his powers up to Mikoto's level, "**Jacket: Spear!"** Ko twisted the jacket around his arm and hardened it once more. This time it was like a gauntlet tightly gripping his arm, but at the end of the gauntlet was an incredibly sharp point capable of piercing skin. Ko charged forward, ready to match his strength to Mikoto's.

Mikoto leaned forward. He was eager to finish this fight up. Mikoto could tell from the one punch along, that Ko's brand of Colors of Armament's Haki was way different from Trevor. It wasn't like it was weaker then Trevor's, just different, maybe it was due to the material of jacket that Ko used as opposed to the fact that Trevor used his own skin, but there was a definite difference. Mikoto wouldn't be able to use this as practice, so he'd just finish it off as quick as possible. Mikoto charged forward.

Ko brought his arm back. He would fire one incredibly powerful punch at Mikoto just as he was entering his space. The speed Mikoto had would be thrown back at him, one finishing blow. Not to mention the spike at the end of Ko's weapon would create a giant sized hole in Mikoto's forehead. He waited until Mikoto was in punching range, which was probably only a few milliseconds and fired. He smiled as he saw his punch pierce Mikoto's head. Then Ko was sent flying off of the arena and down into the pit.

"What the heck?" shouted the crowd as they watched the battle from their seats, "how the hell did Mikoto move like that? I thought Ko pierced his head with his spear thing, but Mikoto suddenly appeared at his open side! Mikoto's arm also disappeared! I didn't know he possessed that power as well as speed!"

Trevor smiled. That was the same technique that pushed him. The afterimage to get close and then the rapid-fire to deal the damage from this distance Trevor couldn't tell how many punches Mikoto fired. His fist was moving too fast, but if Trevor had to guess he would say only 15 from the distance. He smiled. The kid was definitely a great prey. That was it for this fight. Mikoto would probably retire for the rest of they day. He had no obligation to keep fighting for the URA. Trevor only wanted him to fight once anyways, just enough to keep his fighting blade at its sharpest. Duncan or Makada would take over from here.

"What is this?" shouted the Longarm snapping everybody's attention to the ring away from Mikoto. "It looks the fight isn't over yet folks!

**The Meeting with the Demon!**

Ko is another submitted OC. He was submitted by KotahBlitz!

Before I continue I would like to redirect everybody's attention back to Chapter 1, okay? First thing, I changed the OC submission form and updated it with new crap (romantic interests, clothing, attacks, as well as a couple of stylized forms regarding Marines and rival crews) THEN I added an island submission form. This is mainly because the Grand Line has a lot more varied islands, islands with weird crap happening that I would never think of. Hopefully you reviewers can! As usual if you have already submitted a character there is no need to edit it, this is just for those of you submitting new characters.

Get ready for the next chapter, why? Because if you think that any of these chapters were exciting and heart-racing the next chapter may just be the most exciting in a long while!


	113. Arena 113 Meeting with a Demon

**The Meeting with the Demon!**

"Its called Geppou," muttered Ko as he stopped his running motion and landed on the ground. "Mine is a little bit rougher then other people's. I fire rapid kicks as if I'm running and these kicks provide me with enough force to push me into the air." Ko smirked as he stretched once he landed on the ground.

"Let me fill in the bare details that are probably missing in many of your guys' minds," shouted the Longarm as he continued with his announcement. "Geppou is a very powerful technique that exists in an extremely powerful and highly hidden fighting style known as Rokushiki. The number of masters of this fighting style is so small that between the numbers of Rokushiki masters are just barely outside of the single digits. People who have mastered even one are said to be powerful enough to wipe out a hundred men in a blink of an eye!"

The crowd oohed and aah-ed at the explanation. Several of them got excited at the prospect of seeing the power of such a man in a fight. The Marines in the stands got incredibly upset and many of them left the stadium. Rokushiki was supposed to be a government secret that never left the Marines, but it appeared that some random pirate got his hands on the skill. It was a downright embarrassment to them. If it wasn't for the fact that they were outnumbered and probably even outgunned in this arena, they would start a riot and immediately kill Ko just to help bury the secrets.

Ko smirked as he gripped his jacket and made sure it was secure. He shook his head and tried to prepare for the fight. "And in case you are wondering since my feet did not technically touch the ground when I was knocked outside the ring that did not count as a ring-out. This fight will continue! Or at least for another minute cause when that minute is up I will be standing as the victor!"

Mikoto cringed at the thought. His arm was currently out of commission due to the Rapid Fire...that one backlash made that move incredibly unsafe for him to use. The trade-off was a huge source of power for no use of it for a set period of time. Mikoto's best bet was to use his superior speed and after-image technique to avoid Ko's attack until his arm was healed. Then Mikoto would just move in and take him out. Mikoto moved back as far as he could and pushed his body closer and closer to the edge of the arena. This distance made sure he could dodge any of Ko's attack.

Ko chuckled as he looked on at Mikoto from his position on the opposite side of the ring. "Let me guess, planning on using your speed? I'm gonna let you in on a little surprised...compared to me, you'll be moving in slow motion." Ko jumped forward. "This is the second move of my Rokushiki training, **Soru!**" Ko disappeared. The entire audience gasped in surprise.

The next instant Ko was in front of Mikoto. Ko twisted his entire body around in the air, launching a sideways kick into Mikoto's side. Mikoto grunted as he was tossed back from the kick. Even worse, Mikoto was now knocked back and into the air above the pit. Backing up to the edge of the pit was the wrong move. If he fell he would hit the bottom of the pit and lose. He wasn't in the mood to lose! Zesiro and Rosa both won! What kind of captain loses when his crew put their lives on to save him? He twisted around and pushed his feet into the wall of the pit with a tremendous push, he shot up from the wall and flew back into the ring next to Ko.

Even though Mikoto managed to stay in the ring and come back from a tremendous hit it still wasn't anything worth getting excited about. Mikoto's best strength was his speed, but apparently his opponent had a technique to match his speed, if not excel past it. Ko started moving already once more with Soru towards Mikoto. Ko stretched out using a punch with his spear-like arm. Mikoto dodged to the side of the strike, just barely using an incredible speed for a short burst. Ko landed on the ground and immediately shot back out towards Mikoto. Mikoto prepared for a second dodge.

"**Geppou!" **shouted Ko. He took off into the air above Mikoto. Mikoto looked up trying to keep track of Ko. Ko spun around and launched a downwards punch with his spear. Mikoto lowered his body and jumped back, desperate to keep out of Ko's range. Ko moved after him, still running about in the air. Ko remained on top of Mikoto as the two of them moved throughout the ring.

"**Sightless!" **commanded Ko as he thrust his spear at Mikoto. Mikoto dodged backwards, confident he avoided it. Then he felt a sharp prick in his chest. Mikoto's eyes widened as he was forced back as an invisible force hit his chest. Mikoto hit the ground.

Mikoto stood back up and coughed up dirt as he tried to regain his bearings. Mikoto had seen that technique before. Trevor used a brand of it when they fought. Trevor used Haki to extend his destructive power past his hands. Ko did the same thing. Rather then extending and then striking like Trevor did, though Ko used Haki and sent a spiral of the hardening Haki out and at him using the spearhead as the base. It was beginning to look like Ko might just be a good enough warm-up for Trevor after all.

Mikoto dodged forward and began to close in on Ko. Ko smiled as he took his jacket out of its spear-like form and back into the shield form. Mikoto jumped forward and launched a midair kick at the shield. Ko was pushed back from the kick, but the shield absorbed almost all of the damage leaving Ko at full power. Ko laughed as he twisted his body around and positioned himself above Mikoto. **"Brainless!"** Ko used Geppou and jumped downwards and on top of Mikoto with his shield going first. Ko crashed forward, sandwiching Mikoto between him and the ground.

Mikoto squeezed out of the tight spot and backed up. The jacket Ko used gave him a pretty impressive mixed of power and defense combine that with the speed of Soru and Ko was a tough customer. Ko's prediction had come and went by several minutes. The feeling was just starting to return to Mikoto's hand from his Rapid Fire. That was hands down his best bet at ending this match, but Ko wasn't waiting for the last couple of seconds to past.

Ko charged at Mikoto. With the use of Soru, he quickly closed in on Mikoto and was soon right in front of him. With a swing of his shield, he knocked Mikoto up into the air. On the ground their speeds were even, but in the air Ko was the only one with a free range of movements. He dashed into the air using a combinations of Soru and Geppou. Ko slowly began to spiral around Mikoto using this technique, "**Endless!" **Several kicks and punches flew at Mikoto keeping him trapped in the center of the storm that was Ko's attack. Whenever Mikoto flew to one-side, Ko moved to that side faster and knocked him back to the center. All the while Ko was using Geppou to keep kicking Mikoto higher and higher into the air.

Mikoto's eyes flashed open as Ko delivered another kick at him. Mikoto crouched his legs and jumped off of the leg, using the combined power of Mikoto's own jump along with Ko's kick sent Mikoto flying into the air. Ko's body was temporary off-kilter due to the move as well, his leg spinning due to the jump off of it. Mikoto twisted his body and brought it back down. Mikoto fell towards Ko, who was still frantically trying to regain his balance. Mikoto brought his fist forward aiming at the poor man's head, "**Rapid Fire x 25!"**

Mikoto's fist made clean-cut contact with Ko's face. Mikoto began pumping his arm forward launching a medley of punches into Ko's head. All 25 punches began to blur together into one finishing blow. The force of the punch blew Ko down and towards the ground. He had no chance to regain his balance, much less his consciousness from the blows. Ko hit the ground with an incredibly loud bang. The crowd roared as they watched the fight end.

Mikoto landed on the ground moments later. Mikoto's eyes remained on Ko's body. He felt Ko use Colors of Armaments Haki at the last moment before Mikoto landed even his second punch. The first punch may have been lucky, but Ko managed to defend himself from the rest. His punch power was probably halved, not something he was happy with. He expected the beast he had just knocked down to get back up and continue. It happened once with him, so who knew. Nothing happened though. Mikoto finally let his guard when the Longarm declared him the winner with a boisterous announcement.

"Mikoto had only agreed to one fight," murmured the next person who crawled into the stadium. The man had a small silver ponytail. He looked at Mikoto with cold gray eyes. Mikoto shuddered as he felt the sheer hate come from them. "I, as the second-in-command of the URA, will continue the URA Special fights. I am Duncan Sawyer, so anyone who is ready please step forward."

Duncan quickly twisted his head around and put it next to Mikoto's ear. "Go see Trevor-sama he wants to have a conversation with you," he whispered. "Also please refrain from causing too big of a ruckus, Trevor is expecting a guest and doesn't want you to ruin the décor."

Mikoto shrugged as he walked forward. He had no interest in ruining the décor and didn't particularly care to see Trevor, but knew that in that case he had no opinion. He didn't even notice that Trevor left the stadium. He expected to just look over and see that demon smile, looking over at him with a nonchalant smile. He shook the picture out of his mind and continued on. He looked out into the audience and saw Ridley, Zesiro, and the rest of his crew waving their hands trying to get his attention.

Mikoto simply nodded his head at them and waved back. Going off course wouldn't be that smart of a move, Trevor would simply act up and probably dismember half of the audience. And not to mention Mikoto was only at half-strength due to the fight, the same could probably be said for his crew. Mikoto just kept his head down and walked to the dining room where he was directed to.

Trevor sat at the end of a very large table. He smiled as he saw Mikoto, "there he is!" shouted Trevor as he opened his arms up and threw them into the air. "The fight was an amazing draw! The bets were flying at mach speed! Money and blood what more could a guy want! I don't have too much care for money, but I need it to keep this arena open so I hope your crew can keep up the work!" Mikoto shrugged it off, based on Trevor's wording, he wouldn't be fighting again.

"I just want you to know," continued Trevor, "that you will not be watching the fights tomorrow. I know, you probably want to watch your crew get ripped to shreds, but just calm down. My new guest just wants to make an extraordinary appearance and fears that another guest would just ruin it. So, he requested to be the only one there."

"Who is this other guest?" asked Mikoto as he finally decided to sit down. It was only him and Trevor in the big dining hall made for about twenty people. He didn't have any waiters or attendants nor bodyguards. Then again, Shichibukais probably didn't need bodyguards.

"I'm not too surprised you don't remember me," said the second voice as he clamped his hands down onto Mikoto. Mikoto jumped up and rotated around firing a single weak punch due to fatigue at Karasu. Karasu chuckled as he blocked the punch and pushed Mikoto aside. "I guess I must've caused some brain damage the last time we met." Mikoto's eyes went wide as he looked on at Karasu. Karasu was still dressed the same as before in training shorts and without a shirt. He also kept his crew cut and shades. However, there was one noticeable difference...his right arm had been torn completely off.

Karasu picked Mikoto up, who was still staring at his missing arm and moved him to the side of the table. Karasu took his seat at the other head of the table opposite of Trevor. Mikoto stared at Karasu. His entire body was riddled with scars and scrapes. The air around him felt different. Before being in the same room with him was like sharing a room with a demon, but now...it was like he was devolved. He lost his calm and cocky composure. He had completely forgone the fork and knife and was using his hand and mouth to rip the meat apart and eat it.

Even so, Mikoto couldn't help, but blurt out, "What happened?"

**In the Ring Once More**

Eh, eh! Not bad, right? What happened to Karasu? That's a question that still needs to be answered! But don't worry, there's going to be plenty of other things for you reviewers to think about until I do answer it. Like the next chapter...

ALSO! It has been decided. I will continue with this once every two day updates for the time being until Chapter 115. So, after Chapter 115 this story will become updated once every week again.


	114. Arena 114 In the Ring Once More

Important Author's Note at the bottom please read!**  
**

* * *

**In the Ring Once More!**

Maria was sitting along in the locker rooms. The rest of the fighters were gone and waiting outside. Her fight was about to start. There was a fight currently going on outside and honestly, it was lasting longer then it should. Neither fighter looked particularly strong and more importantly they both looked like they would lose quickly to her. She would beat them both and then move onto the semi-finals where she would do battle with Hiro-Shu.

This was her returning match to the arena and she was highly anticipating the fight. The URA was highly praised for their fights as well as competitors. She had only fought here once or twice and both times they were tough fights, which was exactly what she wanted. She wouldn't obtain the title of the strongest if she fought with weaklings. If she won this tournament she would quickly become in the crossfire of almost all powerful pirates. A champion of the URA tournament...she smiled as she leaned back and sighed. Her anticipation for the fight building with every passing second. Her eyes were constantly on the screen waiting for the fight to end.

Finally the bell rang indicating the fight was over. Maria didn't bother to wait for the introductions and raced out to the arena, she leapt over the pit and landed into the arena. The crowd immediately shouted with joy. It was rare to see such excitement when the person in the arena is putting their lives on the arena. Maria shrugged it off. The Infinity Pirates were already gathering a pretty infamous name in the arena as a bunch of insane idiots. She was a member of the Infinity Pirates as well, so she was just going along with it and based on the crowd's reaction she did a good job.

"Well..." said the Longarm as he paused in shock. He had no idea about how to handle this situation. "Uh...that was Maria of the Infinity Pirates! She is one of their newest members, but many of you may remember her as well! She was previously a contender for 'Strongest Unarmed Fighter'. An unknown incident occurred many years ago and we all thought that it forced her to retire, but apparently that was not a fact! She is here again with the Infinity Pirates, aiming to take the URA by storm!"

The fight was already getting his mind off of dinner last night. He didn't expect Karasu to look like he did. In terms of sheer physical strength no one could beat Karasu or even match him. His Bounty Name was 'Pure Demon' Karasu. They called him that due to his overwhelming power and yet...the demon that had slain and overpowered hundreds of men looked like that...it was unthinkable. Even worse, when Mikoto had asked him what had happened, Karasu went ballistic! He leapt across the table at him with unmeasured strength and tried to kill him! Trevor had to call in four fellow URA members just to tear the two of them apart. Not only that, but the look in Karasu's eyes weren't that of hatred or anger...they were of fear. Whoever did that to Karasu instilled in him a great fear. A fear so great that simply remembering the event sent him off into a fear-fueled frenzy.

Trevor chuckled as he watched Maria in the ring. Mikoto wasn't going to appear today and Karasu was taking his time. So Trevor would've been all alone on the stadium's throne. He would've been at least if it wasn't for Duncan who decided to join him on the main stage. The two of them were both onlookers for this upcoming fight.

Trevor loved the gory scenes that the URA provided. This was the sole reason he liked his job as the Shichibukai, the Marines could just die out for all he cared. He didn't give a crap about the fact that they retracted his bounty, if anything he resented it. Now no bounty hunters came after him and Trevor was stuck simply picking on and attacking pirates and a few Marines. Needless to say, Trevor was also greatly looking forward to Maria's fight. He had caught a few of her fights and they were excellent the same kind of blood-spilling fights that he performed in the ring. He was looking forward to this scene of blood.

Duncan glanced down at Trevor. He knew that look on Trevor's face. It was the same look Trevor wore when he saw Makada fight for the first time. Right after that Trevor offered Makada a position as a staff-member as long as he won ten consecutive fights and sure enough Makada proved himself. Makada was one case as it currently stood he was the only staff-member who Duncan could rely on to help protect the URA everybody else was useless. However, Duncan could not allow someone like Maria to join...she blatantly charged in before her introduction! Combine that with her crew, who all disrespected both the arena and Trevor, himself, Duncan hated them all. If need be...Duncan would eliminate her himself.

"Now her opponent!" shouted the Longarm into the mic. "There are a special group of Marines! They are the kind that loves blood and betting! Please welcome into the ring two top-notch murderers! However, these Marines won't be taking part. They brought in a scapegoat! Welcome into the ring a prisoner of Impel Down's lesser known cousin! He was arrested for the murder of twenty Marine officers during a failed attack on a Marine base, he is the 'Silver Gloves' Shigeta!"

Two men wearing Marine uniforms marched into the room. The crowd burst out into curse words insulting the Marines as they walked into the room. They ignored the crowd and kept walking. Both of the Marines were holding an iron chain that dragged behind them. At the end of the chains was another man. The chains were connected to several locks that held the man's arms, neck, and legs in place, allowing just the barest of all movements. The man was rampaging about. He twisted and tugged on the chain in a maddening rage.

The two Marines lead the man into the arena. Once inside the Longarm shouted, "FIGHT!" The Marines removed the chains and drew them back out of the ring. Shigeta didn't waste a second and charge across the ring at Maria. Maria leaned back allowing the reckless and full-powered punch graze above her chest. The man had numerous bruises and scrapes all over his body. He looked like a battle-weary warrior. He didn't stop at all. He moved in with a flurry of punches all of them barely grazing Maria due to her expertise in fights.

The guy's swings were wide and reckless. He had numerous openings. Ordinarily this made him an easy prey for an experienced fighter like Maria, but the sheer number and speed of his punches were inhuman. The strength was also above and beyond that of any human. Maria moved forward and into the hurricane of punches. This was an incredible burst of power, but Maria could easily bob and weave through the raining punches. Once she got close enough, she swung her body around and landed a quick, compact and powerful punch to his jaw.

The punch was an extremely powerful counter. Maria's own body strength along with her mechanical arms was all put into it. Even without that, the pride of the counter was the fact that it returned the opponent's power back at them. Shigeta's power along with Maria's power was all sent into his jaw. Maria smiled as she felt his jaw basically disintegrate from the punch. The bones in the jaw collapsed as it came flying through and it was reduced to a fine powder. Maria smiled as she turned around. A one minute KO and a one-hit KO just like she was planning. She began to leave the arena when all of a sudden the obnoxious announcer's voice cut into the air.

"DESPITE THAT MIRACULOUS PUNCH THAT MARIA USED IT LOOKS LIKE SHIGETA JUST WON'T STAY DOWN!" announced the Longarm. The crowd immediately went wild as they heard the announcement. Maria turned around and froze as she looked at Shigeta already charging back at over with wanton carelessness.

The two Marines snickered at the ringside as they watched the fight. "Shigeta is a prisoner at our new prison. Its even replacing the current Impel Down...its reputation has been sullied so this new prison is said to be unstoppable. The second floor of this prison is Shigeta's home. On that floor for the first week of a prisoner's stay we flood their bodies with a drug. This drug creates fluctuating hormone levels, so much so that the prisoners becomes extremely violent and fight all the time. The drug also blocks out all senses of pain, making them an incredible fighting machine."

The other Marine smiled and chimed in, "not only that, but when the drug only lasts 12 hours after injection. When that 12 hours is up they face one of the most extreme withdrawal symptoms. They face true hell until their next dose which is 12 hours away. Half of the time they are doped up where they don't feel pain and accumulate bruises, the other half of the time they are feeling the greatest pain of all. Compared to that life the pain of a simple tournament battle is like a mosquito bite."

"That's right and best of all we can use these guys to make a killing in the URA! The Warden even signed off on this fight as long half of the profits go to upgrading the prison, but still that still leaves a couple hundred millions for us!" shouted the Marine officer, "and we aren't even putting our lives on the line to earn it!" A chunk of rock came flying through the air and at the Marines. They ducked out of the way. They turned their attention back to the ring. Maria was huffing and puffing, a chunk of the ground was missing at her feet. "Look at the dumb broad in the ring! Is she really such a hypocrite that as a fighter in the ring, who has become famous for causing numerous deaths in the ring, that she'd get made at people who supplied those weak morons!"

Maria stepped forward and towards Shigeta, who was breathing heavily and still throwing wild punches, though none of them came even close to Maria's body. Maria stood in front of him, "my name is Maria Euthanatos. My last name is said to stem from the word 'Euthanasia', which is the practice of killing someone who is sick or injured for a merciful reason. As a fighter, I usually turned my back to things like mercy...however, this time...I think it will be a death for merciful reasons."

Maria reached out and placed her hand in front of Shigeta. Shigeta immediately calmed down, whether it was due to confusion of why his prey was acting like this or if he truly wanted Maria to end it right there. His body stopped. Maria delivered two quick punches, one was an uppercut to his already shattered jaw, the second was a downwards blow to the top of his head. The two forces collided like an alligator's mouth snapping shut onto Shigeta's head. The force from both blows held Shigeta's head still without moving, but the damage spoke for itself. Whatever was left of Shigeta died in that instant. Maria left the ring without another word.

"Oh, shit!" shouted the two Marines as they twisted around and fled the arena afraid of what Maria was going to do to them if she saw them wandering around the stadium. As soon as they exited the stadium they bumped into a man and fell to the floor. Standing above them was Makada. "Watch where you are going!"

"Do you guys remember what you bet when you entered that man in the fight?" asked Makada calmly as he pushed his sunglasses further up his face, covering his eyes. The two Marines nodded. Of course, they did they bet Shigeta! Why would they put money up for a prisoner? Even if he lost they would only be losing a prisoner, who cared! "You guys bet the life of human and I'm here to collect your debt. After all, we can't very well collect the life of a man who died now can we?"

The two Marines looked over at each other. They did bet the life of Shigeta when they entered the tournament. However, Shigeta lost and their betting chip disappeared. The URA never got the human life they were promised if their fighter lost. "Take him!" the two Marines shouted pointing at each other.

Makada frowned as he drew his sword. He brought his sword straight through the two men. The two men stood there neither of them moving as Makada re-sheathed his sword. "I think you misunderstood me. I came here to collect the life of a man, but I guess the lives of two pieces of shit are good enough." The two men collapsed onto the ground. Both of them dead.

(-in the locker room with Maria-)

Maria was carefully going back over her mechanical arms, making sure that they were both still at full power. They looked to be good enough. That was good news. She didn't want to be out of the fight this early due to a mechanical failure.

"Hello, Maria," said a voice. Maria twisted around to find Trevor standing before her. She brought her two arms up ready to fight. "Please don't...I don't want to waste such talent. I'm here to offer you a job. Your record speaks for you...5 fights in the URA, all wins. About twenty other fights...all wins again. I would love to have you as a guard."

"I'd rather sell my soul to the devil," growled Maria glaring Trevor in the eye. "Compared to you he is a real sweetie! Just leave the locker room now brat and I won't kick your ass." Maria was in a bad enough mood as is, she didn't want to see Trevor now.

"Oh, really?" asked Trevor with a smile. "What if I told you I'm willing to do a better deal then the devil? Your undying loyalty to me and the URA...and I will let not only your entire crew go free-of-charge, but I'll also let Mikoto go."

**The Devil's Offer!**

****Bad news guys. It has recently been brought to my attention that this story goes against rules (no interactive stories are allowed (which includes Submit Your Own OC's stories despite their popularity))...in other words...this story will probably be closed down unless I either a) get rid of that section, b) find an alternative place to post it, or c) some other alternative. If you reviewers would be so kind as to give me hints and information to solve this problem...I would be very grateful! I'll put whatever plan of action we can come up with into action on Tuesday!


	115. Arena 115 The Devil

****Author's note from last chapter (continued at the bottom).

* * *

**The Devil's Offer!**

"I'll say it one more time," offered Trevor as he stared into Maria's eyes. His creepy smile was giving her goosebumps. A deal with the devil was exactly what Trevor was offering to her right now and his smile proved it. "My offer is if you join me and my crew at the URA for the rest of your life and swear your undying loyalty to me, then I will free Mikoto and the rest of your crew and let them sail happily away from this place."

"Get out," muttered Maria as her arms and legs sagged. She was tired. She had been in a nonstop state of worry for Mikoto along with the rest of the crew. She had been in a bad mood ever since then. Even now after she stepped out of the ring after beating someone, she was ticked off. She didn't know what was holding her back, what was preventing her from landing a good, strong punch into Trevor's face. Maybe she was too tired to even do that.

Trevor shrugged as he turned around and began to leave, "my offer will remain standing until the finals of the tournament. If you don't get back to me by then, forget about it. You and your entire crew will just have to try your best to survive." With that Trevor left the room all to Maria.

Maria was breathing heavily in the room, just trying to recover her wits. She was just ticked off and it was getting worse and worse. Mikoto getting kidnapped, the damn Marines doing something like that to a human being, and now Trevor acting all friendly with her. It made her sick. She just leaned back and tried to recover, she still had another few minutes before she had to get out of the locker room. A knock on the door woke her up, "Hiro-Shu?" she asked, expecting her crew-mate as well as the next fighter to come in, but it wasn't him.

Duncan was standing in the doorway. Maria recognized him as the man who was standing next to Trevor in her fight. "I noticed Trevor-sama left," he said as he walked into the room. Maria had to assume that this wasn't a happy meeting, like saying hello to a new staff-member. He was frowning and looked annoyed. "I heard Trevor-sama's deal with you is to save the rest of the crew for your loyalty and while I am one-hundred percent behind Trevor-sama...I am five-hundred percent interested in prolonging both his life and the life of the URA. And I don't think you are good for either one."

"OH, YEAH!" shouted Maria as she stood up. She was about to take a step forward, but felt her legs stick to the ground. She looked down at her feet, to check on them. The normally gray floor tiles were glossed over by a thick black liquid. It had to be this man's doing! Maria returned her attention in front of her.

Duncan was smiling looking at her now. A big thick blob of tar was dripping out his body and on his hand. **"Tar Cannon." **Duncan said it in a stoic voice. He flung the black blob of tar forward and at Maria. She couldn't move and dodge the blow, the only thing she could do was bring her arms up and block it.

Even with her mechanical arms sheltering her body, she could still feel the damage ring into it. The name cannon was appropriate. She was flung back, but since her feet was stuck in the ground only her upper body fell. She was being blown back by this one man. He was definitely at a higher level then anyone else she had ever fought. The tar that stuck to the ground disappeared back into Duncan's body. "Remember this, little girl, this is the strength of the URA! The strength to kill even a champion in an instant! Me and Makada both possess this strength while Trevor-sama possesses an even greater strength! If you want to join the URA remember this is the strength of the man who wants you dead! And I will make sure I get what I want!"

Duncan twisted around and left the room, he left a puddle of tar where he was standing. Maria got up, using the bench for support. She wobbled as she tried to pull herself back up and onto the bench. Her arms were broken. She had forgotten that she had taken several shots from Shigeta during their fight and now she took a powerful blast from that man. All of them were guarded against, so her body didn't feel a thing, but her arms...they took all the damage. If she could feel them...if she had normal human arms again...she could've remembered the damage she had taken and blocked in a different way. If only...she had her arms back again.

"You alright?" asked Hiro-Shu as he put his hand on Maria's shoulder. Maria jumped at the sound and touch. She had been so consumed with her thoughts, she had ignored the sound of even Hiro-Shu walking into the room. He wasn't quiet at all, his footsteps were like iron hitting iron, and yet she still couldn't hear him walk in.

"I'm fine..." muttered Maria as she gathered up her things and stood up. Her hands were trying to grasp her towel and other belongings, but they couldn't. They wiring in the arms were busted up and made it impossible to grasp them. She ended up slinging them over her shoulder and walking out. Hiro-Shu sighed and sat down. It seems like everybody had their own problems to deal with right now. He just had to stay focused on his fight.

(-in the stadium-)

After Maria's fight, but before Hiro-Shu's fight there was one more fight. It would be determining Hiro-Shu's next opponent after he won today. Ridley was sitting in the crowd today, watching the fights. He had heard that Mikoto wasn't up here, which means wherever he was the guard would be thicker. He had originally intended to go down and search for him using that as a tip-off, but...as soon as he set foot in the hallway he saw Makada and Duncan and another three URA staff-members all grudgingly walking about. He decided that he would take the day off and just watch the fights from up here, everybody else was busy practicing, so he'd just make a few mental notes on Hiro-Shu's next opponent, but in reality...Ridley didn't need to. The opponent was beaten pretty badly and it looked like he only won due to sheer luck. Hiro-Shu would win with ease.

"Now before we announce the last fight in this tournament, we would like to introduce our second guest!" shouted the Longarm. The crowd gasped as they listened to the introduction, "he's a demon who once sailed the high seas alongside our very own Trevor! Nowadays, he manages the entire Black Market! He is...'Pure Demon' Karasu!" The entire audience shuddered as Karasu walked out.

Ridley's eyes went wide as he saw his old man. The man he had hated his entire life just walked out and he was looking like crap. He had had his ass handed to him by someone since the last time they met. It had been quite awhile since they met face-to-face. A lot could have happened, but this! Karasu was always an insurmountable wall. His power was said to rival even Shichibukais and yet he looked like he had been torn apart and tossed around like a rag doll.

Regardless of seeing his own father in a state of such disrepair...Ridley couldn't control his own body. Seeing him again only added fuel to the fire. Ridley was up and out of his seat in a matter of seconds, rushing past the numerous fellow audience members. He touched the stadium's floor and raced across the ring. The spectators were incapable of stopping him, many of them didn't even notice the sole figure racing across the ground and at the man.

"What is this?" shouted the Longarm announcer as he caught wind of it through the shouting of the crowd. He turned his attention away from the ring and at Ridley. "It looks like someone is charging at Karasu! What is going on?"

Ridley took a final leap and jumped into the air. He took his guitar out and swung downwards with it as if were an ax. Karasu brought his remaining arm out and blocked the swing. Karasu grunted as he swatted Ridley away. He smiled as he stood up and looked down at him. "Looks like we get to have another family reunion..." Ridley glared up at him. He jumped back up onto his feet and prepared a second swing with his guitar. Tons of URA guards flooded out and around, grabbing a hold of him and pulling him back and out of the way. Ridley struggled and cursed loudly as they did so.

"It looks like I just got an update!" shouted the Longarm announcer after checking in with another Den-Den Mushi. "It appears that...that that man was Ridley Blackwell! Not only is he the only son and successor of the Karasu Blackwell, but also he is also a member of the Infinity Pirates! It appears that this is just another one of their-" He was shut up by Karasu who jumped up next to him and stole the mic from him.

"I would like to make an addendum to what this brain-dead announcer just said," ordered Karasu through the mic. "He called that disrespectful, pitiful, worst-then-trash, piece of shit my son and successor. I want everybody to know he's not even close! He's just some pathetic whelp who inherited my blood due to some freak accident. My true successor is the man who will be fighting in the next fight against one of my son's precious friends! He is MA-SHI-BA!" The crowd immediately went wild at the statement, though in all honesty after what just happened and Karasu's little speech they probably would've went crazy over any statement.

Karasu smiled as he dropped the microphone into the hands of the Longarm and walked away. The Longarm remained frozen solid for a couple of seconds as he looked on at the man walking away from him. He felt scared for a second. He didn't quite understand it, but he believed that Ridley riled him up more then he lead on. Karasu seemed anxious to kill someone...the Longarm chuckled nervously and returned his attention to the audience. "After that introduction who cannot be interested? The man entering the arena at this very moment is none other then Mashiba, the head of Karasu's very own personal guards!"

The man who walked in was carrying a long spear, but dragging it along the ground like he didn't have the strength in his arms to lift it. He wearing a heavy black cloak that covered his entire body, including his face, from view. He stepped forward and walked into the arena. He tore the cloak off of his body. Beneath the cloak was truly another sight to behold. The man beneath it had muscles to spare, but it wasn't the muscles that made it a frightening look. It was what was on top of those muscles. Mashiba had several weights strewn all over his body several of them were more then 100 pounds. One by one Mashiba took the weights off and threw them out of the ring.

"His opponent is another member of the Infinity Pirates and is the one with the third highest bounty amongst them! It is Hiro-Shu, the GOLEM!" Hiro-Shu trudged into the arena. He felt all of the eyes on him as he walked in. He felt slightly embarrassed. The rest of his crew had done insane and reckless things to show off and he was just walking in. It made him think that he should do something just as insane or weird...but he wasn't that kind of guy. He'd just make sure the fight was something to remember.

**The Fall of a Giant**

Ma=Demonic, Shi=Death, Ba=Tyrant...Mashiba is one frightening as hell name, isn't it?

Sorry, I just had to get my joke out there...onto the problem of my story. For the time being I have removed the submit your own OC section from my story as it does technically go against the rules of the site (as much as it irks me). In the meantime I am looking for another site that allows SYOC if I find a good one, this story will be moved there. Don't worry as this story is not only backed up on both my computers as well as thumb drive AND I will continue to update here for the time being just don't submit any more OCs for the time being.


	116. Arena 116 The Fall of a Giant

**The Fall of a Giant!**

"This just five minutes in to the fight and we already have a clear winner!" shouted the Longarm. "Mashiba is just devastating Hiro-Shu. The fight is far from close, but it looks like Hiro-Shu refuses to rest. Mashiba's strength is just pushing him back and making sure he can't possibly turn this fight back. The only question is will we see a chance comeback."

The crew was all aghast in the fight. Hiro-Shu was one of the fighters they had never had to worry about losing, but from the looks of it Hiro-Shu was almost definitely going to lose. They still had their fingers crossed as they watched the fight, but it was starting to become obvious even to them who would win. Mashiba was just a monster.

Mashiba's strength was unreal. He was definitely Karasu's protege. He was an expert killer and it showed in his approach. In terms of power and abilities they were probably equal, but Mashiba's weapon and tactics made it a bad matter of compatibility for Hiro-Shu. A spear isn't an extremely common weapon. Its main and only use is a thrust. A sword gives someone swings and a thrust and an ax gives someone an insane amount of power. The thrust of the spear has two other benefits.

One is the obvious reach distance. A spear can reach a longer distance and keep its opponent's at bay, which was more then effective against a close-ranged fighter like Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu could only really deliver strong blows at close-range with punches, but a spear made sure Hiro-Shu was stuck outside of his punching range. To make the reach difference even more important was the difference in the fighter's speed. Mashiba was also faster then Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu was a pretty slow fighter due to the excess weight. If Hiro-Shu couldn't run fast there was no way he close the distance between him and Mashiba.

The second huge benefit to a spear, especially a modified one like Mashiba's was the piercing power it possessed. Since the spear could only be used a thrusting weapon the tip of the spear was unbelievably pointed and precise giving it amazing piercing capabilities. Mashiba's strength only amplified that. However, that was with a standard spear. Mashiba's spear was slightly different. Beneath the tip of his spear was a large golden ball. The golden ball weighted the spear down and only provided more power when he performed a thrust. This provided Mashiba's weapon with enough force to pierce even Hiro-Shu's iron shell.

In other words these advantages made him Hiro-Shu's worst enemy. Once suppressed with Mashiba's speed and the spear's reach, Mashiba could use the spear's piercing power to turn it into a win. Hiro-Shu's biggest advantage was his armor, he didn't have many other methods to win especially due to the annoying reach of his spear.

Hiro-Shu leaned back. He already took several scratches from Mashiba's random thrust, however, he was hoping to hold back a little bit while longer. "**Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame!" **Hiro-Shu spewed fire forward at Mashiba. The flames jetted out of his mouth and started to spin around and burn into Mashiba. Hiro-Shu wasn't too horrible fond of this attack. It lacked power and force, but it was the only attack he had that had a chance of knocking out Mashiba.

Mashiba backed up and took his distance. He began to spin his long spear around on his side. The spinning of the spear created a nice vortex of air that sucked the fires up and around the spear, redirecting it away from Mashiba. The flames were skating around past Mashiba, not even making the attack noteworthy. Mashiba charged forward and launched a thrust. Hiro-Shu dodged backwards in an attempt to lessen the blow. Mashiba's spear moved forward at extreme speed. It hit Hiro-Shu's armor and slid in as if it was butter. The heat from Hiro-Shu's flames only managed to help him pierce the armor.

Hiro-Shu reached forward and grabbed a hold of Mashiba's spear and tried to drag Mashiba forward and closer to him. Mashiba's let one of his hands go free from the his spear and reached down to his waist. He pulled free a small and knife and dove forward aiming for the weak spot in Hiro-Shu's armor where Mashiba had just pierced with his spear. Hiro-Shu backed up and tried to avoid Mashiba's strike, but in doing so had to lose his grip on the spear. Mashiba smiled as he returned his knife to his waist and prepared for another strike with his spear.

Hiro-Shu shuddered as the spear came flying at him. He swatted it aside with his arm to avoid the blow. Mashiba screamed an pure primal,animal-like yell as he brought the spear around with swing. He brought the spear around and into Hiro-Shu. The large golden ball at the end of the spear slammed into Hiro-Shu knocking him off balance for a brief moment.

Mashiba was an excellent fighter and he was waiting for that brief moment. He lashed out sending the spear spinning forward. The corkscrew that was added to the blow only made the thrust even more powerful. Hiro-Shu couldn't bring his arms up to guard fast enough. The spear spun into Hiro-Shu's chest and broke the through the iron armor. Hiro-Shu was pushed even further back from the force. Mashiba stepped back and looked over his shoulder to Karasu.

Karasu chuckled. He lifted his arm up and gave Mashiba a thumbs-down. Trevor looked over at the action and smiled as Mashiba moved in for the kill. Mashiba wasn't just a killing machine and an excellent fighter, he was well-trained to boot. These three elements made Trevor's mouth drool. His blood was already boiling with anticipation after watching these past two days of battle. His hunger was all worked-up. It was incredibly possible that Mashiba's death may be even tastier then Mikoto's. He was probably just as good of a challenge and he probably wouldn't smile at his death.

Karasu grunted as if sensing Trevor's thoughts. Trevor sighed and relaxed. He was planning on his next target being a member of the Infinity Pirates. It annoyed him that Karasu would dangle such a target in front of him and not let him kill it? He hated the idea, but had to accept it. His target had to just be the Infinity Pirates for now.

His attention returned to the fight. Mashiba was moving in for the kill. His cool personality had disappeared and he was now moving with a new viciousness. He was swinging his spear around wildly, building up speed and power. He was prepping for a finishing blow that could pierce Hiro-Shu's armor and heart in one blow.

Hiro-Shu remained distanced from Mashiba, watching his random swings and weighing his options. Mashiba has already proven that he had enough strength to pierce even his thick armor. Charging in would just be haphazard at this point, but he wasn't fast enough to get away. Hiro-Shu looked over at Mashiba who was moving in. Hiro-Shu had to give Mashiba credit. He had seen several fights and even more fighters. Most of them were like wild animals, predator-like and feral. They moved in and delivered the finishing the blow whenever possible, eager to rip their opponent's to shred whether it was in the name of justice or violence that was their goal. Mashiba still hadn't reverted to pure animal behavior, rather then act like a predator, he remained a human, a hunter carefully approaching his prey.

Hiro-Shu took a deep breath and prepared for his last chance. Ordinarily Mashiba stayed out of his reach, however, if he wanted to kill him Mashiba would have to step in closer in order to guarantee enough weight on his body as well as to make sure his spear would pierce deep enough. That was his chance as well. Mashiba would move into his range. "**Forger's Fire! Shiba's Knuckle!" **Hiro-Shu let loose his breath onto his right fist, turning the iron into a bright red. Hiro-Shu moved forward.

Mashiba chuckled at his final attempt, but kept it quiet. Apparently it wasn't befitting of a high-class fighter and assassin to chuckle in the middle of a fight. He took another step forward and Hiro-Shu mimicked it. The two of them began to slowly edge in. Mashiba was starting to freeze up as he watched Hiro-Shu move forward. After watching Mashiba's step-in, he must've remembered the distance. A full step-in from Mashiba would put Mashiba close enough for Hiro-Shu to punch, but anything shorter then that and the amount of power behind his spear probably wouldn't be enough to penetrate Hiro-Shu's armor.

The crowd was starting to get anxious. They began shouting and cursing loudly watching the fight. Of course, they would. They were expecting one tremendous blow after another, but so far this fight had been pretty one-sided. However, despite it being one-sided the fight continued without a single drop of blood being spilled. And now the two combatants were standing still and having a staring contest...they had every right to be upset. Mashiba moved, just a twitch, but Hiro-Shu immediately understood what it meant. He prepared for the counter attack. Two seconds. That's how long the rest of the fight would last.

Mashiba charged forward taking one massive step and covering the distance in an instant, he brought his spear forward with the same amount of force and speed. Hiro-Shu's fist moved forward as well. He prepped himself and prepared his single fist. The timing for this punch had to be perfect too fast and his punch would just stall out in the air without hitting Mashiba, too slow and Mashiba will hit first.

Hiro-Shu leaned forward and fired his punch. The timing was perfect Hiro-Shu's punch came soaring through and landed cleanly on Mashiba's face. Hiro-Shu allowed himself a brief smile as he felt his fist dig into it. Hiro-Shu's eyes went wide as he continued to watch Mashiba move in, the punch hardly fazed him. He was already finishing his thrust. The thrust came flying in and hit Hiro-Shu's chest.

Hiro-Shu's body shuddered backwards as he felt the spear pierce through his armor as well as his skin. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold on, but the previous damage along with this strike made it almost impossible. Hiro-Shu's world went a brilliant bright white.

Mashiba took a step forward and hovered over Hiro-Shu. He was impressed as well as pleased. Hiro-Shu's punch was more then enough to kill a normal man, however Mashiba wasn't a normal man. But even if you ignored the fact that punch wasn't enough to kill him, it pushed him to the side. Mashiba's expert aim should've guaranteed a hit right through his heart, but Hiro-Shu's punch pushed him and screwed-up his aim. Hiro-Shu should've died from that blow, but he didn't.

Mashiba's hand went to his face he confirmed it. Hiro-Shu had left Mashiba with a permanent present. The charred black mark of his fist on his face. It stung like hell and Mashiba knew for a fact that it wouldn't heal, he would always be left with this reminder of the brave warrior. He twisted his spear around and prepared for a downwards thrust. This would finish it!

"STOP!" shouted Trevor as he strode forward. The entire arena stopped their wild hooting and cheering and turned their heads to Trevor. Trevor smirked as he walked forward and directed Mashiba out. The crowd all held their breaths, expecting to see Trevor murder Hiro-Shu himself. Trevor waved some paramedics in and directed them to carry Hiro-Shu out. The crowd gasped and began to roar again demanding blood. Trevor turned his head towards the crowd and smiled. "You want to see blood?" Trevor asked with a tone of mocking care. The crowd roared 'yes'. "THEN YOU COME IN AND STAND IN THIS RING!" Trevor roared back, "I'LL BE HAPPY TO KILL ANY ONE OF YOU!"

The crowd quieted down. They were all frequent URA goers, they had seen Trevor's power first hand and none of them wanted to be on the receiving end of it. Despite a couple of murmurs that Trevor pretended he didn't hear, they accepted his choice and waited for the next fight.

Trevor turned his attention across the URA and at Maria. He lifted his chin and smiled at her as if he just did her a favor and expected a thank-you. The deal was, of course, Maria's loyalty for the rest of her crew's life. He couldn't let Hiro-Shu die just yet or else he wouldn't be holding up his end of the deal, though, he wouldn't be doing it again. That wasn't the only reason, however, the Infinity Pirates were quite a big draw they crowd was loving their antics, it was possible that if they started a riot some of the crowd may join up with them. Not to mention for every person in the crowd who liked the URA there was probably another person who hated Trevor. A riot was just not profitable.

**A Grim Premonition...  
**

****You didn't really expect that everyone would get out of here unharmed, did you? This is a place where deaths are like bees, they are everywhere! Let me guess what you readers are thinking. Mikoto's been kidnapped, Karasu (the one man who beat all of the Infinity Pirates) is back, Maria's been offered a way to save the crew from the devil, and now Hiro-shu has been beaten! What could I possibly do now to make this story more exciting and more suspenseful? Well...wait for the next few chapters!

Many of you are also wondering about the status of Saga...well, the hunt for a new host site hasn't been very fruitful, sadly, BUT according to two different people that if I move the OC submission sheet to my profile and people just PM me their OCs it can't be reported. I don't know why or if it works, but, hey, I'll try it!


	117. Arena 117 A Grim Premonition

**A Grim Premonition...**

The fights for the tournament had ended for the days, but the atmosphere remained heavy. The crew had gathered around the bed of Hiro-Shu as Enma continued through his examination. Hiro-Shu still hadn't woken up since his last fight. It was hard to imagine that he was still alive as Mashiba was so intent on delivering the finishing blow. Even now Enma had no idea what compelled Trevor to step in and stop him. If anything Enma was expecting Trevor to kill him himself. Did he really have that much honor that he wouldn't let people kill them because he forced them to participate? Somehow he doubted that was likely. It had to be something.

A quick glance at his crew showed that they were all equally worried about Hiro-Shu, but nothing as to why Trevor saved him. Enma sighed and leaned back in his chair. Lily was once more in a tiger form giving Rosa all the comfort she needed. The Fishman brothers, despite just meeting them were probably more torn up then anybody else. Sanada was crying waterfalls and Nito and Ichi weren't faring much better then him. They really wore their emotions on their sleeve...or something to that effect.

"Relax," said Rosa with a calming voice, "everything will be alright." The crew gave her quick glare as if she had just suggested tossing Hiro-Shu overboard. She shuddered and backed up, blending into the gloomy atmosphere.

Zesiro quickly excused himself from the table. It made sense...he had been with Hiro-Shu longest out of anyone here, excluding the damaged Ridley who had seen his own mother get killed as well as have his own father try to kill him and Sage, who was already a ball of depressing thoughts. Zesiro was probably extremely irritated and wanted to leave the room quickly to clear his head.

"This is just a terrible day...a terrible week...a terrible life," muttered Sage as she collapsed onto the floor from Hiro-Shu's bedside and curled up into a secure little ball. "Even a sea sponge is more useful then I am. The only way I could be any more useless was if I was Ridley."

Ridley, who seemed the most unfazed by Hiro-Shu's damage, but that was probably due to his complete lack of any real human emotions like empathy, swiveled around and brought his leg back to kick Sage. A roar from Lily quickly got him to halt his assault on the poor depressed girl and return his attention to Hiro-Shu. "So, anyone else up for a bottle of alcohol?" asked Ridley with a fake smile and even a hint of laugh as he tried to lighten to mood.

The entire crew ignored him and remained focused on bed. Ridley frowned as he backed up and took a seat in one of the chairs, meant for loving and caring members of the ill, but he sat there anyways. He took out his guitar and strummed a couple of notes. Unlike his usual loud and obnoxious music, Ridley had calmed the music down and made it much more soothing. A more classical tone of music then his usual. The crew appreciated the sentiment. Rosa smiled for a moment and then brought out her own instrument, a small violin. She played a couple of notes after she learned the tune from Ridley.

After a couple of notes, Enma had had enough. He rose from his seat and ordered them out of the room. The music and the people gathered around the body made it ten times harder for him to do any sort of real work. He knew it was painful for them to leave their friend lying in the bed in his current state, but nonetheless he wanted them out. He pushed them out of the room and closed the door behind them leaving them out of the room. Enma did another quick check-up on Hiro-Shu, his worry obvious as he renewed his bandages for probably the tenth time this hour and he would probably renew them another 30 times this hour, just to be sure his wounds would properly close.

Enma sighed as he realized how foolish and stupid such actions were. The wounds would close when they closed and no matter how many times he changed the bandages, they wouldn't close faster. He returned to his research. He had already watched Trevor's impressive display of powers and knew that as it currently stood he was probably at half of Trevor's true power...Mikoto was closer, but probably not quite there. Enma had remembered something that may just give them the edge, but that was only if he could complete it in time.

He let his mind wander due to worry and looked back over at Hiro-Shu. He could only focus on one thing at a time and it should be the long term goal of beating Trevor, something he could actually effect, but that didn't matter. His mind was still focused on Hiro-Shu! He was just about to stand up and change the bandages for the eleventh time when there was a knock at the door. Enma wandered over to the door and opened it, hopefully whoever was on the other side could offer more help rather then stand there and stare at Hiro-Shu's body.

Enma paused as he looked in the door, he didn't recognize who was on the other side. It was beginning to become a bad habit for him, opening the door and finding a complete stranger on the side. "Um..." was all Enma could think of as he stared at the woman in front of him. She was kind of tall and rather then looking at the guy, who opened the door and was conscious, she stared past him and at Hiro-Shu. She pushed past Enma, which was quite rude and ran up to the Hiro-Shu's body.

Enma turned to talk to her, but was greeted by another face in front of him...or something close to a face as he was wearing a mask. The masked man smirked and explained, "she's an old friend of Hiro-Shu's. She's kind of shocked to see him here. To be all honest, I was kind of shocked to she her get this emotional." Enma stared at him, it was hard to tell if he was lying with a mask on, much less the fact that his entire body was covered, not even an inch of skin was showing. He turned his attention back to the woman intending to console her, but was surprised when he saw something in her hand. A Marine's cap.

Enma jumped across the room and pulled her away from Hiro-Shu. "Get back, Marine," he hissed. He knew that the Marines were not allowed to technically arrest any pirates while here, but some of them still did detestable acts.

"Relax!" said the other man, the one in the mask as he appeared besides Enma. "Like I said she is a friend of Hiro-Shu and for the time being we are also your allies." Enma looked at him with suspicious eyes. Was it really possible for a Marine to be allies with pirates, much less friends. "Look I was against coming here, but she wanted to." He said nodding towards the girl. "She is Valerie Steele."

Needless to say that didn't convince Enma. Hiro-Shu never talked about his past, so the name naturally never came up in conversation. The man sighed, "look, for the time being Marines are too hold off on two things in the Grand Line. One, making any kind of ruckus at the URA and two, attacking the Infinity Pirates."

Enma looked at them with the highest of suspicions. The man shrugged once more as he sat back down in one of the nearby chairs, motioning for Enma to get out of Valerie's way, he didn't. The man sighed and shrugged once more, "need more convincing? Fine! The Marines are about to extend an invitation to Mikoto to become a Shichibukai. His latest antics makes him a perfect target."

"That's odd," said Enma as he thought about the latest news, "I didn't hear anything about a Shichibukai dying or being fired. Nothing of the like at all was in the news." Valerie sneaked around Enma and had returned to Hiro-Shu's side. Enma stood there for a couple of seconds, debating about whether or not pulling her away would do any good.

"Didn't you hear for the first thing?" asked the man. "No making a ruckus at the URA. Trevor is being demoted back to a regular pirate and as a result we need a new man to fill his shoes." Enma nodded, considering Trevor's personality it was highly possible that that was the Lucifer's honest truth. The man looked up at him and shook his head, "you still don't get what I'm getting at, do you?"

Enma looked at him, "seeing as how you are not being exactly clear, no. I have no idea at what you are trying to hint at. Then again with that mask on, its hard to know if you are even being honest."

"I'll try to be a little bit more clear...but the mask stays," said the man. He was different then what he was like in the stands, he seemed more confident. Then again this was one-on-one with a pirate rather then being surrounded by them like in the arena. "The URA is to be demolished, destroyed, removed from existence," he said repeating for emphasis. "The URA is only still running because Trevor is a Shichibukai, once he gets his pink slip...the URA is going to be shut down and all the pirates here will be fair game to be killed or captured."

"Except for Mikoto...if he accepts your offer," replied Enma. "If he doesn't accept your offer, then I'm safe to assume our safe passage won't come either."

"I'm glad I get to talk to a smart pirate for once, rather then a knuckle head," laughed the man. "Yup, you got it on the head. We weren't exactly supposed to tell you, but Valerie needed to see Hiro-Shu and I don't blame you for wanting to try to kill us. Speaking of which...where is Mikoto?" asked the man as he looked around. He hadn't seen him when they walked onto the ship and watched the crew leave.

"Captured by Trevor," replied Enma trying to keep the reasons brief. "He'll be out in time to take you up on your offer...if he wants to." It was hard to say whether or not Mikoto would want to...he wasn't exactly the smartest tool in the shed, but as far as Enma knew Mikoto had nothing actually against the Shichibukais.

"You have the sincerest acknowledgment of your help," said Valerie as she straightened out and returned the Marine cap to her head. She hadn't seen Hiro-Shu since the fight that they had back at the Marine Base. It was nice to know he was doing well...until today. She returned her glance back down to Hiro-Shu, before bowing to Enma. She wouldn't normally lower her head to a pirate, but he was caretaker of her friend first. "If after a careful evaluation of your choices, you believe that Mikoto will reject the benevolent offer of becoming a Shichibukai...I advise that you depart as quickly as possible. Two Vice Admirals are coming to assist in the defeat of Trevor."

Enma paused as he took in the advice. He waved them good-bye and saw them out as he returned to his worries about the Vice Admirals. It was the third highest ranking in the Marines, the only thing more powerful was the three Admirals and the Fleet Admiral. Which meant...they could be dealing with the fourth strongest Marine in the world. His worries were only compounded as he looked back at Hiro-Shu. He was heavily damaged...that was one-eighth of their power out of commission...actually considering that Mikoto was kidnapped for the foreseeable future and Sage was too depressed to lift a finger...one-third of their power was gone.

Their only chance of escaping with anything was if Mikoto accepted the offer. Enma thought about that possibility as he tossed it around in his head. He had completely forgotten about both Hiro-Shu and his own special project as he thought about this. He was slowly coming to the realization that in the majority of all the scenarios he ran in his heads...Mikoto said no. Enma looked back over at Hiro-Shu and ran the scenarios one last time. He came to his final decision...they were screwed.

**The Pressure of a Fight!**

**The Problems of a Slave!  
**

I wrote this chapter twice with completely different content. The other one was slightly better in terms of suspense, but I didn't like how the characters acted. They didn't act like they should've, so I went with this one instead. I still have not decided about Mikoto joining the Shichibukai, so don't take Enma's word for it. But with the Marines coming to eliminate the entire island it doesn't look like he has much of a choice. Next chapter is the chapter you have ALL been waiting for...well, maybe not all...the fight between Rosa and Zesiro is about to begin, but first something even more exciting...the Fishman brother's past!

Bad news time. I am going back to school in like a week...which means my updates will slow down. I promise it will NOT get worse then once every two weeks...but it may get as bad as once every two weeks.


	118. Arena 118 The Pressure of a Fight

**The Pressure of a Fight!**

**The Problems of a Slave!**

Zesiro was extremely anxious. He was sitting there in the locker room tapping his foot trying to calm down. Nito and Ichi were trying their best, running around and fetching him sword after sword, which Zesiro almost always chucked behind him without a care. The discarded swords were actually starting to form a pile behind him. Zesiro didn't know if the swords were all really as lousy as he thought they looked or if it was his bad mood that made them look lousy.

He was anxious enough during his last fight, his first fight, but now...it was all so much worse. He may have been able to get over the fact that this fight had sent Hiro-Shu to the hospital, but then the sudden realization came to him. His opponent was Rosa. He lowered his head and tried to calm down. This was a place that praised fights to the death...it was a place where that was the norm...and now he had to step into that place and go head-to-head with friend! Oh...and then there was also the matter of his captain being kidnapped...he had nearly forgotten about that. His brain just wasn't handling the pressure well.

To make matters worse the fight before them was taking forever! The two opponent's were apparently equally matched and neither of them had taken any real wounds. If the fight continued at this rate...Zesiro would die of old age before his fight started! Either that or he would just fall to the stress at this point both of them seemed likely.

Ichi stopped short as he looked at Zesiro sit there and try to think with his head hung down. He jabbed Nito in the side and Nito also skidded to a stop. "Don't you think he looks kind of like..." began Ichi, but Nito jabbed him back to shut him up.

"Of course, he does?" muttered Nito under his breath, "that's why I like him. He reminds of...you-know-who." Ichi and Nito both took another look at Zesiro. "But like that...he really does remind me of you-know-who."

Zesiro's ears perked at the sound of his two loyal followers secretive whispering. His head had cleared of his anxiety and he had temporarily forgotten about his problems as he listened to them try to hide whatever it was that they were hiding. They were blabbering on about you-know-who and the like, but the problem was Zesiro knew nothing about their past aside from the fact that they were slaves which meant his only real idea about you-know-who could be would be their owner, which meant he reminded them of their sadistic owner who beat them...which didn't sound like a compliment.

"What are you hiding?" asked Zesiro as he nodded in their direction. Nito and Ichi both scrambled about realizing that they had been heard.

"NOTHING!" sung Ichi, which was soon complimented by Nito's high-pitched 'NOTHING AT ALL'.

Zesiro lowered his head and shook it. The two of them were surprisingly tight-lipped about their past. It seemed odd, since they were so goofy and odd that he found it hard that they could be secretive about anything. Zesiro was ignoring his problems and had decided to focus on squeezing the information out of these two, "okay, fine," said Zesiro with dejected disappointment, "I just assumed we were friends, but I guess I am no you-know-who."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SHIGORO!" shouted Ichi with a panicked tone. Nito slapped his forehead, he had somehow been smart enough to see through such a play, but Ichi was not. Ichi realized it soon after and sunk to the floor.

Zesiro searched his brain for the name Shigoro as it sounded faintly familiar. Finally, the name hit him. He took a couple more looks at Nito and Ichi as he found it hard to comprehend that they would know him. Shigoro was...Shigoro was the first mate of a New World Yonkou! Zesiro stumbled back in his chair as he tried to piece everything together. Every Fishman in the world had heard of Shigoro as besides from Fisher Tiger and possibly Jimbei he was the most famous Fishman pirate ever to be in existence.

The Yonkou he was with wasn't too shabby either. His power was the real deal. He had used it to basically conquer islands in the Grand Line and even a couple in the New World. Zesiro was a Mako Shark Fishman, but it was possible that even this once he was the small fry in the ocean. Shigoro's bounty was frozen solid at the 300,000,000 belie mark...but it was a moot point not too many bounty hunters chased after a pirate with a bounty like that. "How the heck do YOU know Shigoro?" asked Zesiro as he moved forward.

"That sounds kind of offensive..." said Nito as he distracted his gaze. He could tell Zesiro was genuinely interested and since he already knew the two biggest parts of their secret about being slaves and Shigoro...the rest of it didn't quite matter, so he finally muttered, "Fine..." Ichi looked panicky at Nito, but agreed with him and nodded. "Well, as you put together we were slaves. Me, Ichi, and Sanada, but Shigoro was also a slave. Our master was...a collector of Fishman species. He collected a wide variety for work...random work really. Stuff any species could do, but he specifically wanted Fishmen."

Zesiro nodded as he accepted it. There were a lot of freaks out there, who would do something like that, who would purposely hunt down a species and collect it. Most people he knew did it with insects or fish or other animals that couldn't yell 'stop', but there were people that did it.

"Well..." continued Nito, "we were all owned by this one man. We hated it and we wanted out..."

(~Flashback~)

Nito shook his head. He had burn and scorch marks all over his body from another day of shoddy work, apparently. Their master was definitely trying to rip into them. Ichi had gotten off light, only a couple of bruises. Sanada was too young to work, he was an investment and their master acknowledged that, he only watched his brothers toil away in the farms. Shigoro sat down collapsed with his head hung low as he thought about the rest of their lives just being copies of this day.

Shigoro was hunkered over as he pondered the day. He was dressed in nothing in cut shorts and a Hawaiian styled shirt. Their master distributed stuff like that to the Fishman because he believed that was what they all wore and despite his dislike for the hideously colored shirt Shigoro played along. Around his neck was the ever fashionable slave collar. One step out of line and Shigoro's neck would be blown to kingdom come.

Shigoro was huge even for a Fishman. He stood at 8 foot tall and had muscles on top of muscles, it was one of the few benefits to a slave the work-out program gave him monstrous muscles. His Great White Shark Fishman blood only added to that work-out program making his monstrous muscles even bigger. The fin on his back was broken and had a chunk taken out of it due to some fighting on the island.

"We need to get out," Shigoro muttered as he looked at his fellow Fishmen brothers. They all gasped and looked around frantically.

"Don't say that!" screamed Ichi louder then Shigoro muttered, which attracted the guards over to them. After a couple of minutes of persuading the guards it was nothing, the guards left leaving them by themselves once more. "Don't say that," muttered Ichi keeping his voice down, "if the guards were to find out that we even thought of doing something so despicable...we'd be sashimi!"

"I'd prefer being sashimi over being somebody pack-mule," muttered Shigoro as he leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "Besides we need to get Sanada out of here until he's ruined too...the sound of a whip makes both of you two jump to the moon in fear!" Nito and Ichi distracted their gaze towards the ground, it was true and it hurt them dearly. "Sanada is our little brother...well, our younger brother and he deserves the fresh sea and sunlight! Hell, he deserves more then that."

Nito and Ichi nodded as they looked around making another note of the guards around them. "Maybe we can pull something together," said Nito and Ichi as they thought about it. Shigoro was more then strong enough to handle all of the human guards with his pure brute strength, combined with Nito and Ichi they may just be able to defeat all of them and escape. However, the problem was the damn colors that were locked on their necks. Nito was picking at his trying to figure out the proper way to break free.

"We need the keys," was the only idea they had. Shigoro nodded, it was a simple answer, but it was one that required a ton of work to achieve. The guards didn't keep the keys on them only the master did. He was the only one who had the rights to free the the Fishmen whenever he saw fit, which was usually when they died or he traded them for a rarer model.

After an entire day of thinking it over Shigoro and the rest of the brothers came up with nothing. They shrugged it off and nodded off to sleep. Staying awake after the torturous work day was something that even they couldn't do. They had decided that the problem was something that they could think about when they working.

And work they did. The next morning before even the crack of dawn they were sent out into the master's precious coral farm. Certain kinds of coral were becoming expensive as it had some special properties, but since it could only be grown at 500 feet below sea level Fishmen were the only people capable of doing the work. It was hard to know whether or not the master liked Fishmen because they could mine for coral and he liked mining for coral because he got to use Fishmen. In the long-run it didn't matter to Nito and Ichi the work was the same for them.

Next to Nito was a fellow Jellyfish Fishman, he was new to the farm and he didn't have very much muscles built up yet so tearing the ground up or ripping the coral off of the plants was out. So he mostly just talked to Nito. He floated around and hauled the coral back up to dry land whenever Nito pried it free, but that was the limit of his usefulness. His incessant blabbering kept going though...he talked more then he worked.

Nito was growing annoyed. First, his talking kept him from working and then his talking also kept invading his mind and stopping him from figuring out about the keys. Nito finally snapped as the Jellyfish moved into his next topic, underwater underwear. Nito turned around and landed a good punch onto his face, knocking him back. Nito was a veteran and an old worker at the coral farm to say that like most Fishmen he had twice the strength of a normal human was stupid. His strength was closer to 20x that of a normal human. Nito swung around and hit the Jellyfish knocking the gelatinous blob backwards.

A fight broke out 500 feet below water, by the time it was over. The guards had managed to drag an unconscious Jellyfish Fishman, who had more bruises then braincells at this point, out of the water. Nito followed. Nito was dragged through the farmland and to the main building. Opposed to their small little huts on the outside of the farms...the main building was something else. It was large, majestic, a big castle built off of the toils of slaves. Nito chuckled as he was dragged through the room.

He finally laid eyes on his master. The man who had owned him and made him work. The master liked running through the farms while they working and taking his anger out at them as well as other things, but this was the first time he saw him without any other Fishman around and it was first time he saw his family.

The man was big. He looked like a ball with arms and legs, the life of a fat cat Nito presumed. He shrugged it off and sat down, ready for whatever his fate was. Whether it was a lecture or death, he had to accept it. Nito didn't lower his head, though, his eyes remained fixated on the fat man's son. He looked like he was eight...Sanada was just about to turn 20...so in Giant years, he may have been right around eight as well.

"He's looking at Oliver, honey," whisked his the man's wife. The man slapped Nito's face away...his slap was weak even for a human, but Nito played along and pretended like it genuinely hurt him. Nito tossed himself to the floor and laid their sniveling on the ground. All of it was pretend of course. However, in a couple of seconds that stopped as Nito looked at the man one more time. He had seen something, something important.

The lecture and beating lasted about two hours each, but Nito didn't care when he got back to his brothers they were all anxious to hear how it was and treat his wounds. Nito didn't mind it and didn't object, he only said one thing, "Boys...we are getting out of here."

**The Escape Plan in Action!**

I haven't slowed down just yet. I still got a few more chapters to go until that will happen. Nito has unexpectedly taken the role of spokesperson amongst the Fishman brothers.

This arc has a lot of stuff in it, hasn't it? I mean I had Valerie and Karasu return, I had Mikoto get kidnapped, Hiro-Shu beaten, and now I mention something about the Yonkou? What's next? Well, how about a hint: Rosa and Zesiro's fight!


	119. Arena 119 The Fishman Brothers Escape

**The Escape Plan in Action!**

Nito was smiling as he laid his head back and thought about the previous day. He ignored the beating, the lecture, and the talkative Jellyfish. His mind was only focused on one thing. The fat man's waist. It was within arm's distance easily and on it jingled one single thing. The keys. Nito smiled as he thought about it, he could've reached out and grabbed it. Felt the cold metal in his hand. The cold metal that meant his freedom.

He could feel the desire to go back in time and grab it. But that was an impossibility. And even worse, he doubted he would survive another vicious beating. If master thought he was a trouble-maker there was no doubt in his mind that he would be turned over and skewered. He had rumors of people eating Fishman meat and seeing this man's apparent fondness for Fishman, it made him wonder if he had ever tried it. If the working-out was just because he liked his meat tough...he shivered at the thought, especially the thought of young Sanada who was already enough to feed a nation...NO! He shook the thought from his head before he finished it.

He looked over at Shigoro. Shigoro gave him a brief thumbs-up. Shigoro was to steal the keys later on that day. In the meanwhile, Nito, Ichi, and the tall Sanada were looking around the range for some form of weak spot. If they could get into the ocean they were home free. It wasn't a common thought for people as how could slaves escape? They had exploding collars of death attached to their neck twenty-four seven! They wouldn't care about their surrounding. These collars were of higher grade. They were proximity activated. If the Fishman stepped outside of the farm the collars were activated and boom! It was raining Fishmen. Another pleasant thought for Nito.

Shigoro was stalking the farm. He didn't particularly wanted to fight with someone who could put up a good fight, he needed to pick someone weak enough that after the fight was done and after the beating he was sure to get, he would have enough strength to swim away from the bastards. Unluckily, Nito had picked a fight with the latest recruit leaving Shigoro a fight with one of the Fishman who had been there for about two months and had a body to prove it. It hurt Shigoro more then anything to pick a fight with another slave, but they had a plan and their plan relied on him. Shigoro moved forward. His fist exploded forwards and hit the poor fellow, "what did you say?" shouted Shigoro as he leaned over him.

The Fishman paused for a second unsure of how to continue nor did he want to. Shigoro was definitely one of the toughest Fishman he had ever met, slave or otherwise. He tried to murmur out the words, "I'm sorry", but Shigoro's fist had stopped the words from coming out. Shigoro wandered over and kicked his gut. The Fishman curled from the blow and gargled a scream. That attracted the guard's attention. Shigoro chuckled as he knew it wasn't good enough. He needed to go straight to the top. If he stopped now the guards would take it upon themselves to punish him. Shigoro lifted his fist up about to pummel the poor Fishman when a better idea found its way into his head.

The first guard leapt up wielding an stun baton. He swung at Shigoro's head, but Shigoro ducked low and turned around firing a punch into his gut, "and you what kind of slave joint serves chum for breakfast! I WANT A STEAK!" he shouted as he fired another kick into the guard's chest. For the next hour or so, Shigoro had continued to rampage taking out guards and loosing a variety of completely true complaints. Finally, when he had caused enough trouble he let himself be taken down by the guards.

Ichi, Nito, and Sanada cringed as they heard every single punch, kick, swing, and strike hit Shigoro's body. They gritted their teeth and ignored. They had their own duties for the time being. They had to find the exit. Their get-away strategy wasn't enough. They needed to find some way out or else the brutal beating would be the equivalent of nothing.

They remained working even as the group of guards dragged Shigoro out of the farm and into the building. Shigoro didn't mind. He wasn't even technically being dragged. He was walking on his two feet, with his head held high. He chuckled. The guards ignored this act of defiance, he was just acting tough. Plenty of slaves did that, but once they were in the room with the master, they broke down. Begging not to be killed or punished.

They were wrong. Even as they shoved Shigoro to the ground, he didn't let up. He kept his head high and glared defiantly at his own master. The master turned his nose up at such an act. His wife wailed, "look at him, he's even uglier then the last one! Make sure he doesn't Timmy!" The young boy, Timmy, apparently looked away.

"Sure, I will!" shouted the master being fueled on by his wife's words. He walked over and began beating Shigoro mercilessly. Shigoro put a great act. Unlike Nito who acted like it hurt, Shigoro held on strong at first. Making it seem like the light slaps did nothing more then irritate him, but he gradually became an actor. As the hour long beating continued, the screams of pain he made grew louder. His twisting from the slap grew more dramatic. Finally when the beating was over, Shigoro was on the ground. He looked up and saw the keys...

(-later that night-)

Shigoro stood up. His body was still sore from his fight with the guards. The pudgy master's slaps weren't anything, but the guards were actually something. He nudged Nito, Ichi, and finally Sanada awake. They set out on the journey. The walls were nothing. They smashed into them and knocked them down. The alarm sounded, alerting them and waking up the guards. They broke into a run. Sanada huffed and puffed behind them. They forgot about the fact that he didn't have the toned bodies that they had. They had much stronger bodies then him. They rushed out and to the walls.

Shigoro took off the keys and they quickly inserted into their collars. The key slid into their collars and popped them open. Ichi went over to the wall and brought it down with a series of kicks. He broke out into the wilderness. They paused as they took in the outside. Finally, they all dove out and into the water that surrounded the island. Their first true breath of freedom...and they hit a net. They flailed wildly, but couldn't do anything. They felt the net tighten around their bodies and they were hauled into the air. On the land stood the pudgy master with a fat cigar in his mouth.

"Did you really think I had no countermeasures in place to stop a break-out," he shouted as he leered at the Fishmen. "I bought you all! I own you all! I decide what you do and when you do it! I never said you can escape! I never said you can try to escape! Hell, I prefer my broken televisions more than you!"

"Oooh, maybe if you break them you'll like them better," offered the wife in her annoyingly high-pitched voice.

"DELICIOUS IDEA!" shouted master as he turned around and motioned the guards to follow him. "I'll torture them tomorrow because I need my beauty sleep!"

"NO!" shouted Shigoro as he struggled against the bonds of the net. "I'm the mastermind! I set this all up, they were just following me! I stole the keys from you earlier today, remember when you were beating me up? I stole them from you then! YOUR SLAPS DID NOTHING TO ME YOU FAT PIG BASTARD!"

The man raised an eyebrow, "I'm a bastard, eh?" he asked skipping over the fat pig insult as if he had mentally conditioned his brain to bleep them out. "I was going to torture you all together so you can see your faces get distorted in pain, but I think you deserve something more! I think I'll torture you in solitude!" Nito and Ichi began to raise a fuss, but the master wasn't hearing it. They were each shoved into the same dark, dimly lit cell as they watched him cart Shigoro away.

"BRING SHIGORO BACK!" shouted Nito banging his fist against the wall, demanding the return of his friend. "BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK!" Ichi joined in on the chant, the pounding against the cells' wall echoed throughout the hallway. Nito was sure that they heard them and decided that it wasn't worth it to destroy two less then worthless Fishman. The pounding continued on and into the night.

"Bring...Shigoro...Back..." muttered Nito as he collapsed to the ground. His breath was waning from the day of working and the night of shouting, "give...him...back!" Nito looked over to Ichi who had also quieted down, running out of breath a little earlier then him. Sanada had fallen asleep as expected from someone like him. "I guess...we'll just be tortured soon..." Nito stared down at the floor.

"Hello," chimed a little voice from outside. Nito sprang up to his feet and stared out the small slot through the bars. The voice came from the master's son, who was standing outside by himself and looking up at Nito. "Hello...Fishman."

Nito scoffed as he collapsed back to the ground. "Hey...human." The boy wasn't like their Master, the boy reminded him of Sanada, so it was hard to harbor any sort of real hatred towards him even if he came at this time in the night just to mock them. "What do you want?"

"Why are you locked up?" asked the little boy as he knocked on the door.

That question annoyed Nito. He stood up and pushed his sharp nose through the bars and at the boy's head. "BECAUSE WE ARE YOUR FATHER'S SLAVES! DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? ITS NOT LIKE WE ARE LOCKED UP CAUSE WE WANT TO BE! YOUR FATHER LOCKS US UP!"

The boy cocked his head for a second. "Why don't you just leave if you hate it so much?" Once more Nito felt his anger rising. He pounded on the door extremely annoyed. If the boy wasn't a little kid, he probably would've said a slew of filthy words.

Nito collapsed onto the floor. "Cause we don't have the keys. The keys to the collars, the keys to the doors..." Nito felt a swelling urge to say the overly cliché line of 'the keys to our freedom', but he bit down swallowed it. His life was pathetic enough, he didn't want to start spouting horribly cliché lines. Nito sighed as he heard the little boy's footsteps pound away against the floor as he left.

Nito looked at Ichi and Ichi had nothing to say, so he just shrugged and stared over at Sanada. The cell was one of the bigger ones, so Sanada could fit in, but at the same time if Sanda rolled over once or twice it was highly possible he'd crush the two of them. Nito picked at his collars as he kept thinking about the keys. They had lost their one chance and even worse, they probably weren't going to be getting another."

A clatter of metal made Nito and Ichi jump. They looked down at the door and saw a ring of keys laying there. "These the keys?" asked the little boy. Nito pressed himself up against the cell and looked out. The little boy was standing there with a smile on his face as he looked up, "I know I don't like having to clean my room when I don't want to. You shouldn't have to stay here if you don't want to."

Nito glanced back over his shoulder at the keys that laid on the ground. He picked them and tested them out on his collars. Once more he felt the familiar click of his collar opening. "Yes..." whispered Nito, "we shouldn't have to stay here." He handed the keys off to Ichi as he woke Sanada up.

In seconds, they were outside of the cell. Nito handed the keys over to the boy, "can you go give these to the man that was with us?" asked Nito. The boy's smile faded as he looked down at the ground.

"He's gone already...daddy got rid of him."

(~Back at the URA~)

"I guess Master just must've shipped him off to another slavery space or something and he made his escape from there," said Nito with a smile on his face. "I was surprised when I read about Shigoro being a pirate and all that, especially with a human crew. Most slaves have a very strong hatred for humans after an incident like that...chances are if I wasn't saved by a human, I probably would have had one too."

Zesiro nodded as he understood a little bit about it. His early days were escaping from humans who thought he was the devil. He'd definitely understand the hatred...it was just pure luck he met some good humans that got him out and away from that dark place. There was one question that was at the back of Zesiro's mind though, "how come you guys never met back up with Shigoro?"

Nito's face fell at the question. "We...he...there's more to the story...but I...I don't want to talk about it..." Zesiro raised his eyebrow becoming more interested in the missing piece of the puzzle. He felt like asking them what it was, but at that moment the bell for the next fight to begin rang and caught Zesiro's attention. His mind was off of it for the long fight, but now the worries had returned and he couldn't ask Nito and Ichi about their story. He just grabbed and sheathed his sword and went on his way into the ring.

**Crew Members Outside of the Ring...**

**Opponents within...**

With Rosa's history being more or less a bit of a letdown I decided I needed to go ahead and do another person's history and do it right! So, that's more or less the history of the Fishman brothers minus one small detail, but that's a tale for another week because next week is Zesiro's and Rosa's clash!


	120. Arena Arc 120 Friends Inside the Ring

**Crew Members Outside of the Ring...**

**Opponent's Within...**

Rosa was breathing heavily. She had been watching the entire fight and was already growing nervous. She had tried to read a book in order to calm herself down, but the impending fight kept popping back up into her mind. It was there, standing strong as the object of attention. Then there was Hiro-Shu who had recently lost. The two elements kept mixing in her head. Zesiro was stronger then Mashiba, wasn't he?

What if she wound up like Hiro-Shu? No...she'd end up worse. Hiro-Shu had armor...thick armor to protect him. Rosa grabbed at her hoodie's hood and pulled it over her head as if it would offer any more protection. It wouldn't. She could Zesiro moving his entire body around, using the strength of a Fishman, and the technique of a master swordsman. There was no way! Her hoodie would be ripped into pieces and possibly take her head with it!

No. Zesiro was a nice guy and he would hold back...right? He would...wouldn't he? Her mind frantically began searching for some facts that she had known about him, but they came up empty. She had just met him on the last island and known him for not even a couple of weeks! Did she really think that she knew Zesiro well enough to KNOW that he would hold back? She believed she did. He was kind and courageous enough to put his life on the line for his captain, he should hold back against a friend.

The fact was...Zesiro was trying to save his captain. He couldn't allow for a single margin of error. He couldn't allow for his captain to get killed because he went easy...if he got injured in this fight, because he went easy on her and wound up with a serious sword wound...it would be his fault, nor hers...for Mikoto's death. The thoughts kept bubbling up in Rosa's head. She tried to push them down and away, but there was too many of them. This fight could lead to her death, Zesiro's death, Mikoto's death...the more and more she thought about it, the only death it didn't seem like it could lead to was Trevor's.

"Aye, there you wee little lass!" said Simon as he strode into the room. "I know what yer thinkin'. I would be too if I were in yer shoes." Simon let out a hearty laugh, "I'm so glad I'm not!" Rosa stared at him for a moment with heated eyes. Simon backed away and coughed. "Well...you see the thing is this...you are worried about yer friend, but I don't think you be givin' him enough credit! Do you really think he would be a pirate in the Grand Line if he let something like this get 'im down. Oh, no that iron man in there gots lot more tenacity then that." Rosa sighed as she realized he was talking about Hiro-Shu. "Nobody in the Grand Line dies easily. I grew up here, I should know!"

"But..." protested Rosa trying to correct Simon on his guess. But he just held up his hand and shook his head.

"But nothin'!" he shouted with his gruff voice. "I put the life of my son in yer hands, remember? Do you really think I'd do something that silly with someone who would die like that? HECK NO!" he shouted. "We dwarfs are strong an' we dwarfs are smart! Don't go putting my race down by believin' we were just strong lug-heads!" Simon got up to leave, he patted some dirt free from his pants and looked back at her.

"That's not all lassie! There's an old folk saying where I grew up! Those who survive in the world are those who have the keys to success and those keys are found at the very bottom of a pit called 'despair'. There's plenty of ways to fall into said pit! A bad loss, a twisted ankle...a lost son," said Simon lowering his head in shame, "BUT! Its climbing out that matters! And trust me when I say...yer friend can climb out just fine!"

Rosa looked back down at her feet. Talking to Simon was pointless. He just didn't understand...she was fighting her friend. She thought about giving the fight and throwing the towel in early, but something was nagging at her. Simon was right. He was talking about the wrong person, but he was right. Zesiro had every bit of tenacity as Hiro-Shu. Even if Zesiro did lose wouldn't that mean that Rosa was the one who should be moving on to the next fight? The goal wasn't to win the fight, it wasn't to make sure they didn't lose, it was to make sure they rescued Mikoto. Rosa smiled.

The very bottom of a pit called 'despair'. Yeah, that somehow made sense. She looked straight up and at the ceiling. She remembered the island that the URA was on was basically like a pit. The island was at the sea-level, but it was basically a pit that sunk down several hundred yards below sea level. Maybe they were at the bottom and just needed to climb back up.

Her head popped back up as she heard the ringing indicating that their fight was starting. Rosa took one last deep breath and grabbed hold of her sword and walked out into the stadium. The lights blinded her temporarily, it was so dark in the waiting room. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the light. She looked around at the stadium. Zesiro was already in the ring. He didn't seem the slightest bit nervous. He was in the ring, blocking out the blood-thirsty cries from the crowd. They didn't seem too fond of any of the Infinity Pirates, but they had a special hatred for Zesiro since he was a Fishman. Or at least she thought as she noticed an empty can come flying at her. She dodged out of the way letting it breeze past her.

Rosa's attention swiveled to the crowd, anxious to find a friendly face. Maria and Simon were both in the crowd, but neither one of them were trying to attract any attention, plus who could they cheer for. Cheering for one meant discouraging the other, so they both remained quiet in their seats. Rosa returned her attention to the ring and her upcoming opponent.

She paused as she looked around. Trevor was gone...as a matter of fact the entire boss' podium, or whatever it was called, was empty. Mikoto, Trevor, Karasu, they were all gone. Zesiro looked over at the podium apparently just now becoming aware of the missing boss. He grumbled something, but Rosa couldn't hear it over the crowds' yelling. With one final breath she stepped into the ring.

The obnoxious announcer's voice came on over the Den-Den Mushi, "The Infinity Pirates hoping to make a comeback after their crew's embarrassing loss the other day are now stuck facing each other!" The term 'crew's embarrassing loss' seemed odd. Since only one fourth of them had lost and Maria had won her fight in under two minutes. It seemed like a ridiculous thing to announce as well. "We have a match between genders, races, and swordsmen! Will the victor be Zesiro, the male Fishman swordsman who apparently had adopted another blade since his last fight or will it be Rosa the female human swordsman sticking to her single sword style!" The crowd seemed to be hushed down. It was apparent that they didn't want either one to win. The idea of a Fishman winning the tournament sickened their stomach, but a woman winning their tournament seemed just as sickening...

The gong rang and right off the back Rosa sprung forward. It took Zesiro by surprise the sudden movement. His worries still hadn't completely dispersed, but after watching Rosa move in at high-speeds they returned full-throttle. Imaging his friend already ready to mow him down made him pause a brief moment, but Rosa wasn't holding back. She lashed out with her sword, Zesiro recovered just in the nick of time to put one of his sword's in between them and fend off the attack. Rosa didn't wait for Zesiro to further gather his mind, she spun around and launched a second attack at his unguarded side. Zesiro broke free dodging to the side and regaining his footing while Rosa swiped air.

He crowd was already roaring. They may not want either one of them to win, but they forgot that this meant one of them HAD to lose. Although they all secretly wished that this would end up in a bloody draw, none of them proudly declared so. Instead they each picked the person the disliked the least and began cheering for them. Of course, every so often a discouraging 'you suck' or 'just die already' would rise up from the crowd.

Then came the problem of Trevor. The crowd was anxious to see blood and since the last fight had been so long without any real excitement, they felt cheated combine that with the fact that Trevor saved Hiro-Shu's life, their desire for blood and reached a peak, but the question remained would Trevor stop this fight before it hit that moment? They were all on the edge of their seats thinking about Trevor preventing another death. They bit their nails and wished that Trevor would stay gone just until this fight was over and one of them was dead.

And they may just get their wish. Zesiro finally managed to get used to the idea of the fight and roared back at Rosa bringing his sword down and nearly cleaving an arm off, but Rosa had dodged to the side ad avoided the attack with ease. However, that still didn't help calm Rosa's mind. Seeing a sword coming at you tended to set you on edge having that sword wielded by your friend tended to _REALLY _set you on edge. It did something similar to Rosa. She jumped back confused temporary as if they weren't in an tournament fighting for their lives and the lives of their friends. She seemed bewildered for a split second, but then she came back to...just as Zesiro was charging again with a second slash.

Rosa jumped back using her slightly superior speed to her advantage, but Zesiro didn't care. He moved in again and before Rosa's feet even touch the ground Zesiro made another wide arcing slash with his sword. Rosa cringed and brought her sword forward and in front of her. She felt Zesiro's monstrous strength for the first time as it shuddered into her sword and up her arm. Zesiro's strength flung her back a few feet, but Rosa managed to catch herself land on the ground once more, feet first. She looked up at Zesiro as he charged again, preparing a third slash. Rosa dodged to the side, but Zesiro was waiting for that he brought his free blade around and at her with a thrusting motion.

Rosa grimaced and fell to the floor, letting the blade cut above her. She flinched as she felt the blade slice into her short dark brown hair. She could've sworn that time had stopped as she looked up at Zesiro, thrusting his blade inches away from her face. A few strands of her hair fluttered into her view and the awful time-stopping spell broke. Rosa backed away at full speed and was immediately grateful that she did, as Zesiro brought his sword plunging down into the earth where she had been.

Rosa was shocked. Moments ago when this fight had started she had sensed something in Zesiro, some form of regret or despair, some slight twinge of sadness that said that he did not want to do this, but here he was in a frantically swiping motion. Sending his swords flying and cutting through the air and in a frenzied fashion. Moving in a step closer would almost guarantee that Rosa would feel the icy steel blade of at least one of his katanas lop off at LEAST one of her appendages. Rosa guessed that it was partly her fault, she had been the one to charge first and attack Zesiro, but now...now Zesiro had completely engulfed her attacks with a frenzied matters of wide and powerful swings.

Rosa was very wrong. Zesiro's attacks weren't frenzied due to some deep-seated hate or desire that invoked a demonic attitude towards her. His mind wasn't filled with the thoughts of slicing her up. If anything it was the exact opposite. He didn't want this fight to drag on any longer. His frantic attacking was in order to finish this fight up before the sudden and sure realization that he was trying to beat his friend came rushing at him again and he froze. His goal was a quick finish. An unlikely idea seeing Rosa cartwheel, duck, flip, and dodge all of his slashes, but he was still aiming for it. **"Twin Thresher! Shark Wave!"**

**Zesiro on Assault!**

I still hate school...onto the story's note.

That's right a multi-chapter fight that doesn't involve Mikoto! My goal for this arc was to improve my ability at writing fight scenes and try to not focus on Mikoto as much. I think I've done both fairly well so far.

Also, I've been meaning to do this ever since Chapter 100, but starting next chapter I will be re-posting all the main character profiles (slightly altered) to remind you about them as in appearances and likes and dislikes stuff that would normally go in an One Piece logbook. Including a special section, which is just basically their opinions on the rest of their crew.


	121. Arena 121 Zesiro on Assault

**Zesiro on Assault!**

"**Twin Thresher! Shark Wave!" **commanded Zesiro as he whipped his two arms forward and brought the swords around. The blades cut into the air and sent two flying slashes soaring at Rosa. Rosa jumped out of the way and to the side, she felt the air being pushed by the slash blew by her with incredible power. She spun temporarily as she lifted her head she found Zesiro charging in at her.

Zesiro charged forward and crouched lower than Rosa. Rosa looked down at him. "**Cascading Cuts!"** Zesiro stood up, straightening out his legs and unleashing a series of sharp cuts upwards at Rosa. Rosa brought her blade down and felt every single and separate slash from Zesiro's blade shudder into her blade and force her back. Rosa felt her feet lift off of the ground from the strength of Zesiro's swing. He grunted as he moved forward slamming his shoulder into Rosa's body and knocking her further back, with a quick rotation Zesiro brought his sword back around and at Rosa's unguarded gut. Rosa quickly brought her own arm free and down into his arm, knocking it away.

Rosa paused as she looked at Zesiro. His right arm had been knocked aside and his left arm still hadn't moved in enough to protect his body...against anyone else she would drive her sword forward and gouge out his guts...but it was Zesiro...she hesitated looking at Zesiro and she hesitated too long. Zesiro brought his left arm forward and smashed his sword handle towards Rosa's head. Rosa instinctively jerked her head back. Her head was floating in the clouds as she looked at him, she wondered for a bit about why she had moved her head back, she didn't see the blade coming at her...her head just moved on its own.

Zesiro paused and drew his swords back to his side. He sheathed them both and took a step back away from Rosa. He didn't know if he should be thrilled or upset at the fact that Rosa held back and didn't use that thrust technique. If she had he would've been wounded, but it wouldn't have meant the end of the fight. He wasn't about to quit just because of a minor wound like that and he definitely wasn't going to die from it. He looked up at Rosa, who seemed a little bit worried. Zesiro breathed heavily and sighed. He lowered his body and grabbed hold of his blade, but he didn't unsheath it.

Zesiro hovered for a second as he contemplated his sword. He had grown accustomed to the two sword-style, but he never noticed one of the biggest differences between one and two sword-style. One sword-style had a bigger emphasis on technique. There was a lot more people who practiced it, so a lot more techniques had been born from it. Some of those techniques were transferred into two sword-style, but the lack of people who practiced it translated into a lack of interest. While two sword-style was truly a cornerstone on power, speed, and had its own pool of techniques, the one sword-style has a larger pool. Even for Zesiro someone whose specialty is two sword-style should regress to it every so often even if it was simply to gain a new-found appreciation for it.

"**Issen," **said Zesiro as he took up the famous stance. It was meant for a quick draw and slash. To unsheathe, slash and then re-sheathe. It wasn't popular in the two sword-style due to the problem of drawing two blades and launching a slash with two blades and then hurriedly re-sheathing two blades was more work then it should be, but Zesiro had temporarily regressed to one sword-style.

It also made sense for him. He had originally intended on this fight being somewhat of a warm-up...a practice match. He had been fighting with only one sword for awhile now, so he was hoping that a fight with Rosa would allow him to get back in the swing of using two swords, but his replacement sword just wasn't right. It was a decent enough blade, but it was still not a sword he was used to. The weight of it, the size, its sharpness. They were all foreign to him. He still couldn't bring out his full-power with it. He needed his old sword back. However, that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Rosa stayed put a few feet away as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Seeing Zesiro's open body in front of her and letting that chance slip away confused her. She hesitated staring at Zesiro as he prepared for another furious exchange, one that Rosa doubted she could be a part of. She just didn't have the feeling that compelled her to fight this time, she wanted to just go back to the locker room, open a book and read...maybe write a little bit. That was her goal.

She had very little desire in becoming the champion of the URA or for that matter becoming a powerful warrior. Her dream was to be able to write books that anyone would want to read. A part of her wanted to go out on this journey to find material for it, but so far she hadn't found anything. The shelves were stocked with stories of brave woman bounty hunters. It was hard to stand out in such a business if you wrote about the same thing as everyone else. She sighed.

Zesiro had grown agitated with waiting for her to make the first move and inched closer to Rosa, to put him within cutting distance. With a quick slash of his sword, he brought it flying through the air at Rosa' chest. He was slightly ashamed to admit he twisted the sword and brought the back of the blade at her where he wouldn't cut her. Rosa jumped back, once more on the autopilot dodging she had so prominently displayed in her previous fights. Zesiro took a step forward and thought about slicing her again, but stopped. He didn't want to waste strength with his random slicing and hope that one of them would hit her on pure dumb luck. He moved back and waited for Rosa to remember she was in a fight.

Rosa stood there and she swiveled her head to the side, still daydreaming about her book and adventures. She stood there as she watched the crowd start to roar up again. She paused as she looked out there. _"This might be an exciting chapter for a book," _thought Rosa. The thought of someone being forced to fight in a tournament against her will to save her friend. The villain was written perfectly as the homicidal Trevor and the exciting climax was only seconds away as two friends dueled in front of a crowd of anxious maniacs. She took a deep breath as she once again pulled her heads out of the clouds and back to the fight.

Now that she thought about it a duel between two friends. Plenty of books had that and in each one it was heated. It wasn't the two people standing about and having a staring contest! No, a fight between friends needed something more. It needed true action. She had set off to gain materials on how to write a good book and they were standing in front of her right now. She had her resolve no! She wouldn't turn a blind eye to it. Now she only had to hope that Zesiro would keep his resolve throughout the rest of the fight. Rosa lowered her body and leapt forward once again using the technique that defeated Simon.

Zesiro was surprised by the sudden attack. Rosa was meekly standing there as if she had lost all will to fight and now she returned with new and improved determination. It was a startling transformation! But he wasn't about to lose that quickly. Zesiro lashed out with his sword matching Rosa's blade. He was impressed enough by the sudden metamorphosis of Rosa's attitude, but the strength she had behind the blade was just as impressive. Zesiro knew that he was stronger than Rosa, but needless to say she swatted his blade away. It must've been due to the leap and the momentum she had gained from that. It didn't give Zesiro any reason to worry as far as rapid-fire attacks were he was still superior. His second hand snaked over to his remaining sword and he drew it with incredible speed and forced Rosa back once more.

Rosa stood very still, carefully examining Zesiro for any weaknesses. The crowd, who had either been lulled to sleep or gotten even louder with complaints due to the lack of action, had found it in them to begin cheering them on once again. Their previous complaints about the lack of action or just their general insults to the two of them disappeared and as replaced with a rousing desire to see the two of them coat the other in blood. Rosa was having a harder time focusing due to this, but nonetheless she didn't want to make a mistake and decided it would be better for her just to take her time.

Zesiro disagreed. Rosa may rely on her intellect, but Zesiro didn't need to. His strength came from his natural instincts. With that advantage, he didn't need to wait. He charged it with both of his swords at the ready. He brought them both down at the same time with two downward thrusts aimed at Rosa. "**Shark Chomp!" **Rosa pushed herself backwards just in time to watch the two swords plunge into the ground, cutting into the hard stone as if it was butter. Rosa dove forward, taking advantage of the fact that Zesiro's swords were in the ground. Zesiro ripped his blade free from the ground and blocked the charging slash. "**Devilfish Finisher!" **Zesiro crossed his two blades, forming an X, he lashed out with both of them at the same time slashing a new X in the air and at Rosa. Rosa dodged backwards as soon as her feet touched the ground she leapt forward once more without missing a beat. With her entire body acting like a spring she lashed out with her sword once more.

Zesiro brought his two swords down and blocked the attack, however with Rosa leaping forward from her spot she managed to put a lot more force behind it then Zesiro could handle and blew his guard upwards. Rosa didn't hesitate this time as she took another step inwards and followed her upwards slash with a second downwards chop. Even Zesiro had no chance to back away and completely avoid the blow, the most he could was sway backwards and grit his teeth while Rosa's blade cut into him.

Zesiro jumped back when the attack was done. He had a new wound, a long slash from his shoulder down to his waist thanks to Rosa. He wouldn't say he was lucky that he had avoided getting killed in that moment, but he definitely could've. He wasn't quite sure if Rosa had held back though with that slash in fear of killing him or if she had gone all out trying to kill him. Neither was really a good thing.

Rosa backed up once more and took her distance. Rosa frowned. She had intended to deliver a powerful slash with her sword. She thought she stepped in deep enough and that it was more then enough to cut him in half, but apparently it wasn't. Rosa took another step forward and felt the sudden strain in her leg. She had been running around a lot and not to mention she had been doing that forward leaping slash she had stolen from McIntyre multiple times now. Not to mention the jam-packed schedule of her fights...her fight against Simon was only two days ago. Her fight with McIntyre was a little over a week. The back-to-back fights were taking their toll on her body. However, a time-out in the middle of the fight definitely wasn't allowed.

The crowd was already starting to get riled up at their momentary break from trying to kill each other. Not to mention it didn't look like Zesiro had any intention to rest up either. It wouldn't do him much good to anyways though, he had a new wound and it needed attention, more attention then he could give it in a fight. He needed to wrap the fight up fast and get to Enma. This meant it had become apparent to both of them. The fight was drawing to its end.

**Killing Cuts Between Friends**

Urgh, probably one of the longest non-boss guy fights I have ever written. However, it is quickly speeding up and nearing its conclusion. Not to mention it still isn't the semi-finals of the tournament, how much trouble can still be piled onto the crew now? Stay reading and reviewing to find out!

Have you forgotten about your old pirates? Like what they look like or their personality doesn't quite show through, well here is all of your favorite pirates' profiles, but this time it is posted in first person so your favorite crew members will be talking straight to you. (I will providing the first person speech unless one of their creators want to PM me their own.)

Full Name: The name is Mikoto D. Azgard.

Bounty Name: My bounty name is 'Coyote Kid', but some people say 'Kid Coyote' due to the fact they get it mixed up and, really, either one works. I'm currently worth over 30 million!

Devil Fruit/Weapon: My Devil Fruit is the Inu-Inu no Mi; Model Coyote. (Mutt-Mutt Fruit). With it I'm a little bit more awesome since I can transform into coyote or human/coyote hybrid.

Physical Appearance: I'm only five ten when I'm human, so I'm about average. I have short jet-black hair that reaches down to my ears, admittedly its growing longer, not much time to get a hair cut when I'm out pirating. I have emerald green eyes. My favorite shirt is a black one with a red question mark on it, it makes me think of riddles. I wear nice cargo shorts with a lot of pockets. I used to wear shoes, but when you transform into a coyote...shoes just don't work, so I began going shoeless and I feel a lot better.

Hybrid Form-My hair grows a little lighter to become a darker gray with tinges of brown fur at the ends. I grow razor sharp claws on both my hands and feet, they used to tear up my shoes when I ran like that. I also grow a coyote's snout for the top of my mouth and nose. My sense of smell and hearing are both increased in this form.

Animal form-I'm basically a regular coyote when I full transform. Oh, but I keep my clothing on! I'm not allowed to go naked after that one incident back at home...

Personality: I like noise, even though my coyote forms are very sensitive to it, but if you ask me if things are too quiet things are too boring! And even though I was a pirate I was raised right by Xavier and Melanie they always told me to help people out, cause you may need or want their help someday, so I always help people out if I like them. My favorite thing in the world is definitely riddles, I mean how can someone not like them!? I'm told I sometimes do stupid things or promise impossible things for a good riddle, but I personally think a good riddle is worth our ship!

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): Nobody thinks my dad was a great pirate and they are true, but I'm nothing like him! I'm going to be King of Pirates just to show them up...and if I collect a few good riddles along the way who is it going to hurt?

Opinions of his fellow crew members:

Ridley: The first pirate to ever join my crew! He's a good guy at heart...at least to me. He can get a little bit out of hand and acts like he is captain, but he isn't that bad in a pinch, I guess it comes from the fact that he has seen a lot of problems growing up due to the fact that his father shot his mom in front of him.

Sage: Sage's cooking is the best! Sage is a good person...even if she does hit me sometimes. I think she is just trying to keep me in line when she hits me...although I don't understand why she feels like hitting me is the answer?

Zesiro: Zesiro a trust-worthy nakama! His strength and smarts make him probably the most reliable guy on the crew! He didn't want t become a pirate and even now he isn't too big of a fan of pirates, but he's coming around.

Hiro-Shu: A faithful guy. He supports you through thick and thin, just not verbally. He definitely wouldn't fail me! AND I SURE AS HECK DON'T THINK HE'S GOING TO DIE!

Enma: He's extremely smart, nice, and he prays to Lucifer. I don't think anything is wrong with that especially not with a good guy like him, right?

Maria: I just met her, but she is soooo COOL! I mean, she is a freakin' cyborg! I wish I was a cyborg...


	122. Arena 122 Killing Cuts Between Friends

**Killing Cuts Between Friends!**

Zesiro moved forward making rapid downward slashing motions with his sword. He was using it more as a feint and a taunt then an actual attack. It was just like simple shadow-boxing, it wouldn't do anything to the opponent, but the opponent still wouldn't rush in at him. He was taking a systematic and slow approach to the fight. He wasn't about to make a mistake right now. It fit into his fighting style as well. Zesiro's fighting style was all about power and skill, he forced his opponent's back with a constant combination of big and powerful swings with his sword. A single mistake in a fight with him could prove fatal. Of course, he also had skill to take advantage of every opening, even the smallest one. In this moment if you failed to execute on an opening, you'd lose, he was sure he had the advantage.

Rosa took a different approach to preparing for the final attack. She was bouncing about from side-to-side, she'd jump to the side, bend her knees on impact, then immediately spring back up and to the other side with renewed speed. She didn't move her sword as much her attention was much more focused on her feet. Unlike Zesiro who relied on strength, Rosa was a faster fighter. With the range of her sword and the speed of her feet, she'd enter her opponent's range and exit in almost the same instant, leaving them with a new wound from her blade. In a sudden death moment like this she thought she had the advantage.

The entire audience went quiet as they realized the climax was drawing closer. They all prepared for the final clash between these two fighters. The fight had started off as the most dreaded for everyone. The two fighters were fighting their own friends and allies and the audience were disappointed in the fight between a girl and a Fishman, but now they were all captivated as the fight wore down to its final leg.

Rosa lowered her body and dashed forward. She couldn't allow Zesiro to have the first attack, if that was the case she'd definitely get in trouble. She moved forward with an insane amount speed. He moved at such an incredible pace that she was almost within his range within seconds. Rosa spun forward launching a lightning fast thrust from a lightning fast rush. The sword moved forward, becoming a silver blur.

Zesiro brought his two swords together like scissors, slamming them into Rosa's sword at the same instant clasping the sword, bringing it to a standstill. Zesiro twisted the blades around, swinging them both up, his blades tipped upward knocking into Rosa's sword's guard and lifting it up. Rosa's blade was lifted into the air along with her hands, which remained fastened onto her sword's hilt.

Zesiro lowered his blades, preparing for a quick simultaneous thrust with both of his blades intent on immediately taking advantage of this opening. Rosa leapt up into the air, jumping backwards desperate to avoid the ferocious attack. Zesiro's blade stabbed the air, but not even touching Rosa's shirt. Rosa caught herself as she stumbled back briefly, bringing her sword back down to her regular stance.

Rosa charged forward, before Zesiro readied for another full power swing. She weaved her head in-between the two blades as Zesiro withdrew them. Zesiro quickly brought his two blades together, with enough power to cleave her head off if it hit. Luckily for Rosa, it didn't. She ducked underneath them. She stepped in and brought her sword forward with a thrust aiming for Zesiro's gut. Zesiro brought his arms down, slamming them into the back of her blade and knocking it down, but not completely avoiding it. The blade went through and sliced into his thigh. Zesiro smiled through the pain, giving Rosa a brilliant view of his jagged teeth.

His hand shot down, grabbing a hold of her blade and holding it steady in his own body. Then with his other hand he brought his sword around and at Rosa's side. Rosa twisted her body around, lifting her sheath up to her side and using it to block Zesiro's mad slash. However, the power from Zesiro's slash didn't disappear, blowing Rosa away. Rosa used that to wrench her blade out of Zesiro's leg. Zesiro grunted again as he check his leg out. He kicked it up and into the air, just to make sure it still worked.

Rosa skidded on the ground as she tried to regain her footing by the time that she had recovered Zesiro was ready to go again. Zesiro charged forward at her, this time he was going in to start the exchange. Zesiro slashed downwards, using the speed of his own rush this time to increase the dangerous power of his slash. Rosa dodged backwards and watched as the blade smash into the ground where she was standing, sending up a blast of debris and rocks. Zesiro struck out with his sword, he used the back of the blade knocking it into the rocks. He shot the pebble forward as if it was a baseball. Rosa bobbed her head to the side to avoid it. Zesiro continued to send small pebbles at her head as if he was a machine gun, Rosa twisted her body, bobbing and weaving through the spray of rocks, closing in on Zesiro. When Rosa finally got into slicing range she brought her sword forward and tried to mow Zesiro down. Zesiro's sword smashed into hers, knocking it aside. He stepped forward and brought his second blade forward with a thrust. Rosa jumped up into the air above his sword, then using Zesiro's own blade as platform, she leapt into the air again flying over Zesiro's head. She twisted her blade, where it was pointed downwards then she altered her trajectory and moved down falling towards Zesiro's head. This time it was Zesiro's turn to move away. He jumped back and watched as Rosa's sword went into the rocky floor like a knife into butter. She pulled it out just as easily.

"Wanna finish this up?" asked Zesiro as he began to draw line in the ground with his sword.

"I was going to finish it up whether you asked me or not," mocked Rosa, she planted her feet onto the ground. Ordinarily she had her heels in the air to allow for faster dashes, but weaker attacks with her feet planted squarely on the ground she could deliver more powerful slashes.

Zesiro skipped the pleasantries and charged in. Zesiro unleashed multiple flying slashes that soared through the air at Rosa. Rosa weaved through them as she rushed forward to meet Zesiro. She finally got in his range, just in time for Zesiro to bring both of his swords down on top of her. Rosa stopped, and lifted her sword up above her head blocking the blow. She lifted her hand up too and placed it behind the blade to further brace for the impact. Zesiro's two swords slammed into hers. She grunted as she tried withstand the blow.

Rosa was stuck. She had fallen down to one knee in order to get better balance in blocking his attack and now her sword was stuck in a position to block both of Zesiro's blades. The difference in strength was obvious. She flinched as her sword was finally pushed out of the way allowing for both of Zesiro's blades to drop and slice into her.

(-In the infirmary-)

Enma sat in his infirmary. He tapped his foot impatiently onto the hardwood floors of the ship. His eyes drifted over to Hiro-Shu, who still hadn't woken up. There were many horror stories of fighters, who just never woke up after a fight. He just hoped this wouldn't turn out to be one of them. He turned back and tried to return his attention to his experiments, but couldn't focus. In a few hours...they'd be one more crew mate in here. Would it be Zesiro or Rosa? He tapped a random melody on the desk just trying to distract his thoughts.

His eyes drifted out over to the window and stared outside of it and at the sea. He sighed as he tried to keep a level head about all the problems popping up. His mind drifted from troubling matter to troubling matter, but for the most part stayed on the Marine's planned attack on the URA.

A Marine ship was outside of his window, bobbing up and down in the water. Enma had a slight trepidation towards the ship from being a pirate. He peered out the window a moment longer, this time focusing on the ship. A man walked off of it and following him was one or two other Marines. Enma frowned as he couldn't see who it was due to the distance. He got up and began to head off of the ship and to the new Marine ship when Lily, in her animal room, was thrown into the room. Enma immediately jumped up onto his feet and produced his bone spear aiming it at the next man who walked in. It was the masked man from the other day. Despite it being someone he knew (or thought he knew as his red mask made it hard to identify) he kept his spear up and aimed at the man.

"Easy, tiger...relax. I'm sorry about being cruel to your friend, but she didn't get out of my way when I asked her to...if it was just a regular animal I could understand. But as a human I expect a little bit more intelligence." How the heck did he know she wasn't a normal animal? "I just had some news I wanted to give you. A new Marine ship just landed."

"Yeah, I thought so," said Enma turning his gaze back to the window. "Why are you telling me this? I thought as a Marine it was your job to capture pirates, not help pirates. Even if we are the first choice for a Shichibukai. I think I could feel a little bit safer if I knew your reasoning."

The masked man scoffed at Enma's worry. "I suppose saying 'A friend of my friend is my friend' wouldn't work, will it?" Enma shook his head no. "Consider it...placing a bet on the new world. I don't think Marines will be in control forever, so having strong friends wouldn't hurt, whether they are pirates or Marines. As a matter of fact...I think the World Government is falling apart fairly quickly nowadays too many powerful pirates for us to deal with. I'd just rather be on the winning side."

Enma still didn't seem impressed, but he supposed right now he had to go with every ounce of help they could get. "What makes you think that? Some problems in the World Government? A recent falling out or something?"

The masked man shook his head, "Let's just say that for every one Marine there is fifty pirates. Its becoming a dying profession, everybody thinks that they can be the Pirate King. Not only that, but Impel Down has already become a laughing stock...one of our top three facilities are being laughed at. Not to mention...ah, nah! I shouldn't tell you, some things got to stay a government secret."

Enma nodded and went onto the next subject. "Is the Vice Admiral on it?" With any luck they may be able to get the drop on him, get rid of the ship and the Vice Admiral before they started the attack push the luck a little bit more in their favor. He looked back over at the masked man and frowned as he remembered he was talking to the Marine. Why would he sell out his own team just to make nice with a standard everyday pirate?

"I have no idea, I don't talk to the Vice Admirals very much...the higher-ups aren't usually too friendly to us lower ranks," said the masked man as he hurried to the window and peered out of it, probably just checking to make sure he couldn't be seen from the distance. "But I did something that almost made me jump out of my skin." He pulled one of the cabinets in the room over and in front of window, blocking them completely from view. "One of the things that is wrong with the modern government. A Golden Den-Den Mushi."

**Enma's Workload Increases!**

**Ridley's and Melanie's Search Bears Fruit?!**

Da-Da-DUH! I hope most of you know what a Golden Den-Den Mushi mean, if you don't...oh, well, you'll just have to wait until my next chapter! The story just keeps climbing higher and higher with suspense, so I hope you guys are already for one of the most interesting (or most disappointing) arc endings ever!

Now for the next character profile the ever-noisy and kind of dark musician of the Infinity Pirates, Ridley Blackwell!

Full Name: Ridley is my name, making music is my game!

Aliases (or nicknames): 'Noise Maker' Ridley, like it? I suggested it myself. I'm currently the lowest in terms of bounties of the entire crew (except for Enma and Maria who don't have any) only at 17 million, but hey I'm famous enough!

Devil Fruit/Weapon: My special weapon is noise. I use a guitar that is strapped to me as well as two speakers fashioned out of tone dials and using some high-end technology from the land of cyborgs.

Physical Appearance: Jeans and black shoes along with a solid colored shirt completes my soon-to-be clothing line when I make it big as a pirate/musician. I have a green Mohawk, because, come on, they are the coolest hairstyle. I have brown eyes.

Personality: If one word describes me it is LOUD! I hate peace and quiet and I will disrupt it the first chance I get! I know I ain't the strongest guy out there and on the crew, but I still have my pride, so you better not call me weak! I was also kind of ruined as a kid, Karasu' parenting techniques aren't the nicest thing in the world, you know. But on the upside I'm used to most horrofic things in the world...like a mother getting murdered in front of her son.

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): My music! Nothing else quite matters to me. I can do without becoming world famous pirate as long I become a world famous musician. I guess I'll also add in beating the crap out of my dad, the dude messed me up, I'm gonna mess him up!

Opinions on his crewmates:

Mikoto: A pretty decent guy in perspective. The kid's a bit slow and doesn't always realize it when I insult him, but even when he does he doesn't care! With his thick skull and thick skin I can tell he's a good guy to have around at all times.

Sage: Opposed to popular belief amongst the crew, I don't hate Sage. She's a good girl (both personality wise and body), but that's just it...she's a GIRL! She needs to remember that she has to leave the fighting to guys like Zesiro or Mikoto and stay in the kitchen. I'm not being sexist either! She's just a weak girl who belongs in the kitchen. I don't wanna see her die like my mo...erh, let's skip this.

Zesiro: I was raised in a household that didn't look too kindly on Fishman. I've heard several different disgusting remarks about them and Zesiro blew them all out of the water! He is a faithful, smart, and kind enough guy...the kind of guy that makes me want to puke...but a nice guy all together.

Hiro-Shu: The lug doesn't know a thing about music! He likes classical music, which ain't bad, but he's missing out on the good stuff! And when I play the good stuff, he gets mad at me! I'm just trying to educate him! Oh, yeah, he's a nice guy, too...I guess.

Enma: He's my kind of guy! I don't mind his little cult religion, I just like that he's a gambling man! Me and him play cards all day and night to past the time! I usually win! Besides even when we are done playing cards he's a nice person to chat with.

Maria: Eh, she saved my life and she made some renovations to the ship. She's helped me out a lot since I first met her and has asked for nothing in return! She's exactly the kind of sucker...erh, friend I like to have. Unlike Sage I don't mind it when she fights, she ain't going to go dyin' me.


	123. Arena 123 Enma's workload

**Enma's Workload Increases!**

**Ridley's and Melanie's Search Bears Fruit?!**

"A Golden Den-Den Mushi," repeated Enma as he thought about it. He heard of a very rare breed of Den-Den Mushi that were basically gold plated, but almost all of those were immediately confiscated by the Marines for some reason and they never let anything about them slip out. He had never particularly thought about why.

"I can see by your expression that you have no idea about them, which makes me a little bit happier," said the masked man and Enma got a sickening feeling that he was smiling behind his mask. "Here's the thing. The Golden Den-Den Mushi only sends one kind of wavelength, which is received by a Silver Den-Den Mushi back at base. When the Silver Den-Den Mushi receives said wavelength the Marines initiate a Buster Call to the Golden Den-Den Mushi's area."

Enma's eyes widened as he thought about the rumors of the Buster Call. He never saw one and he was happy that he hadn't. The Buster Call was said to not only destroy all inhabitants of an island, but also the island itself in severe cases. Five Vice Admirals controlling a battalion of Marine Battle Ships all aimed at one island. It was said that the former Pirate King's crew survived one once and the 'Demon Child' Nico Robin survived two, but that was it. No other documented survivors, even the Marine's own men died at the hands of a Buster Call.

"They don't expect Trevor to go down easy," stated Enma as he peered through a slight sliver of the window that the bookcase didn't block. "And that means we probably won't get away easily, either, would we?"

"If they start the Buster Call, you guys wouldn't get away, period," pointed out the masked man. Enma sighed. "I suggest you guys get away as fast possible...I think we may hold off until the end of the tournament. That gives you about four more days, though. That will be more then enough time for us Marines to set-up a barrier though. If it comes around to it...you probably won't escape unless your captain accept the position of Shichibukai."

Enma shook his head, "no. Even if Mikoto doesn't accept the position, we'll get through somehow. We have that kind of luck. Is that all?" asked Enma, he was kind of surprised that Valerie hadn't rushed in yet to say 'hello' to the unconscious Hiro-Shu.

The masked man patted his legs and stood up. "Guess so, if anybody asks I was talking to you about becoming a Shichibukai and nothing more," he threatened. He walked out of the ship and left.

Enma slumped into his seat. "I'm betting it all on luck now, huh?" He looked up at the various beakers and vials that sat on his table. He took a deep breath and lifted them up, checking their contents, "No, not just on luck. We've still got a few tricks up our sleeves."

(-in the arena-)

Zesiro limped out of the ring. The crowd, which was booing him as he entered had now erupted into a loud chant of his name in honor of his victory. Zesiro glanced over his shoulder and at Rosa. Maria, who was in the stands watching, had rushed out of her seat and over the board to her aid. Maria had managed to lift Rosa up and onto her unstable feet, she quickly ushered out of the ring and away from the sneering taunts of the men in the stands. "Its okay, its okay," Zesiro heard Maria mutter.

Zesiro was immediately greeted by Nito and Ichi who dancing about and cheering his name louder then anyone else in the arena. They each pushed their way under one of his arms and helped him walk the rest of the way out. "That was awesome!" they shouted in his ear, "its no wonder you two are both on the same crew. You could both probably easily handle Trevor all by yourself! I'm surprised you are not the captain!"

Zesiro blinked once more at the word 'captain'. He had once more forgotten all about their imprisoned idiotic leader. His entire attention had been on Rosa and mowing her down, he hadn't paid any thought to the reason they had joined the tournament. Even now as they walked back to the locker room after the thought of his captain had been pushed right back onto center stage, Zesiro's mind was still fixated on the next match.

The two opponents had been equal in strength, probably the same way he was with Rosa. Their fight lasted a long time, too. He had originally intended to watch it all the way through and gather hints about him, but Ichi and Nito's story had distracted him. He cursed himself as he thought about his next mystery opponent...then he cursed himself once more for forgetting about Mikoto again.

As soon as they were out of the stadium Zesiro pushed himself off of Ichi and Nito, standing on his own two feet, shaky as expected. "I can make it the rest of the way by myself," muttered Zesiro through gasps of ragged breaths. "I don't need to rely on you guys." To his surprise Ichi and Nito just wormed their way under his arms again.

"Don't worry about it, Ze-shi-ro!" shouted Ichi with pride and confidence, "we're brothers, aren't we? The blood of proud Fishman warriors run through all of our veins...we can rely on each other every once in awhile, right?" Nito nodded. Zesiro just scoffed at the notion, but he wasn't in any shape to fight them off. If they wanted to carry him, he'd just have to lie down and take it.

They arrived a few moments after Rosa and Maria got there. Maria had immediately rushed off, apologizing for being in such a hurry, but said she had to get ready for her next opponent and more importantly the one after that...Mashiba. She was almost sure that Mashiba would advance another round winning his own fight and she was counting on it. She immediately felt a quick flare in her blood as she saw a strong opponent before her and when he took out her friend that only made it so much hotter. Her blood was boiling with the anticipation of the fight. Her thoughts were also far away from rescuing Mikoto.

Zesiro hopped into a random chair. The infirmary was small for the ship, originally they didn't had paid it much mind since they only had three nakames when they first got it. Even now when they had seven nakamas it still didn't seem too small with two beds for the injured and a workstation for the doctor, but with three of them having disastrous injuries it seemed like they were severely lacking in medical attendees. Enma was rushing over Rosa, trying to spend as little time as possible closing up her wounds where he could immediately move onto Zesiro.

"Don't worry about me," reassured Zesiro as he ripped some bandages apart and began to apply them himself to his wounds. Nito and Ichi rushed about trying to help him, grabbing random medicines and bringing them to Zesiro despite not a one of them knew what the medicine did.

(-With Ridley and Melanie-)

Ridley breathed deeply as he stepped around a corner and into another empty and terrifyingly bland hallway. Ridley was always a fan of expression, but the walls and doors had all been painted the same dull gray color. He was more then bored as he walked through the halls, what made it even worse was the constant clacking of their shoes against the tiled floors. Melanie was following right behind him, so Ridley had to deal with her shoes clacking against the floor as well.

Despite the annoying conditions, he had to consider themselves rather lucky that Trevor was such a horrible boss that the URA was poorly understaffed. Trevor definitely was a cruel slave driver when it came down to it. He didn't stay around on the base leaving it up to the guards, overworking them and when he was here he probably always killed one or two of the guards either for fun or because they have been acting suspiciously. Either way, Ridley and Melanie didn't have to move as stealthily as they did, but better safe then sorry when you are trying to find a psychopathic killer.

"Let's keep moving," whispered Melanie as they heard the gong sound the end of another fight. By Ridley's count that meant Rosa's and Zesiro's fight just ended, he felt like turning around and rushing to his friend's aid, but that was exactly what he was doing now. He had to save Mikoto.

Ridley was about to take another step forward, when Melanie moved forward, wrapping her arm around Ridley's throat and pulling him back and into the shadows. "You jerk! I knew we shouldn't trust a Shichibukai!" Melanie leaned forward and hushed into his ear. She moved her over hand up and over his mouth to make sure he stayed quiet.

Suddenly, Makada walked around and into view through one of the adjacent hallways. Ridley just barely caught him through the corner of his eyes, but Melanie had her eyes on him at all times. Ridley could barely hear his random muttering, no doubt if they were closer to him they could perfectly hear him say whatever it was that he found was so important to him. However, neither one of them had a desire to risk talking to him. "Let's follow him," offered Melanie. Ridley nodded. The two of them set off, quickly following him down his selected hallway.

Makada didn't bother checking behind him, his differently colored eyes were locked on the hallway before him. His head never swerved from side-to-side, it was straight forward all the way. He either didn't think he was being followed or he just didn't care. He walked confidently through halls in order to get to his goal. His stride was nice and neat with no variations in his steps or their timing. Just one foot placed calmly in front of the other.

He finally stopped at a door. The door was like any other door, it blended perfectly into the drab black, white and gray colors of the rest of the hall. There was nothing of any exception to it, not even a number hanging above the door. For the first time since Melanie and Ridley had been trailing him, he checked left and right and behind him, for the first time he wanted to make sure no one was watching. Melanie had managed to grab Ridley and force him into one of the random room, which just so happened to be a dimly lit broom closet.

"Wow..." said Ridley, "I'll be lying if I said girls didn't do this to me all the time, but I think this is the first time a Shichibukai tried to do it. I'm not all too fond of the location, but..." Melanie's response was pressing her sword up against his neck and once more shushing him. Ridley shrugged at the thought and slumped down to the ground. He pushed the small mop bucket to the side and sat on the ground.

Melanie kept her eye out and into the hallway, keeping it trained on Makada. He poked his head into the room and once more began talking about something, but he didn't go in. All the while his wiry fingers tapped the hilt of his sword, showing off his impatience in being stuck here talking to whoever was in the other room. Finally he managed to pull his head out of the door and back away, slamming the door as he left. His lack of patience showing. "Damn kid." He turned around and hesitated for awhile as he checked the hallways once more. Everything was as it should be.

Melanie had closed the door the instant she heard him slam his, disappearing back into the dark supply closet. She didn't turn on the lights so her and Ridley were stuck in the dark, Melanie had her ear pressed up against the door the whole time though. Whoever was in there it was someone Makada wasn't able to kill. If he hated him enough to irately tap on his sword, he should've hated him enough to mow him down. It was apparent the people here didn't care all too much about human life...killing was almost second nature. There was only two people that Melanie knew Makada, a guard of the URA wasn't able to kill. On the other side of the door was either her goal or Ridley's. Trevor or Mikoto.

**Finally!**

I'm sorry to anyone who thought that Rosa was dead. I REALLY, REALLY didn't mean to portray it that way. It just kind of...happened. Anyways, the next chapter will be one full of exciting twists, so you definitely wanna keep reading!

Also, I am planning on changing my profile pic soon, so expect that to be changed tomorrow or this weekend!

Say hello, to the friendly and sometimes only rational member of the crew who is currently going through some hard times...Bardroy Sage!

Full Name: Nice to meet you. The name is Bardroy Sage...it pronounced Bard-wah.

Aliases (or nicknames): The Plant Sage! It's a pun! Sage is not only my name, but the noun "Sage" means both "a person famed for wisdom" and is the name of an herb used as seasoning! So, it has a double meaning.

Devil Fruit/Weapon: When I was little I ate the Osu-Osu no Mi (Press-Press Fruit). With it can control the air pressure around me. I have a limited range of only fifteen feet due to poor practice, but the things I can when someone is within that range is nearly limitless. Amnesia, loss of balance, puking, exploding their heads are all things I can do!

Physical Appearance: I'm about 5'2" and I have sea-blue eyes. I have shoulder-length black hair and when I'm in the sun you can see it has a blueish tint to it. When I'm working with my plants, I wear baggy jeans, heavy work boots, a large long-sleeved flannel shirt, and a cap that both shields my eyes from the sun and keeps my hair relatively clean, because I tuck my hair up into it. I don't want my clothing to get dirty...but some people mistake me for a boy when I wear this stuff. However, when I'm doing anything else, including cooking, I like wearing regular girl clothing. You know, things like skirts, dresses, and sandals. After all I'm-Just-An-Innocent-Little-Girl-Who's-Not-A-Threat *wink*.

Personality: I'm generally calm and peaceful. I'm not one to make a big racket, but I have something called Seasonal Affective Disorder, which causes severe mood changes with the seasons. In the Spring, when the plants are just sprouting again, I can get overly happy and optimistic, some people use the term annoying as well. In the Winter, however, when all the plants are hibernating or dead, I tend to become kind of gloomy and depressed...and again some people would use the term annoying. My mood doesn't change too much during Summer and Fall unless there is some other factor. If there are two things I fear it is fire and...leeches, they are just gross! I am very book-smart, remember the Plant 'Sage'? I am not very street-smart yet and I can be easily fooled, especially by those pesky smooth street vendors.

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): I have two dreams...my first is to complete my mother's dream which is to find the Tree of Life/Tree of Knowledge to find out how to grow Devil's Fruit...and I also want to find out about the meaning of life from it as well.

Opinions of her crewmates:

Mikoto: Mikoto is the man who made it possible! My mom has told me stories about courageous and good pirates, but I've never met one that was better then Mikoto! He's someone who'd stand besides you and help you out no matter what! He's never once left me out to dry.

Ridley: RIDLEY! HE IS THE ABSOLUTE WORST! I don't understand how Mikoto could think having him on our crew is a good thing! He is a piece of work acting like he does...I swear if we are ever on opposite sides...I'll...I'll...ERRRGGHH!

Zesiro: Zesiro is a nice guy. I trust him with my life as I have on many occasions. We've had nice chats and he's told me a bunch of things on navigation and fighting. Maybe one day I'll be able to put what he taught me to the test...maybe I'll practice on Ridley...

Hiro-Shu: He is smart. Not just in navigation either, he can actually cook, too. Its hard to cook three meals a day for seven people each day and still have time to relax, so I'm thankful that he's always there to lend a helping hand when I need it.

Enma: He can be rather scary at times. He talks about Lucifer and dissecting frogs, but he's never dissected me! He's patched me up when I've been feeling low, so at the very least he's a good doctor.

Maria: Finally, another girl! Or something close to it! Maria isn't as feminine as I hoped the only other girl on the ship would be...in some ways she's just like a guy, but still she has her moments during our girl talk that makes me proud she's on our crew.


	124. Arena 124

**Finally!**

Melanie's heart was pounding against her chest as she and Ridley rushed up to the door. Her palms had become sweaty as she imagined ripping the door open and delving in, with her sword primed and aimed at Trevor's neck. It had almost become euphoric thought for her, she tried to stay calm and open to the thought that on the other side of the door was Mikoto sitting around and waiting, but...the thought of it being Trevor on the other side, that her revenge was drawing close was too good to let slip by, even if it was just her own hopefulness. She was ready.

Ridley's hand wrapped itself around the golden door knob. His hand was covered with a cold sweat, his thought was also whether or not Trevor was on the other side of the door. Or possibly something worse? This wasn't a place for sane people, it could be any number of cold-blooded killers or some wild animal Trevor kept as pet. If Trevor was just half as twisted as Karasu was Ridley could count on all of that and more

Finally with one final deep breath he twisted the door knob and pulled the door open. Melanie wasted no time, rushing in with her sword at the ready...ready to carve Trevor up. Her heart fell as she saw at the end of the room was just Mikoto trapped in a cage and incapable of escaping, both his hand and feet were chained and attached to one of the bars around him. He was reaching out of the bars and trying to grab a hold of a pipe laying about on the ground. He perked up as he saw Ridley enter. "Ridley, buddy! Mind helping a guy out?"

Ridley stood there speechless, not at the fact that Mikoto seemed calm despite being kidnapped by a killing psychopath or that he didn't seem too excited that his rescue party had arrived, but rather at the room. He was frozen as he looked around them, Melanie had the same look of unquestionable horror on her face. Ridley was usually quite proud of the fact that not many things shook him up, he was usually fine with the most unspeakable terrors that you'd come with face-to-face, but even he felt a little off-put by his surrounding.

If Trevor was a god, this would be his shrine. The plain gray walls of the URA were covered with various skulls of his past conquests, several of them had their names written above it on a plaque, others the names were etched into their foreheads giving them an even more grotesque look. Some of them were still fresh and had what looked like blood stains around the base from a powerful cut. Ridley stood there staring at them for a second trying to figure out what kind of maniac would do something like this. Then he remembered, Trevor.

"Hang on a second, bud," said Ridley as he slowly stepped forward. He felt like he would die as he moved through the room, wherever he looked a new skull was leaning forward and trying to attract his attention and pity. Every shadow that loomed in the room made him jump with a new thought about that the person behind it was Trevor.

Finally, Ridley got to the pipe and picked it up and stuck it into the cage with Mikoto. "Got a plan to get out of their?" he asked as he crouched down to be on the same level as Mikoto.

"Yup," said Mikoto as he pulled the pipe in and then began to stretch it out of the cage, "my plan is to use this pipe you gave me to steal those keys over there." Mikoto said putting over at the keys that were laying on the table. "Dumb Makada forgot them in here when he came in to check in on me. He wasn't really thinking, was he?"

"Well..." said Ridley as he took a step back and looked at the keys. "I'm not going to rush you, I mean we are only in the base of a madman, so I'll just sit down, right here, right next to the keys and wait for you." Ridley stayed true to his word and sat down right next to the keys.

"Thanks," said Mikoto as he resumed his efforts for trying to grab the keys with the pipe. He was really putting a lot of work into it, but he just couldn't reach it. "Almost there." He really wasn't, he was still a couple of inches short, but Ridley wasn't about to rain on the working man's parade.

"I really hope both of you are just playing around, but we don't have time to be playing around," said Melanie as she strode over to the keys. She picked them up and began to walk towards the cage, but she froze in her steps. The keys dropped to the floor, clinking when they hit. She ignored Mikoto's yelp at her for spoiling his efforts. She slowly crept across the room to one of the skulls that were hanging on the walls. Her hands quickly began to skate about the the words etched into the forehead. Ryan Stars.

Her hands reached for and pulled the skull off of the wall and held it in her hands, turning it about as she studied it. She hadn't seen her brother in ages...how long had it really been? Even if she had seen him just yesterday would she be able to identify his skull? It looked the same as any other skulls, so maybe...maybe Trevor was lying! However, she started to doubt it more and more as she held the skull in her hands. It started to feel like it was her brother's, the more and more she held it, the more real the situation seemed.

"Hey, let's get going before they get back..." began Ridley as he approached Melanie, "SHIT! He knows we are here, we got to get going!" He shouted as he turned around and picked up the keys, "hopefully, Rosa's and Zesiro's fight has finished then everybody should be on the ship and ready for departure. We got to get going!"

Melanie stayed there for a few seconds, looking at Ridley fumble very quickly around with the keys trying to fit them into Mikoto's cage, trying to wonder how he knew that Trevor knew that they were there. Her head swiveled back as she decided to put the skull back where she found it. She didn't know for sure that it was her brother's and even if she did, did she really want to tote somebody's skull around like it was some child's doll? She was just about to prompt it back up on the wall when she noticed what Ridley's must've noticed. On the wall where her brother's skull had been were two words, 'hello, Melanie'.

Melanie stopped as she thought about it, so Trevor knew she was here. She couldn't have asked for anything more perfect, they saved Ridley's friend Mikoto and now they got to kill Trevor! Her hand went straight to her blade as she began to think forward to meeting with Trevor. "Come on out Trevor!" she shouted into the air. Ridley flinched as he heard her. "I want to have a word with you, so come and show yourself!"

Ridley jumped forward, pinning her to the ground. "Shut up," he hissed at her. "You may very well be fine with dying, but I still got things I want to do! I'm not famous yet!" Melanie lifted her sword up, jabbing the hilt into Ridley's gut and forcing him off. She then flipped over, getting on top of him and lowering her sword down and onto Ridley's neck.

"I do not care about saving your captain nor do I care about saving that man's son," she muttered at him while pressing the sword closer and closer to his pale neck. "I came to this island with my own goal in my mind. I figured as long it was mutually beneficial we could hang out and work together, but now our goals split! I won't stop you from rescuing your captain and you won't stop me from killing Trevor! You got that?!"

Ridley was staring straight up at her and he could see the whites of her eyes and he felt chilled for the second time today. Honestly, he would admit that he was more terrified of Melanie than he was of the skulls. However, he was still fairly certain that his fear of Trevor topped all at this point. "Fine!" Ridley shouted rolling Melanie off of him where he could stand up. "The Infinity Pirates officially cut all ties with you!"

"Um...isn't that my call as the captain?" asked Mikoto. Ridley and Melanie both glared at him, despite the fact that the two of them were on opposite sides of this argument neither of them wanted his input. Mikoto quickly sulked back further into the cage.

"Don't expect us to give you a ride out of here either!" shouted Ridley as he picked the keys, which he had dropped when he attacked Melanie, back up. "You're a Marine dog maybe one of them'll give you a lift! Just remember not to pee on their carpets!"

"That's it!" shouted Melanie, brandishing her blade and aiming it at Ridley once more. "If I remember correctly, we still have our own fight to finish so before I kill Trevor, I'll take you out and turn you in to the Marines when they arrive!" She ignored the fact that one of the Marines' orders to all active Marines and Shichibukai were to leave Mikoto's crew alone for the time being as he was given basically temporary Shichibukai status for awhile. She didn't quite care about that, she just wanted to see that smug smirk wiped off of Ridley's face.

"I'm surprised you remember, seeing how small your brain is," mocked Ridley as he swung his guitar off of his back and played a quick rift preparing for battle. "Well, you know what they say, ladies first, even if it is an ugly hag like you..."

Those words sparked the battle. Melanie charged forward, preparing to meet Ridley's blows. Melanie quickly struck out, slashing forward, bringing her sharp sword sailing forward towards Ridley's neck. Ridley swiped the guitar up and into the air, smashing it into Melanie's blade and knocking it upwards and away. Ridley lowered his guitar and rammed the tip of its neck into Melanie forcing her back.

"Do you know what the one major difference between this fight and our last fight is?" asked Ridley as he flipped his guitar back around.

"Honestly, I think you got even uglier since we last fought," offered Melanie.

"No," said Ridley with a dry and obviously fake laugh, "we are inside." He gestured to the walls around them, causing Melanie to pause for a second and looked around as if there was something more to these walls that she was missing that made Ridley more confident. "Sounds vibrate off of walls, so as they echo it allows me to pile one sound onto another. In other words since our last fight was outside, I couldn't fight you at full power, but now I can! **Apollo's Allegro!" **Ridley slammed onto his guitar filling the air with more and more noise.

Melanie and Mikoto both grimaced at the sound. Mikoto tried his best to cover up his ears and hide from the pain that his teammate was causing him, but Melanie had different ideas. She rushed forward towards Ridley, once more preparing for a finishing slice. She charged across the ground and neared Ridley, unleashing a quick slash at Ridley's gut. Ridley brought his guitar down, blocking the slash with its side, but he was still forced back from the sheer force. Melanie lifted her blade up and prepared for a second downwards slash. Ridley quickly brought his leg out, kicking Melanie and causing her to lose her footing and screw up her slash. With that moment Ridley quickly jumped back taking his distance once more.

"Oh ho ho! Looks like someone decided to start the fun without us," said a voice. Melanie and Ridley's heads immediately twisted to the door as Trevor walked in.

**Shichibukai versus Shichibukai!**

**...With Ridley Caught in the Middle...**

How long has it been since we last heard from Mikoto? I'd say at least six, maybe seven chapters. But what do I know! It was actually my birthday last week (yeah, me, I'm nineteen!) and I got a new laptop, I figure with a higher quality laptop I can produce higher quality stories, right?

Also, I am going to slow down the updates to probably twice a week like I said I'm beginning to slow down the writing of them (due to school) and my safety net of extra chapters has remarkably shrunk. So, expect the next chapter in two weeks! (I may update before then due to random bursts of creativity, but don't count on that).

Now to apologize for me slowing down my updates, one of the strongest members of the Infinity Pirates is here. Here he is, Zesiro!

Full Name: My name is Atrum Zesiro

Aliases (or nicknames): Just Shark Bite Zesiro...cause you know I'm a shark? Its just plain discrimination to Fishman. I am talented with two swords, but the Marines give me a name based on the fact I am a shark.

Devil Fruit/Weapon: I had two katanas, which were presents from my deceased parents, but one of them broke so I'm using a shabby replacement until I get it fixed. My fighting tends to be very smooth, moving from one attack to the next, but each attack is heavy and strong enough to make my opponent's bleed a lot.

Physical Appearance: I am 6' 2" and lean, but muscular. I have dark blue skin with a much lighter blue underbelly, like your standard sharks. I have dark gray patches of skin on my shoulders though. My gills start in the middle of his neck and end on his shoulder. Normally I'll just wear a pair of black or gray pants that reach down to my ankles. If its really cold out, I may throw on a shirt, but if not I won't.

Personality: I am fairly smart, but I don't like to flaunt it. I'm fairly laid back and I won't react to insults unless they are directed to someone I care about then I get annoyed. When I fight, I like to play around a bit and practice a bit of my sword skills, unless my friends are in danger then I'll finish them off as quickly as possible. If I get a hint of blood, I'll sometimes react like a normal shark would...its in my DNA. My biggest fear is that someone I'll care about will turn on me and leave me high and dry when I need them most.

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): Right now, it just to become both a swordsman and a man I can be proud. I would also want to stay with my good friends of the Infinity Pirates as long as possible...

Opinions on the crew:

Mikoto: I met this guy when he was trying to eat one of my friends...my opinion on him has changed a lot since then. I still think he is a reckless and sometimes stupid kid, but he's got a good heart and has helped me out a lot since back then.

Ridley: This guy is...this guy is not right in the head. Some of it may because of his childhood, but the rest of it is just his plain warped personality. He's a freak. He's proud of it and I'll give him that. Sometimes I wonder if there's any other weird things about his past that he's hiding from us.

Sage: Sometimes she can be the only other intellectual life on the boat. Hiro-Shu doesn't talk much and Enma's kind of creepy at times, so I often end up chatting with her. I've learned more about botany then I ever thought there was to know.

Hiro-Shu: From what I can tell he's a stand-up fellow! He has never said anything bad about anyone and I respect him for it. He's been on the crew for such a long time and he's never mentioned anything about his past, though.

Enma: He's saved my hide and patched my wounds more times then I can count. He's smart, but when I chat with him the guy can go off on some freaky weird adjacent about Lucifer or medicine.

Maria: Physically speaking she may be stronger than me. I've been itching to spar with her ever since she's joined, but due to Daimyo I've been out of action and unable to for the longest time. Who knows we may meet up at the end of the tournament.


	125. Arena 125 Shichibukai Versus

**Shichibukai versus Shichibukai!**

**...With Ridley Caught in the Middle...**

"The very least you guys could've done was waited for me," offered Trevor, "after all it is my house you guys are fighting in." Once more he smiled his devious and slightly disturbed smile. Behind him were both Makada and Karasu. Karasu looked incredibly pleased with this turn of events sporting a smile similar to Trevor's, but Makada looked kind of annoyed. Was he upset that his boss might find out about his accident with the keys? Or did he just find this entire turn of events annoying?

"How the hell did you guys find out we were here so fast?" shouted Ridley. He thought he made Melanie shut up fast enough, but apparently he didn't.

"Anybody could've told that you were in here!" shouted Karasu, "people could hear your loud ass music from three islands over! It didn't take a brain surgeon to track it back to here!" Ridley's face dropped as he realized how stupid he had been. He got on Melanie for raising such a racket so he raised a racket to shut her up...how was that smart?

"I'm none to happy about you guys trying to steal my prize away from me," said Trevor as he took a step forward, "so how about I take your lives as an apology?" His hands flashed up to his face.

"Well, you see...I'M none to happy about getting killed," explained Ridley as he took a step back trying to judge whether or not he'd be able to escape past them. It hurt him to leave Mikoto behind like this, but he figured his life was better than no one's. "I was just about to..." Ridley was cut off as Melanie stepped in front of him, putting an arm out to hold him back.

"Don't you even think about ditching out on us," instructed Melanie. "After I'm done cutting his head off, I'm coming back for you and that ugly hag comment." Ridley grimaced as he took a step back. The air around her was definitely different. Back when she wanted to kill him it only made him more energized. It was almost a cute kind of angry, but now anything that even resembled cuteness had been killed off by some form of intense fire. Ridley had to smile that this form of anger was reserved for Trevor and not him.

Trevor had a different thought about it. This was the first time in his life he had ever experienced such extreme blood-lust. He had lived and ate in this arena for quite some time and yet here he was the first time in his life facing off against someone who wanted his death more than they wanted their own life. He had to think if this was the kind of blood-lust he gave off naturally because if it was...he wasn't doing a good enough job. He felt nothing, especially no fear towards it. If he did feel anything it would probably be something bordering pride.

He had sat across from Melanie during countless Shichibukai meetings. He always found some form of satisfaction from killing her family and then being able to smile and share a meal with her. It was sick, he knew it, he never knew why he enjoyed it as much as he did, but he did. And during those meetings he felt nothing like this, not even when she got heated at any of the other Shichibukais, but now as he stood in front of her he felt this sort of tension...and he was the reason behind it! It was a sort of like her admitting that he mattered this much to her. It made him feel important.

Trevor smiled as he took a step forward waving both Karasu and Makada off. They both grunted a bit, but obliged him in this single selfish act. They moved back and allowed Trevor to take the lead against Melanie. "So anything you want to know about your deceased family? How old they were when I killed them? What they looked like? Perhaps their last words?"

Melanie breathed deeply and instead of replying with words, she rushed in. Despite her haste she was still a good fighter, her stance showed no openings and she had no weaknesses as she rushed in at Trevor. She brought her sword around with a frightening amount of speed and power. Trevor leaned back and avoided the slash, the smug and idiotic smirk still painted on his face. Even though Melanie's slash was fast, her recovery was even faster. She brought her sword back to her side and jumped back before Trevor had recovered from his sway. And, of course, like all skilled warriors Melanie took advantage of her better speed with a powerful step forward and even more powerful downwards slash.

Trevor's Haki covered hands quickly shot and clapped together with the sword in-between them holding it still mid-slash. "Oh, you care more about killing me than your own family?" asked Trevor, "I'm surprised that you are that twisted. Shouldn't you hold yourself in a slightly higher esteem?"

In response to his poking quips Melanie lifted the handle of her blade up and subsequently lowered the tip, then she shoved her body weight down on it, breaking through Trevor's block and thrusting it downwards for his heart. Trevor rolled to the side, spinning out from underneath Melanie and breaking away. However, in doing so it could not be avoided that he nicked his arm on her blade as he tried to bring it back with him. The small amount of blood that trickled from his new wound didn't bother him, he simply waved it off and focused on Melanie. He once more shot her look of praise rather than anger, like he was happy for her that she managed to hit him. This look only caused Melanie's grip on her sword to tighten even more.

The exchange began again, once more Melanie began it rushing in with her sword at the ready. She slashed sideways, but as soon as she noticed that Trevor was preparing to dodge it she brought it back to her side. And it was lucky that she did as soon as the blade cleared his range, he rushed forward and fired his own slashing attack with his hand. She twisted her sword and brought the hilt around, blocking his slash with the bottom of her hilt. The attack still forced her hand away, but it still managed to lessen the full strength of his blow.

Trevor flexed his hand opening it up and fired a five fingered jab with his only hand, if it would hit Melanie would have five separate holes in her. Melanie brought her sword up and brought it down, slashing for the space in between each finger. No matter how strong his Haki made him, she was determined to cut through him. Trevor brought his fingers together and the two warrior's weapons clashed. Trevor's tightly clasped hand was managed to withstand the blow once more without losing any blood.

Trevor didn't hesitate to continue his onslaught unlike Melanie who was stuck with only weapon, Trevor had two. He leaned forward and brought his second hand forward and aiming to gouge out a chunk of Melanie's abdomen. Rather than stepping backwards and avoiding the blow, Melanie stepped forward and put her weight forward slamming her entire body forward and throwing Trevor off balance and knocking him back. He quickly regained his balance and took another swinging step forward for Melanie already beginning to try to gouge out Melanie's side again.

However, this time Melanie had her sword free rather than busy holding off his other hand, so she move it towards his hand, but she did something different this time. She brought her knee upwards and her sword hilt downwards. They both collided into Trevor's hand at the same time. Her knee slamming into the bottom of his wrist while the sword's hilt smashed into his hand. Trevor grimaced in pain and recoiled his hand and while he was at it, he stretched his fingers down and sliced her leg up leaving five distinct scratches sliding down her legs. He quickly broke back separating himself from her as she fired another quick slash aiming to behead him this time, dodging it by a hair.

"Shichibukai's are definitely worth it, I've killed a lot of men in my time, but you are definitely one of the best...not the best...that's my little friend back there," said Trevor pointing backwards at Mikoto.

"Suddenly I feel dirty..." muttered Mikoto looking down at himself. "I think I'd rather not be the best...let that be Melanie."

Melanie breathed deeply as she tried to remain calm every time she saw his face or heard his voice, she felt an insane amount of rage. She wanted to cut his head off, but the last time they fought she let her anger get the better of her and she lost. She had to remain and clam and not lose, she had to kill him and revenge her family if she had to swallow her rage in order to do that so be it.

"Something's wrong with the boss," stated Makada. Karasu looked over at him, wondering what he was talking about. "I've seen him fight, but this is different. Ordinarily he is completely obsessed with killing...this is different. He seems to have something else pressing on his mind this fight, something other than killing."

"Huh..." muttered Karasu as his hand clasped around his mouth. Trevor had always been an emotional unstable person, he had always been a murderer. His mind has always had one thing on it, killing. If that was the case...would this change be for better or worse? A killing machine 2.0? It made him a little anxious already.

Trevor smiled as his two arms dropped loosely to his sides. "Dead is the merry boy, killed is the merry girl...broken is the merry toy, ruined is the merry world," began Trevor as his body started to sway forward and backwards, his eyes locked onto Melanie.

Melanie's eyes became flushed with rage as she felt the song start. Her mind flashed to her parent's and brother's presumably last moments, listening to that stupid song. She felt a shocking large amount of pity and she couldn't help, but rush forward. Her anger fueling her steps made her move even faster towards him, burning more energy as she made her move. A powerful sideways swing came out aiming at his neck, a surefire killing blow if it connected. However, Trevor had no intention of letting it connect. His hands flew up, one to catch the blade, other one to sever the hand holding it.

Melanie twisted her hand, turning the blade around and changing its target. Trevor reacted just as fast. His hands couldn't match the speed, but his Haki could. He quickly used Haki to reinforce his head. Her blade smashed into Trevor's head, skipping like a stone up into the air after it made contact. Trevor flinched as his head was forced back from the hit. He quickly jumped backwards, quickly separating them from each other. The attack had managed to scrape some skin off and it hurt like hell, but if it wasn't for Trevor's Haki it was possible that the attack would've just split his head wide open. He had to admit, it wasn't very often one had to use Haki on their own head to protect themselves.

"Maybe you should play some music to Trevor's song, Ridley," offered Mikoto. He waited a few seconds and when nobody responded, he looked around and noticed that surprisingly he wasn't around. "Where did Ridley go?"

(-With Ridley-)

Ridley bolted through the halls at a break neck pace. It wasn't an act of cowardice, it was simply playing to the best odds. If he would've stayed there he would've wound up getting into a fight with either Trevor or Melanie, not to mention with both Karasu and Makada as well. He highly doubted he could handle all of them, his best bet would be to just disappear for the time being and then come back with more help...maybe drag Enma and Maria along.

The only problem was that Trevor, Karasu, and Makada would be all together. Even if he could drag Enma and Maria along that probably they were still going to be in trouble. Karasu and Trevor are both said to be on Shichibukai level...that just meant that Makada was the weakest link amongst the group. Then again the best case scenario would be if everybody left after the fight then he could slink in without any problems and free Mikoto. He could see Karasu losing interest in the fight after it ended and maybe Makada would accidentally leave the keys in the room again, even if he didn't Zesiro could probably cut the bars or maybe Maria could break them. However, the more and more he thought about it the more and more unlikely it seemed.

**Shichibukai Versus Shichibukai!**

Ridley isn't being cowardly per say, he just has his best self-interest at heat. His plan is to run and keep on running to stay alive for an extended period of time. He wants to LIVE! But other than him, Melanie and Trevor are still going to have at it for awhile. Let's just see how that turns out.

Next up, its time to check on the currently out of it golem. He's may be knocked out cold and nearly dead, but that's no excuse for him not to have his own profile here!

Name: Hiro-shu

Weapons: My fists along with the power of the vessel, Iguko the Iron Giant.  
Attacks:  
Fist of Iron! Golem's Fury- One of my arms become encased in iron and with it one of my punches can shatter stones  
Fists of Iron! Igoku's Hammer- I encase both of my arms in iron and then bring them together and swing them both downwards to deliver a devastating blow.  
Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame- I breathe fire from my mouth.  
Forger's Fire! Shiba's Knuckle- Using Iguko's Flame I blow fire onto my fist and then use a powerful punch to finish off my opponent.  
First Stage! Golem Brawler- My arms and legs become encased in iron. It becomes hard to move with the extra weight, but my power goes up. Its just trading speed for power.  
Second Stage! Golem Guard- My whole body becomes encased in iron giving me an appearance similar to that of a gladiator. I can move again, but once more not as fast as most people.  
Third Stage! Golem Berserker- Once more I encase my entire body in iron, but this time I let Iguko take control and his power causes my body to grow to gargantuan sizes and I lose control of my body attacking things randomly.

Appearance:  
I'm large and stocky I am about 6'2 with black and messy hair. Some problems early on in life and possibly a side effect of becoming a vessel my left eye is black while my right is a rusted brown color. When I became a vessel I suffered from a large amount of trauma at the same time, so I'm unsure of what caused it. I wear a plain white T-shit and a brown leather jacket, I've had it a while so its a little worse for the wear, but it keeps me warm. I also wear regular dark jeans and some hiker boots.

Personality: I am generally a very calm person. People tend to avoid me, probably due to the fact that I'm kind of freak due to my vessel powers, but if someone needs help I'm not going to turn a blind eye. I'm not the most talkative person, but when I do say I like to think its something important.

Mikoto: Nice fellow. I trust him one-hundred percent.

Ridley: His music can be annoying at times, but he keeps the crew lively. Without him I don't know what we'd do all day.

Sage: A good woman. She may not be the strongest in a fight, but she's nice and helpful around the ship.

Zesiro: We're both navigators, strong fighters, and fairly smart. We're pretty similar at times.

Enma: He is a good guy even if he has his moments of unimaginable creepiness.

Maria: She's a fighter. She'd rather die than lose. That may be problem later on...


	126. Arena 126 Shichibukai

**Shichibukai Versus Shichibukai!**

Karasu curved his eyebrow and looked around him, trying to see if his son was just sneaking around once more, but when he found nothing he smiled. He supposed in the end Ridley was just as good as dead anyways, so why hurry up the process. He looked over at Makada who seemed less than surprised. He probably noticed Ridley had left earlier, but didn't want to speak up cause he didn't want to ruin Trevor's fun. That could easily result in his own death penalty. Even though at this rate Karasu hardly doubted a cannon going off aimed at him, could ruin Trevor's fun.

When they were off at sea Karasu may have been the captain, but that was more due to the men's trust in him and his own strategy than his strength. In all honest when it comes to outright killing of men, Karasu...no, no human being on this planet could possibly surpass Trevor. Trevor was not only experienced in killing, but he also fully enjoyed it. Fights, slaughters, executions, he would watch them all with a smiling face. He didn't even care who it was as long as there was guts and gore.

That was what Trevor was doing right now, fully enjoying himself as he attacked Melanie. Karasu actually felt a twinge of sorrow for the poor girl. Trevor was a true demon. Karasu still remembered when they first met. Trevor had just finished slaughtering another island and Karasu extended him a hand. He wanted that power on his side with it Karasu knew they could achieve amazing odds and they did. They made it all the way to the New World, Karasu smiled remembering that glorious moment from his past. Standing at that edge between the graveyard of the Grand Line and the hell of the New World. However, bigger things had called Karasu to the Black Market and away from his crew. He had no regrets, Trevor apparently did. He just couldn't stop.

Karasu reached over and massaged the stub of where his arm should be. He hoped Trevor realized that they were just getting old. They were relics from the past era. Karasu realized that their time was almost up, his time definitely was. He was already nearing his 60's, Trevor was probably closing in on 40. While their experience could make up for a certain amount, the energy and strength of youth was too much for them to overcome. 20 years ago Karasu realized this fact and accepted it, he retired and went into Black Market sales, he even tried to have a family. Of course, the last one failed, but nonetheless he enjoyed his job almost as much as Trevor enjoyed killing...except Trevor couldn't kill further, eventually his age will drag him down and if not his age, then the new generation will do so through sheer grit and force. Why? Because that's just the way things are. The new generation is destined to surpass the old one. And he was sure all the old Pirate Kings would agree with him on that subject.

Trevor seemed to have no such worries though in this battle. He moved like he always did, drawing closer and closer to his opponent. His movement still based off of a pendulum that was made to keep up with his haunting song. He rushed forward, his body rotating around as his arm spiraled about smashing forward towards Melanie. Melanie brought her sword forth and blocked his random slashing attack, but that wasn't quite enough as soon as he made contact he rotated around and brought his other hand forward. His hand came swinging forward aiming for Melanie's side. Melanie rotated her blade around and tried to block the swinging hand with her sword's hilt. It barely absorbed the blow as Trevor's hand smashed into it.

Melanie quickly brought her blade around, switching from defense to offense in a few seconds. She brought her sword down and trying to take out Trevor with a powerful slash. Trevor jumped backwards, quickly distancing himself from her. Immediately he lashed out, shooting his hand forward with a powerful thrust intending to spear Melanie's stomach straight out of her body. Melanie swung her blade forward parrying Trevor's thrust to the side. She rotated her blade downwards and then stepped in, firing her own thrust for Trevor's body.

It was only a flash, but almost immediately Melanie backed off sending her own body back and out of Trevor's range as he brought his second hand swinging around while Melanie was trying to stab him. She didn't get to follow through with her attack, she guessed that ultimately Trevor's drive to kill was actually higher than his drive to live. It was actually weird to meet a man, who was so obsessed with killing.

Melanie pushed those thoughts out of her head, she didn't care how weird Trevor was, he was going to die by her blade. She rushed forward, twisting her body and sending her sword forward and aiming for Trevor's head. Trevor brought his hand forward and aimed for Melanie's head. They both twisted to try and avoid the other's killing strike, both of them getting nicked in the cheek in the process. Melanie brought her weight forward and prepared to continue the fight.

She had the upmost confident in her skills. If Zesiro's strength was his sheer power and Rosa's was her speed, Melanie's was her skill. She could change her sword's direction mid-slash without losing any power or speed, she could go from offense to defense in the blink of the eye. However, this did not mean she lacked power or speed, she had plenty of that too. She also had another strength her Devil Fruit.

"Stop!" sung Melanie. Melanie had the powers of one of the most alluring creature in mythology, the siren. Whatever orders she sung people would feel memorized to follow. True, there were some limitations to it and for some reason some people, like Ridley were immune to it, but she knew very well that he was a freaky exception. However, it seemed like Trevor was too.

Trevor rushed forward, firing another thrust with his hand. Melanie skillfully parried it to the side and knocked it away, she was amazed at Trevor's ability to refuse her powers, but why could he? Makada immediately laughed and answered her unasked question. "You really think you can tell Trevor to stop when he's like this? Every fiber of Trevor's being is focused on the battle, when he's like this he can't hold back! Even if his own brain told his body to stop, his body wouldn't be able to. That's just the kind of guy he is. And that's if your stupid command even broke through the fog of war that surrounds him at this point."

Melanie frowned, but she accepted it as probably true. She had thought of it as a long shot ever since they started to fight, which was why she never wasted a second trying it. She figured it was worth the risk to gain a quick upper-hand, but it didn't pan out like she had hoped. Nonetheless she still didn't waver in her conviction. She brought her sword up and into the air, lowering it slowly until it was matched up straight in between Trevor's eyes. She rotated her sword's handle and prepared for another thrust.

Her slid forward and straight through the air all the while aiming perfectly for the space in-between Trevor's eyes. Trevor swatted the sword aside and brought his hand upwards, performing something similar to an uppercut in motion. Melanie brought her hand down smashing it into the inside of Trevor's elbow and negating his punch. Trevor didn't care, he stepped forward another inch and brought his head forward, smashing it into Melanie's. Melanie reeled back, with small blood droplets flowing from her skull. Trevor used Haki to reinforce his own skull to make the headbutt even more forceful than a normal one would be.

Melanie was still stumbling and trying to regain her balance when Trevor rushed in again. His sharp hand cleaving through the air and at her neck. Melanie ducked down and used her sword as extra support. She jumped into the air and fired a quick kick forward at Trevor. Her short heels jabbed into his abdomen and pushed him back, however, that didn't stop him from firing another quick thrust that ultimately just caught air.

As soon as Melanie's feet hit the ground again, she charged forward and went back at Trevor her sword at the ready. She swung downwards, bringing the sword around and towards his shoulder. Trevor didn't care for it instead he stepped forward and fired his own forward thrust. Melanie ignored it and remained focused on her own slash. She would hit first and that would be it, the sword in his shoulder would force him to stop his attack. She was halfway right.

Her attack did in fact hit first, but due to Trevor's Haki it only pierced the skin and a little of the muscle beneath it, but it was mostly dealt as blunt damage. And that blunt damage didn't seem to bother Trevor much less cause him to stop his attack. Instead his attack kept going thrusting through the air and into Melanie's side. Her side was quickly gouged out, blood spilled out of her wound. She grunted at the pain, but she refused to fall down. She would defeat Trevor before she died.

Trevor rushed forward slashing out with his hand trying to gouge out a new mark on Melanie's face. Melanie rotated her blade upwards and brought it into Trevor's arm, once more it dug into his skin, but sadly Trevor's Haki once more protected his body from the deadly blade. Melanie stopped Trevor's thrust and held strong, preventing him from delivering the devastating thrust that he was trying to land.

Trevor smirked and brought his knee up, at this close of a range any inexperienced fighter could land a kick. Trevor's leg smashed into Melanie's side and wrenched her sword free from his arm. Trevor stepped forward and brought his newly freed hand forward aiming for Melanie's head. Melanie let her sword fly forward with a slash, bringing it in to meet with Trevor's thrust. Melanie's sword forced Trevor's hand back and into the air, with a fresh cut seeping into several of his fingers. Trevor didn't stop his relentless attacks, bringing his other free hand forward. Melanie didn't have enough time to block and was caught off guard, allowing Trevor to gouge out another chunk of her flesh.

Melanie collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily her entire body pooling on the ground. She was out of breath and weak. She lost the fight...no, she didn't! The fight wasn't over until Trevor killed her, that was both of their goals, the death of the other, so until one of them lied in a pool of their own blood, the fight would continue.

She would counter him. When Trevor would step forward to deal the finishing blow to her, she would thrust her sword forward and pierce his skull. She was confident she could do it, Trevor was predictable, he was the same as he always was. He wanted to kill and that would be when he revealed his greatest opening. He would move and aim for her neck to behead her. When he did that she would launch her own attack, she couldn't promise she would be alive at the end of it, but that was her goal. To kill Trevor!

Trevor stepped forward and looked at her, he stopped singing his song and closed his mouth, forming the most devilish grin possible. He looked at Melanie like how a pack of wolves would look at an injured deer. He usually cherished this moment, the moment of defeat! The only moment greater would be the moment of death. However, this time was different. She didn't look defeated. No, as she sat there and her own blood began spilling out of her injuries, she didn't look defeated. She still had some form of unflinching confidence and determination. Oh, well, he'd get rid of that face when I got rid of the head altogether!

Trevor rushed forward his Haki imbued hand surging for Melanie's neck. A new skull to add to his collection!

**One Last Chance Gamble!**

****Many of you probably noticed that I do not have Enma's profile posted. Truth be told I have it on a flash drive that has recently gone missing. If you read these things you'd probably also notice that this is, like, the 15th since I started this story that I lost a flash drive. And I can guarantee this won't be the last. The profile thing will this be on a hiatus until I can hopefully locate it. If I can't within two-four weeks, I'll just move on to Maria.


	127. Arena 127 One Last Chance Gamble!

**One Last Chance Gamble!**

Trevor's hand soared forward for Melanie's neck. Melanie prepped herself and began to prepare to lunge forward. Trevor's aim was for Melanie's neck, but Melanie was aiming for Trevor's head, right between the eyes. He'd get a mighty fine look at his own death for the millisecond he would be conscious.

Makada, Karasu, and Mikoto all watched on. Makada had already summed it all up, Trevor's win it had become one-hundred percent obvious to anyone who was watching. His boss was the unequaled in terms of killing prowess and fighting prowess, the fight was over the instant Trevor became sucked up into this fight and prepared for the fight. He wasn't going to lose. Karasu was holding his back his laughter, the fight was truly enjoyable and even though he knew the chances of a comeback was nearly reduced to 0, he had noticed was Trevor noticed the faint glimmer behind Melanie's eyes and that glimmer was the most dangerous thing in the world. Mikoto had no opinion on the fight and just watched on, he couldn't do anything else at the moment being locked up and all. So, he just watched and learned a bit more about Trevor.

Trevor's hand rushed in, it wasted no time in gaining the distance to Melanie's neck. It was no or never, he couldn't back out now. She roared forward, bringing her sword up and at Trevor's temple. The sword grew ever closer as the momentum from Trevor's own rush caused him to come crashing towards it. Trevor's own foolhardy desire to kill was going to do him in! Melanie knew how he would act and that he wouldn't be able to stop due to his own full-throttle rush, he was about to be skewered.

Only problem was he stopped.

His body skidded to a stop right in front of her sword, his hand continued its arc swiping across barely breezing by Melanie's neck. She was stunned as she sat there that her last-ditch plan had failed her. Trevor wore a similar face of stunned amazement. He stood there for a few seconds looking down at her, finally he retracted his arm letting it flop back to place by his side. He turned around and looked at Makada. "Lock her up, too."

Makada rushed forward, Trevor was obviously in a foul mood, so Makada wished not to be a part of the solution, which would undoubtedly be a manslaughter later. He quickly locked a pair of seastone handcuffs in place on Melanie's wrists. Makada led her into the cage and forced her in. Mikoto looked over as she plopped onto the cell's floor. He couldn't have rushed out if he wanted to due to the chains, so he just sat quietly.

"Get out," stated Trevor in a low voice. Makada rushed out of the room, he didn't particularly like acting like the guy's minion, but he didn't have too much of a choice. The last shred of his warrior's code prevented him from mowing him down right after a fight, especially since Trevor didn't do anything Makada found despicable or annoying. So, Makada just swallowed a little dignity and left his boss to do as he pleased.

Karasu didn't seem to have the same principles as Makada and remained in the room with a smug smile on his face. "Getting old, aren't we?" asked Karasu hiding back a snicker. While Trevor may be injured, Karasu was missing an arm a fight wouldn't exactly be a good thing for either one at this point. Trevor hissed at him and went back to arranging his skulls. "Come on, I was your captain for several years! You can tell me!" shouted Karasu shortening Trevor's fuse. "What's the matter don't wanna tell me that you couldn't kill another person?"

Trevor rushed towards Karasu, but Karasu was just as fast already lifting his one arm up and preparing for an exchange of blows, of course in terms of power and speed Karasu would win due to Trevor's injuries. Trevor scoffed at the thought and turned back around, "I wanna prolong her suffering is all," he muttered.

Mikoto smiled as he noted the a very powerful skill of the Blackwell family was annoying people. Like father like son. Ridley's own behavior and questions irritated the rest of the crew and he guessed that Karasu would be doing the same thing to Trevor for the same reasons.

"Come on, first mate!" laughed Karasu, no longer afraid of holding back. "You couldn't kill the kid and now that woman walks away from you?" He jabbed two of his gigantic fingers over at Melanie and Mikoto. "Got a soft spot for kids and women, do you? If I remember correctly the old Trevor didn't have a soft spot for anyone, maybe your entire body's gone soft! I bet you little kindergartener's have colder blood then you nowadays!"

It was obvious that Karasu was pressing the right buttons as Trevor flinched slightly. "I could kill them whenever I want!" shouted Trevor stepping forward and flashing his bleeding claws at Karasu, "I just want to enjoy them a bit longer! That's all!" Trevor was about to lunge past Karasu and out into the hall and leave this place behind, it was apparent he wasn't going to enjoy any more of his precious skull collection, but then he saw Karasu's missing arm. Karasu wasn't the only one who knew the other one's buttons. "What about you? And that arm of yours...or lack of an arm, that is! Gonna tell us what happened, some guy beat you up and took your arm as a prize! I prefer the skull, but everybody's got a thing."

"I gave it to the new generation," stated Karasu trying to act calm, but several of the veins in his head became prominent. "A trophy from the old generation, you can say. They were some strong little shits, so I figured I'd let them have it. Unlike you who is just playing around with them!"

"Go Karasu!" shouted Mikoto from the cell. Karasu and Trevor both shot Mikoto the evil eye, causing him to shrink back into his cage. Karasu breathed out heavily, realizing that at this point he just wanted to bash someone's head in. Karasu smiled as he looked over at Trevor, still visibly fuming at the accusations and Mikoto's unwanted cheering. Finally, Karasu decided to speak up.

"His name was Karasawa," coughed up Karasu, "he said he was helping out the Revolutionaries for the time being, his boss told him to do so. He wanted to acquire my help for the time being in order to bring in the next great Era. An era of anarchy, he said. I don't particularly mind helping out the Revolutionaries, but there was something wrong about this man. He came to me with three others backing him up, each one of them gave off the same kind of aura. I would've helped them out regardless of their aura, but they wanted to get their hands on something even I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot iron pole."

"You mean those rumors are true?" asked Trevor his curiosity peaking in Karasu's story. "I've heard that the Blackmarket had been selling something that closely resembled...THAT." Trevor stated his mind swimming with ideas.

"You can say the name out loud, these kids probably know what is," bolstered Karasu, "and the rumors are true. We recently got our hands on something related to the Legendary Weapon, Pluton. All the real blueprints were destroyed, this one was just designed and never carried out. It was said that is was designed to oppose Pluton, but something happened to its creator before the plans were finished from what I can tell...it is definitely a devastating ship. The Unfinished Legendary Weapon, Jupiter."

Melanie gasped and leaned forward banging her head on the bars, "I can't believe you lowly...pirate got your hands...on something like that! Burn it! Make sure it never sees the light of day!" The revival of the ancient weapons was something that was widely discussed between the Marines and as a result the Shichibukai also commonly discussed it. She was vehemently against it, but it seemed like very few of the Shichibukai's were against. Trevor was all for it.

"Shut up!" shouted Karasu, "I'm not going to burn it, besides its only half-completed. The back half of the ship is designed, but that's it! The front half was never completed, the creator died before he could finish it! I've been keeping it more as a treasure than anything else. I couldn't revive it I know that's for sure. Anyways, that's what Karasawa wanted. The blueprints, he said his boss could revive it or create a new duplicate. I'm against the revival of those things...an all powerful weapon means that that would be the only weapon sold and all of a sudden I got a billion belies worth of useless inventory!"

Trevor bit his lip as he thought of the idea of the all-powerful weapon being under his command, he liked the idea of no opposition whatsoever, but that was where the joy ended. He highly doubted a ship would allow him to rush up and cut people's heads off...it just wasn't as personal firing cannons at people to kill them. He needed the feel of flesh tearing.

"Anyways, when I turned him down. Karasawa sic'ed one of his dogs on me," muttered Karasu. "His dog was more like a wolf and tore my arm off with some sort of flaming sword. Karasawa let me live because he said that they'd need the black market to be remain fully functional for awhile...only god knows what they are planning to do."

"Did they get the blueprints from you?" asked Trevor with just a little bit too much of an interest in the story. Karasu pounded his fist on the table with an obvious apprehension to the accusation.

"NO! They didn't get them!" shouted Karasu. "They got close, but they didn't actually get them! And now I definitely don't want them to have it! If those kids were to get their hands on them it would be the end of the world! Revolutionaries, bah! Those were anarchists! Only reason why they are on the sides of the Revolutionaries are so they can fight and say they have a worthy cause!"

"Do you really care why people fight?" asked Trevor with a gleeful smile. "The only that I care about is how much blood they shed and when I can kill them! You were the same! You never cared who got hurt as long as you got paid...have you grown soft as well as old?" Trevor turned the tables around on Karasu who had early said that he had grown soft. Mikoto piped up, hoping to see another fight break out between two titans. He felt like cheering once more, but remembered the last time he tried something of that sorts he got yelled at so, he just remained quiet.

Karasu backed away first. He really wasn't in the mood for a fight to break out especially against someone like Trevor. He would just wait, besides Mashiba's victory in the URA was just around the corner and ticking off the boss would probably lower the pay. While he did enjoy a fresh fight every now and then and a spar with Trevor sounded nice, the last thing he wanted to do was wind-up wounded and without pay.

Trevor knew better then to pry and like Karasu believed avoiding a fight would be the best choice here. He backed up and looked back at Melanie. His toothy grin flashing back at her. "I'll kill you tomorrow...or maybe the day after that...it depends on how my mood is. I've only killed one other Shichibukai before and that was so quick...I want to savor this one." Melanie wasn't sure if he meant if or if he was just trying to show off to Karasu that he hadn't gone soft yet, but either way she responded by sticking her tongue out at him. Trevor laughed it off, accepting it as the last desperate act of a girl who lost a fight. He and Karasu left. A small amount of bickering could be heard in the hall.

"Crap," muttered Melanie as she laid back against the cold hard cell wall, trying to relax in this rather terrible predicament. Trevor hadn't really ordered a nurse in to help her stop from bleeding. If it kept up it could be possible that she would just bleed out before Trevor got to have his fun. "Shit, I hope Makada forgets the keys to this cell again."

"Makada didn't forget the keys to this cell," said Mikoto looking over at Melanie. Melanie perked up at those words hoping to gain some new information. "Somebody else did. I don't remember who, though..." Melanie's head dropped at that, she was stuck in a cell with an idiot. "Do you know any good songs?" asked Mikoto.

**The Next Chance…**

**A Possibly Powerful Alliance is Formed**

Remember last time when I mentioned how I always lose my flash drive, guess what? I lost another one! Sort of…it fried. Got destroyed beyond repair and I lost one chapter of Saga, so it is under repair. Also this chapter was over 2000 words when I last checked...I think goblins are getting on my computer during the night and shortening my chapters!

This is arc is winding down I PROMISE…it has been going on a little too long even for me. I recently started writing the climax, so trust me…almost there. Another…few chapters to go.

Also, I plan to update next Tuesday to get onto a better schedule...so...yeah for you guys!


	128. Arena 128 The Next Chance… A Possibly

**The Next Chance…**

**A Possibly Powerful Alliance is Formed**

Maria eagerly punched the bag, trying to get ready for the upcoming fight. It was night already, so her fight wasn't for another 12 hours, but the warrior blood in her wouldn't calm down. It was all excitement lately, all those years in the prison at Reverse Mountain had dulled her down and almost put her to sleep. All the while though she was starting to build up the desire for another fight, she wanted to test her mettle for such a long time. And now she was here! She was here at the number one choice for a good fight. The URA definitely wouldn't let her down! Trevor, Duncan, Mashiba...even Zesiro were all here and fighting. And she had the chance to fight them all!

"Melanie's fighting Trevor!" shouted Ridley as he burst onto the ship. Maria flinched as the shouting shook her out of her world of fights. She was all alone in the training hall, but his voice still rang throughout the entire ship and caused her to get up and move. She hated the idea but she had to get going and see what was up.

When she arrived up top, she was kind of startled at the results of Ridley's cry. She and Simon were the only ones up there to listen to Ridley. Rosa, Zesiro, and Hiro-Shu were all hospitalized with Enma stuck watching over them and Sage was in no shape to do anything. Their crew was ultimately reduced to this...her, Ridley, and an outsider? Lily and the Fishman brothers, all of them had basically made this ship a second home to themselves, but Lily refused to leave Rosa's side and the same kind of thing could be said for the Fishman brothers and Zesiro, remaining strangely attached to them. She felt a little bit of remorse as she looked at their pathetically small numbers, but what were their options really? They couldn't just conjure more crew members out of the sea. Anyways, she listened to Ridley's ramblings.

"We found Mikoto!" Maria sighed, some good news out all of this! "But Trevor and Karasu interrupted us before we could free him!" So much for good news. "Melanie and Trevor are currently fighting and trying to defeat each other, I got out the first chance I got I didn't want to be there when the Shichibukais and Karasu wound up getting into a fight. Hopefully, Melanie will win and we will no longer have to think about Trevor!"

"When is it ever that easy?" insinuated Maria with a down-trodden voice. It seemed like the higher the hopes their got the quicker they fell. Ridley grimaced as he found out he kind of agreed with her, but he didn't fully want to admit it, especially when they were this close.

"What's wrong with you two!" shouted Simon slapping them both of the back and then wrapping his arms around their stomachs and pulling them in for a hug. "Don't be so down! We dwarfs ain't the tallest race, but that jus' means we are always looking up! And THAT is what's wrong with all the other races, they think about looking down! Don't think about it! Always look up! Skywards!" Simon directed their eyes up into the sky with a sweep of his arm. "See that! That's where our goals lie, no?"

Maria sighed and said, "he's right. If I'm going to complain about these problems, can I really call myself the strongest in the world?" Ridley smiled and shook his head at their foolhardy and very naïve optimism. Simon let out a loud laughter and patted him on the back.

"If you are just going to complain and moan about this crap, then I'll take over your duties on this 'ere rescue mission! And I'll do it with Dwarven pride!" shouted Simon as he slapped Ridley on the back and continued on his way over to the edge of the ship to continue scouting for his son.

"Wait! Simon!" shouted Ridley as he remembered Rosa explaining his powers to him. "You can help break Mikoto out!" The idea was so simple! With Simon's ability to create a hole in anything he could in theory create a hole in the cage! That way whether or not the keys were in the room again they would be able to easily break him out. Then even if it wasn't true they still would be able to use his ability to escape fairly easily...it was so simple!

"Sure, laddie!" laughed Simon, "you guys are gracious enough to help try to free my son wherever he may be on this island so I'll be more than happy to help you free your friend! Just tell me when!"

Ridley nodded. It was a simple plan, "great! Me, Zesiro, and Simon will launch an attack on them tomorrow while Maria attends the tournament for plan B!" Maria shook her head, she informed Ridley on both Rosa's and Zesiro's state. Ridley clicked his tongue at the horrible news. The Infinity Pirates were definitely in a sorry state if this is was what remained of them. He looked around and at what he had to work with. "Fine...I'll accept this sorry state that we are in as our only option. Tomorrow will continue on like normal, Maria will fight and we will prepare with better plans. Then the day after that when it is Zesiro's turn...me, Maria, and Simon will go out and try to find Mikoto again and hopefully free him...if Melanie doesn't come out and let us know she beat Trevor first."

Maria nodded slowly and went back down under the ship. Almost at once she was wrapped back up in the air of energy. She was impatiently awaiting the fight tomorrow, her goal to become the strongest was a hard road and this was only the first step, but regardless it was exciting. The tournament was becoming one of the best fights lately. One or more fight...just one more and then she would pour her all into the finding Mikoto.

Maria quickly disappeared into the training room.

(-in the arena-)

Armani dove sat in one of the higher balconies looking down upon the rest of the spectators. His arms were coated in his illustrious gold and he waited impatiently for the fights to start. He was slightly disappointed that both Mikoto and Trevor was no shows for the fights, he was hoping that they would both show up and possibly fight again. But sadly, no...talk about a letdown of fights lately. He had thought about leaving and calling it a day, but he had an important business transaction about to go down.

He looked up as he noticed his 'business partner' come up to him, 'The Dark Knight' Shane and his annoyingly leech-like first mate, Suzanne. While it pained Armani to have to negotiate with them, especially when he highly doubted that either one cared for him, he decided to swallow his pride and accept the fact that he needed them. "Friends!" he said opening his arms wide and walking towards them. The girl dashed in between him and Shane and glared at him as if trying to scare him away from her latest kill. Armani raised his hands in front of him and backed off, while he would cherish a fight with a man like Shane, it would have to wait.

"I'm sure a man of your stature noticed the Marine ships gathering outside," Armani continued motioning with a nudge of his head towards the sea. Shane grumbled something and Suzanne nodded enthusiastically. "And I believe you probably noticed the Golden Den-Den Mushi they were waving about haphazardly." Shane raised his eyebrow at this and stepped forward, pushing Suzanne to the side.

"A Golden Den-Den Mushi, you say?" he asked, his voice seeming like a hollow and empty grave. "The one they use to call a Buster Call?" He was interested in what Armani was proposing, especially if it began with the news of a Marine attack.

"The very same," Armani said with a smile, happy he managed to catch Shane and intrigue him. "I'm sure you've heard of the horrors that the Golden Den-Den Mushi brings, am I right? Well, you see I'm interested in a mutual beneficial partnership during this Buster Call. We both stay here until it begins and then using our combined strengths, we escape. Simple, no? I mean, I'm sure you could leave before it begins, but that would be like running away from it. The title 'The Man Who Lived Through a Buster Call' carries great weight."

Shane thought about this for a minute. It was certainly an intriguing offer. Claiming to live through a Buster Call would definitely be a great call-to-arms for many new and valuable subordinates and he relished the thought, but something about this man didn't seem fully trust-worthy and, of course, Suzanne voiced her concerns, "how do we know you will really help us? This could all just a ruse to make sure we will help you, but when we need your help you may just leave us high and dry!"

"Cah ah hah hah!" laughed Armani Dove as he slapped his knee for hysterical emphasis. "I like your wit girl. But I can promise you, I'm not that kind of pirate. My goal isn't to be the strongest, I have my own intentions I assure you, but nothing that benefits from screwing you guys over. I could leave now like I proposed, but the winds of change have become a hurricane around this island...and I want to see them clash more than anything. I would rather go to jail then miss this."

"How does that answer MY question?" asked Suzanne jabbing her finger at his chest, "I mean you could still screw us over after you've seen these 'winds' of yours clash!" She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, maybe the 'Winds of Change' was some new group of pirates that she hadn't heard about, but she didn't give a crap about them, she just wanted to get away from the Buster Call with her Shane. "I mean I don't tru-"

Shane stepped forward and cut her off mid-sentence. "Winds of change, eh?" Shane said as he turned around and looked out to the audience as another fight was finally starting. Duncan was gracious enough to join the URA special fight and was now accepting any volunteers to enter the ring with him. Shane smiled as he thought about Armani's offer, the Buster Call, and the chance to see something big, "I think witnessing that would be worth going to jail, too." Shane took a few steps away, before swiveling back around and placing his halberd underneath Armani's chin, "what makes you think I won't double-cross you? Stepping over your body would definitely benefit me."

Armani laughed loudly once more, several members of the audience turned around and shushed him, but Armani didn't care. He looked at Shane up and down and replied with a coy smile, "I'm fairly certain you would rather beat me one-on-one rather than sell me down a river like that. Besides...you can call me psychic or psychotic, but our time to fight isn't yet. We'll fight later down the road."

Shane mumbled something under his breath again and stood up. He nodded, accepting Armani's condition. He then motioned for Suzanne to follow him as he began to leave. Armani noticed that a few other fellows in the audience began to move out with him, no doubt other members of his crew that he had brought along just in case this was an ambush.

"Wait!" shouted Armani stepping forward, prompting the whole group to turn around and look at him again. "I think I should tell you something else about your future. That kid down there...or who was down there, the little 'Kid Coyote'. I think you may want to keep an eye on him. Your guys' fight is around the bend, so I suggest you get ready for I don't think it'll be an easy one for you...you might just lose against him." Without skipping a beat Armani leapt up into the air and disappeared into the crowd and it was a good thing he did as Shane sent his large halberd out, sending it smashing into the ground.

"What did he say?!" bellowed Shane using the loudest voice he had so far. He turned around and approached Armani, he grabbed a hold of the railing separating him from the audience. The audience turned around and shouted at him, but a few seconds later when the railing he was gripping exploded into a million pieces the audience quieted down and watched Duncan quickly finish off his opponent in the ring.

* * *

**One More Step into the Arena**

****I posted this week simply to get on a better schedule. This way if I accidentally forget to post a saga chapter I won't wind up posting three different stories on the same day. Trouble is brewing, you can sense it on the Winds of Fate!


	129. Arena 129 One More Step

**One More Step Into the Arena!**

"_It is time_," Maria thought as she anxiously began shadowboxing in the locker room. She fired random punches into the air as she loosened her body up and prepared for the next fight and possibly her last fight in the URA. They were going to be leaving soon and that would be it...or should it? She stopped punching the air as her arms draped down to her side. Trevor's offer jumped back to the front of her mind.

Trevor was offering her an extended stay here to fight in the arena as much as she wanted. She'd be doing it to save Mikoto and the rest of the crew, of course, but there was that benefit there for her as well. It was a proposition she hadn't fully considered until now. She had ignored it, but now it was forced to the front of her brain as she thought about staying around and continuing to fight. The fast track to being dubbed the strongest...not to mention being a Shichibukai's crew member also carried a bit of heft, she'd become famous just for that reason.

Then again the Shichibukai title would be revoked in a matter of days when the Marines attacked...but Trevor would certainly not be brought down. It was impossible for him to be defeated; the Marines had to know that. He'd kill them and escape, continue the URA somewhere else or just go out on a killing spree.

"Thinking about me are we?" asked Trevor as he waltzed in to the room. Maria turned around and took up a fighting stance. Trevor laughed. "Nice try, but you can't hide it. I didn't select you because you were a strong fighter; I wanted you because you are a fighter! Your spirit! You were thinking about my offer and the endless fights!" Maria sighed it was apparent that Melanie didn't take him down, so it was just more troublesome for her to think about it.

Maria shook her head briefly, "I'm getting ready for a fight, so I'd appreciate it if you left, okay?" Maria returned to her practice, once more her fists flew out from her side and made several quick and powerful punches forward. Trevor laughed once more as he walked around her, watching her fine movements. "What?!" she shouted taking a step forward and forming a fist.

"Just wondering if you would be interested in my offer if I upped the stakes?" asked Trevor. Maria lowered her fists and looked at him. "I noticed you got an interesting new companion...a Simon Honeydew or something? I'll give you three separate offers; both equally promising and you can choose either offer you want. Option A, and the offer I think you'll take, I'll release Simon's son along with Mikoto and the rest of the crew goes free. Or Option B...I kill Simon. And then when his son inherits his fortune, I'll have him redirect all of his fortune to us...to you. And you become rich!"

Maria turned around once more about to punch him with all of her force about to kill him, but Trevor dodged to the side and was instantly up in her face. "Perhaps Option C is the one for you. You don't join me. You continue to bet the life of all of your crew members on the chance you win. You win and I may release Mikoto after a discussion or a bloodshed, BUT! I definitely kill Simon's son." Maria's eyes went wide as she turned around and faced Trevor. "I won't kill Mikoto because he's precious to me, too. However, Simon's son's a piece of trash killing him is like killing an insect."

"What about the Marines?" asked Maria with a smile. He thought he had the entire scenario all planned out, but he didn't know about the Marines.

"What about my Shichibukai title being revoked? About the Buster Call to come?" asked Trevor. Maria was shocked at the fact he had apparent knowledge of both of these two things. Seeing her confusion, Trevor explained, "all of these pirates here prime for the plucking. A massive blood bath? Does this sound like something that interests me? Of course, it does! It's my plan! I suggested it to a Marine, I have on payroll, and he suggested it to the higher ups and boom! Everything kicks into action! I just needed to act extra bad and kill a few Marines! I'll get away Scot-free by following my plan to the tee and if you accept my offer so will your crew...the rest of the pirates will all meet horrible, bloody, and unne-"

"STOP!" shouted Maria pushing Trevor away and running past him. Trevor was gleefully smiling as he watched her rush past him. She ran past him and into the arena, it was just pure coincidence that the last fight had just finished, but Trevor ignored it. She was going to accept it...imagine having him hunt you down the rest of your life just because you didn't accept his offer. It was a scary thought that even chilled his bones. He left her to contemplate it, he'd come again after the fight.

Mashiba was still in the ring when Maria entered the big hall. He was watching the URA medics cart his last opponent out of the ring and he remained standing there like a cold statue, his watchful gaze never leaving them once. He wasn't smiling like Maria imagined he would be, but he wasn't crying for the life he had probably just taken, he was just standing there with a cold and uninterested face. Come to think of it, he didn't particularly smile when he was about to kill Hiro-Shu, if anything it was more of a soldier doing his duty. A bored and uninterested grimace was on his face.

Finally, he seemed to take notice of Maria. He didn't wave or frown at her, he looked over at her and then turned his head away to face Karasu, who was eagerly watching his fight. Karasu smiled and shrugged at him. Mashiba gaze flickered back over to Maria, but he didn't say or do anything, except turn around and leave. His interest in her was minimal, he was just here because his boss told him to.

Maria shook her head and decided to adopt a similar nonchalant attitude towards him for now. Her attention was just on her next opponent, who should be climbing into the ring now.

Her jaw dropped as her opponent...or to be more precisely opponents entered the ring. Three little kids waving and jumping around in the ring like it was some play place danced about and were having generally a good time looking around and goofing off. She was going to be fighting three kids?! What kind of sick joke was that?

"Is this what the URA has been reduced to?" asked Maria directly assaulting the Longarm announcer with her voice. He took a step back and shrugged. He was completely clueless about this turn of events and began cycling through some papers to find some explanation finally he found it.

"It appears that this trio had enlisted earlier under on guise...they had all stood on top of each other's shoulders and wore a robe and it managed to fool the URA attendee..." the Longarm trailed off ashamed that that trick had managed to work on one of their staff members. "They were revealed during the first fight, but due to the crowd's immense reaction a ruling was made that allowed the three of them to continue to fight."

"How about I kick your ass instead!" shouted Maria getting worked-up over the fact that they had not only been idiots enough to be fooled by three kids, but now she was going to have to discipline them?! She was a pirate not babysitter! She had no desire to be surrounded by these three kids. The Longarm shied away, but he didn't take back his declaration and demanded that the fight continue according the URA guidelines.

"**Acrobat Technique! Rubber Ball**** Launch!" **shouted one of the kids as he pulled out a large rubber ball that was at least as big as he was. He jumped up and onto the ball, and almost immediately the rubber ball snapped back and forced Jin into the air. Maria looked up and tried to brace herself for the incoming aerial attack.

"**Acrobat Technique! Under Hand Knuckle!" **one of the other kids bent his body back, under it went under his own legs, charging in this comedic fashion. Finally he reached out and fired a punch at Maria aiming low. Maria dodged backwards avoiding this attack, but as soon as her attention shifted to this kid, the first kid came crashing down, landing a powerful frontal kick to Maria's forehead and forcing her back.

"Crap!" muttered Maria as she stumbled back, her head already starting to bleed from the attack. The kid probably wasn't that strong, but he managed to put all of his weight behind his knee and drive it into her skull. It was a ridiculous attack. Her attention had been so totally divided between the two, she couldn't possibly block both attacks...wait, there was a third kid, wasn't there? She was gone.

"**Acrobat Technique! Over Head Spin!"** A powerful kick recoiled forward and smashed itself into the back of Maria's head causing her to stumble forward again. Even worse due to the power and placement of the kick gave Maria a slight amount of blindness in the center of her vision. She backed up and looked at her opponents this time, for the first time she decided to take them seriously.

All three were kids probably only thirteen, maybe even twelve! The first one wore a black and green hat that was tightly bound to his head and wore a similarly colored Chinese robe. His pants were mostly hidden by the robe, but you could tell it was the same color as his robe. He was the one that attacked using the Rubber Ball and according to the announcer was named Jiz.

The other boy, the one who tried to hit her with that weird contortionist blow, had a brown bowl cut for a hairdo and brown eyes. His Chinese robe was colored tan with brown trimmings and it didn't have any sleeves. It was kept close due to several strings stretched all the way around it. The announcer called him Tin.

The last one was a girl and had delivered the spinning kick to the back of Maria's head. She had long hair that was styled into a braid, but a hat covered most of it. She wore a pink kunoichi-like garb that covered most of her body. She was called Aki by the announcer. So, those were the three kids Maria had to beat...Jiz, Tin, and Aki. She felt kind of ridiculous fighting with three kids, but she'd feel even worse if she lost to the three of them. She breathed deeply and took a stance ready to intercept all three of them.

Jiz jumped up and struck pose while on his ball just like a little kid would do... "let's go! **Acrobat Technique! Tightrope Battle Ground!" **He pulled out several lines of heavy rope and began tossing them in every direction, they tied themselves up and around several poles in the URA and soon enough the entire arena was covered in almost a dome of tightropes.

Maria charged forward, they had already gotten the first move in and even changed the battle field into something more favorable to them, she wasn't about to let them get another move in on her. She charged at Tin, she figured it would be a little bit more favorable to her to take on a boy at least that was she wouldn't be insulted for attacking a little girl. "**Acrobat Technique! Flexible Choice All Side Defense!" **The young boy once more began to randomly contort his body into weird shapes. Maria fired a punch for where he opponent's head should be, but instead only caught a padded knee. A second punch came crashing towards his shin, but instead just swept into a padded elbow. An ax kick from Maria came crashing down to where his shoulder should be, but was met with an open palm. His entire body was contorted into a weird shape so any and all of her practiced and well-honed moves to a weak area were useless against him. His defense defied the human body. It looked like it wouldn't be an easy match just because they were kids.

**You've Got To Be Kidding Me!**

Yes, the horrible pun is intended.

...Yeah, yeah, yeah...I feel horrible about using kids in a battle to the death tournament, but I was having trouble finding an opponent worthy of finding Maria. One of them didn't seem right for the URA, another one refused to fight women, and most people use weapons and that goes against the One Piece rule. So, Maria got stuck fighting three young kids...pretty darn strong kids though.

Also, Jiz, Tin, and Aki were all submitted by M-Rated Writer.

Finally if I may direct your attention to my profile. I got a new poll up. Do you think Mikoto should become a Shichibukai? I have already made up my decision as to whether or not he will, but I think it will be nice to see the reader's opinions.


	130. Arena 130 Kidding Me

**You've Got to Be Kidding Me!**

Maria dodged backwards as the three kids stepped forward once more. The kids were tough little buggers, she'd give them that, but that was the extent of her compliments. They were definitely a tough group of opponents. She probably could handle them one-on-one, but that wasn't going to happen. Besides even if it was one-on-one...they were definitely weirdly strong opponents. Jiz had decent power and outstanding balance to be able to stand and dodge on his large ball. Tin's weird contortionist powers made it difficult to hit him in a vulnerable spot, so his defense was top-notch. The last one, Aki, had a fast spin to her movements, which allowed for easy escape and quick attacks. If they had a few more years to them they would definitely be tough opponents.

Aki began the attack first. "**Acrobat Technique! Train Track Rotation!" **Aki jumped up and landed on the ropes that Jiz had previously spread. She then began to spin about and zoom about on the rope. Using her leg muscles she would sometimes jump up and land on one of the higher ropes or lower ropes, making her movements a fast blur that no one could keep up with. Maria definitely couldn't watch her as she still had two other opponent's.

"**Acrobat Technique!" **began Tin, jumping backwards and grabbing onto another one of the ropes. His momentum carried himself back and bending the ropes, "**Bender from A Slingshot!"** The rope snapped forward and sent Tin flying towards Maria. He stretched his body, prepared a fast punch. He had a special pad on his hand, so his speed and strength were top-notch. He was demanding all of Maria's attention. Maria brought her guard up and absorbed the fast punch with both of her arms. Without skipping a beat Maria twisted around, lifting her arm up and bringing it down aiming for Tin's head. As she brought her fist down, she saw Jiz's red ball bounce into the path of her punch.

Her fist slammed into it and pushed it towards Tin's head, but the rubbery material of the ball absorbed most of the impact and it harmlessly pushed Tin out of the way. "Shit," Maria said as she realized that she had completely lost sight of Aki, who had been spinning around on the rope cage. She didn't dare take her eyes of the two young boys that were in front of her.

Tin and Jiz looked at each and nodded. "**Bounce!" **shouted Jiz quickly landing on his ball and using it force himself into the air again. **"Roll!" **replied Tin lowering himself to the ground and contorting himself into a smaller size, almost a ball and then rolling forward. "**Spin!" **finished off Aki from wherever she was. Maria looked up and saw Jiz coming back down, using the rope cage to change direction midair. Tin was coming in low, making it harder to avoid the two attacks. It all depended on where Aki was attacking from that would decide how effective of an attack this was.

Maria leapt into the air to avoid Tin's lower attack and then she brought her arms up to block Jiz's falling kick. Tin's rolled beneath her and she blocked Jiz's kick just like she had planned. However, she knew that wasn't the end and when she felt a powerful force slam into her back, she knew that Aki was behind it. **"Three Side Attack, Three Way Impact!" **Maria was forced forward and away from the three kids. She quickly regained her balance due to her many years of fighting and turned around to face them.

Three opponents. She had to admit it was definitely a good warm-up for Mashiba, who probably would've slaughtered them the instant they stepped into the ring. The three of them may equal one of Mashiba. After Shigoro it was nice to met someone who actually enjoyed fighting, even if it was three little kids. She felt her gut twist at that sentiment and she felt equally sick. Kids who enjoyed fighting? It seemed like the beginning of the end of the world already.

The three kids seemed to be slightly impressed with Maria's endurance and broke off, each of them dashing into their own direction. They all landed on the tightrope cage and sat down, all of them on a different side of Maria, forming a perfect triangle. Maria couldn't keep her eyes on both of them and had to continuously turn her head from one to the other to make sure none of them were launching a sneak attack.

"**Over Head Roll!" **shouted one of the kids. Maria turned around, recognizing the key word 'roll' and the voice. It was definitely Tin, the same person who did 'Roll' during the last combination attack. To her surprise, though, he was just sitting there smiling. Suddenly she felt a heavy kick to the back of her head again. She cursed herself as she realized it was nothing more than an elaborate feint. One of them distracted her attention, by pretending to launch an attack and shouting that he was doing so freeing up one of the other two, if not both, to launch an attack. Her vision was definitely becoming blurry from the consecutive attacks to the neck.

She shook her head and tried to calm down. She took a deep breath and bent down, she dug her fingers into the ground and pulled. She forced a chunk of the arena into the air. Then without second guessing herself, she chucked it over at one of the kids. She believed it was Jiz, but she didn't wait to find out. The instant the rock left her hand she charged off towards one of the other ones. They all seemed slightly distracted, their heads turned to Jiz to make sure he wasn't about to get knocked out.

Maria fired a punch and it hit home. She was fairly certain she hit the girl and knocked her back. She was forced back and off of the tightrope, she fell down, but managed to hook her legs around another rope before she fell into the pit that surrounded the ring. Maria wasn't about to take it easy on her now, she bent down and prepared another punch aimed straight for the poor girl's face. Immediately one of the other brother's leapt to her rescue. Tin wrapped his legs around Maria's arm preventing her punch from firing forward and then his two hands went forward and covered her eyes. Maria fumbled around a bit while the little boy tried his best to throw her off balance by grabbing her hair and then leaning back and forth causing her to stumble all around the arena.

Finally Maria had enough of it, she smashed her foot down in a desperate attempt to regain her balance and then her cold metal fingers snaked their way around the kid's stomach. She then sent him flying clear across the ring with all of her might. It probably would've been a ring-out if the blasted rope cage hadn't been there to catch him. She looked over at her three opponent's who had all regrouped and were probably preparing another team attack to take her down. It didn't bother Maria, she took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. The team attacks and separate attacks were a difficult problem to handle. She just needed to take them down and quick. She passed the first fight with flying colors, a quick victory over a particularly troublesome opponent and now she was having trouble with a couple of kids? The crowd must be laughing at her. They must've thought of her like some stupid brat.

She decided it was time to take this fight to the next level.

She charged off towards them, their stupid team attacks and distractions had given them the initiative for the entire fight so far, it wasn't going to happen again. She slammed her feet to a stop, and slid in between them, cutting the young girl off from her two brothers. A rapid flurry of punches rain down towards the poor girl, kicking up dust and dirt. The girl managed to dodge the blows with a bunch of flips and spins all of them specifically designed to avoid the medley of blows. Maria swept her leg across the ground, finally managing to catch the girl and knock her up into the air.

Maria brought her palm forward, catching the poor girl's gut and bringing it forward. She slammed the young girl forward and into the ground. There was probably a bone that broke upon impact from Maria's rough handling, but she didn't stop to listen. She pushed the girl aside using her foot and turned to her two brothers next.

They immediately dispersed, jumping up and landing on the rope cage and began rushing away in opposite directions. Maria didn't care, rather than chase after them she went forward, grabbing a hold of the ropes themselves, and shaking them vigorously. It sent shockwaves along the ropes and forced the kids off of it and made them fall to the ground with a loud smack as they hit the pavement.

Maria rushed off towards the contortionist Tin. She was more than eager to pay him back for grabbing her head and riding her like a donkey. She got close and swept her arm upwards for an uppercut. She felt it hit home and knock the young man up into the air. She wasn't done, yet. She jumped up and used one of the rung on the rope cage to jump even higher. She finally got close to the poor kid. She rotated her entire body around and fired a kick downwards, smashing the front of her foot into Tin's poor stomach, the kid's eyes went wide as he felt the powerful kick drive itself into his gut. He was slammed down towards the ground, hitting his back straight into the hard pavement. Maria landed and looked over her shoulders at him. She smirked as he didn't move, finally another one was knocked out. Now it was just a one-on-one.

She stopped and listened to the crowd for a second and wasn't pleased with what she was hearing. Apparently the kids were fairly popular and the crowd didn't seem too happy with her beating up on kids, many of them requesting their money back…except they used a colorful slur of curse words and other forms of unpleasant language.

Maria didn't care she turned and looked at her opponent, Jiz. The last kid, he was the one who put up this infernal rope cage trap. She was looking forward to tearing it down as well as him. She strode forward for the young kid, the kid froze for a second, but then he turned around and began to run. Maria chuckled, the kid was nowhere near as fast as she was. She went into a full sprint and caught up to him in a matter of seconds. Her leg came sweeping across the air, catching him in the head and knocking him back. She wasn't about to stop, they basically humiliated her in front of this crowd, she'll knock him out with the next attack though. She brought her entire body around, firing a single punch, but putting all of her strength and power behind it. It came crashing forward, smashing into Jiz's face and sending him flying backwards.

Maria lifted her arms up in victory. Her enthusiasm wasn't shared with the crowd. They were all mumbling about how the fight wasn't fair; it was just a bunch of kids being beat up by a cyborg. It wasn't interesting at all. Maria put her arms down and shrugged. She turned around to leave, but her eyes caught Trevor, who was sitting down in his little throne silently clapping as he stared at her like a starved dog. Maria fought back the urge to stick her tongue out at him or worse and just kept walking. She entered into her locker room without any further problems.

**Starting the Escape**

Uh…I originally wanted to do a couple of bonus chapters to celebrate the holidays…but what do you know! I got a lot of duties and responsibilities and other crap piled up on me, so no post last week and almost no post this week, but I pulled through! I'll try to post a bonus chapter next week…however, I still have some crap to take care of…here I thought when I was done with finals I'd get free time…


	131. Arena 131 Start the Escape

**Starting the Escape!**

Ridley breathed heavily as he was trying to get ready for the raid. Maria seemed aloof and distant ever since she got back from her fight. Ridley didn't quite understand what was up, he found it hard that just beating up on some kids would make her like that. He tried to shrug it off and keep focused, but she was their main fighter. If something went wrong than they were in deep trouble. It would be him, Simon, and Maria invading the base of psychotic Shichibukai. It wasn't the happiest day of his life.

"If you guys need me, just let me know," stated Zesiro as he fitted his second replacement sword around his waist. He was going to be fighting in the semi-finals now after this, he would either be fighting Maria or Mashiba…that was if their plan failed and ideally it wouldn't. "I can quit this fight and just focus on helping you guys break Mikoto out."

"That would be a dead give-away," explained Ridley, "if no one on our crew fought Trevor would definitely become suspicious and think we are up to something. You are our decoy, just fight, kill, and stall for time. Try to keep him busy and interested in the fight for as long as possible. If worse comes to worse, raise some Kane and ruin the business."

Zesiro shrugged and turned to his support. The two Fishman brothers were of course going to see him off and to the locker room. Zesiro didn't mind fighting and leaving the freeing of Mikoto, but the real problem was he was starting to feel the Marine's grip. They were watching them fight and walk around, they were sizing up the new Shichibukai and his crew. And he didn't like that fact…he felt like they were spending more time thinking about how to kill them rather than support them.

However, he still had another two matches to worry through, he got up and left, heading to the locker room. He had no reason to sit around and wait for, he just needed to leave and then win. Hopefully, after today they'll be able to leave. This place was starting to become filled with bad memories.

Ridley sighed and looked over to Enma and Rosa. They were just to keep an eye on the ship, make sure Trevor's men didn't try something as underhanded as sinking their ship while they were out. Plus someone had to watch both Hiro-Shu and Sage. Neither one of them should be left alone while they were in this state.

"Let's go!" shouted Ridley leaping off of the ship and onto the ground. "We don't have enough time to wait around." He looked around and saw their Marine buddies waiting in the docks. He would've just shrugged and left like he normally did as they went for walks around the arena like everyone else did. He imagined that Marines did it more often than others, but he couldn't help but notice them standing there. That was because there was another fifty or so other people standing around, a crowd of people standing around doing nothing, but waiting.

It was like seeing a flock of crows gathered in one place. There was a certain ominous look to the large gathering of people. He felt like he should just keep walking, but he felt nailed to the ground, something horrible was going to happen and it was going to happen soon. "We really got no time to waste." He remembered the threat they had about the Buster Call. He definitely didn't want to be around when that went down.

He looked over at their 'allies' for the time being. Neither of them seemed to be in a good mood, he met eyes with the masked man and he simply thumped Valerie in the ribs and attracted her attention. Ridley frowned as he moved forward, signaling for Maria and Simon to follow. Just three average pirates walking out to enjoy the bloody battles of the Arena.

Simon and Maria seemed to have a similar feeling as they waded through the sea of Marines and into the door. As it currently stood that door was probably the only thing that separated the Marines and the pirates, even worse it was the only thing separating them from jail.

"So, where is this young lad who is yer captain?" asked Simon following the group closely. "And my son? Did you say you found them together?"

Ridley grimaced. He still hasn't found Simon's son, he was still up in the air and Ridley felt horrible about lying to him, especially about something like this. However, in the end he'd rather save Mikoto than save no one at all. At least that was his excuse. "Yeah…yeah, but they may have moved him," stuttered Ridley, "you know, after mine and Melanie's last intrusion. It is questionable whether or not Mikoto'll still be there."

As he said those words, he realized how truly questionable it was. Trevor wasn't an idiot…he was a sociopath and all that, but he truly wasn't stupid. He probably would've moved Mikoto…or maybe he'd increase security around him. It made him wonder if they should step into the arena first and look around, see if Trevor, Duncan, and the rest of the URA staff were around in there. If not, Ridley could place a bet on where they would be. He just hoped his senses were wrong on everything today. He hoped that the Buster Call wasn't going to happen and that Mikoto wasn't going to be guarded. However, it seemed like life was never quite that easy. It was more filled with danger and trouble than the gold and women he was promised.

"Let's get Mikoto and…er, Drew and go," Ridley stated quickly. Once more his primary objective was grabbing Mikoto. True he had originally planned on getting Drew and collecting on the large reward Simon had promised, but now with those Marines standing outside like vultures he just wanted to keep his life. Money was secondary.

They stalked through the building, admittedly there wasn't much there. Ridley was actually surprised, if anything they actually dropped the security since he had been there last. There wasn't nearly as many people patrolling as there had been. He just had to hope that that didn't mean they were just concentrated in one spot.

Ridley spotted the door a little further down the hall. He crossed his fingers one last time and signaled to Maria. Maria nodded and went forward. She was feeling a little better since yesterday's fight, she was raring for another one. Ridley was kind of surprised she didn't ask to stay here. She seemed to love fighting and the arena was the perfect place to do so, he guessed the news of the Buster Call seemed to dampen the offer.

Maria was still troubled; Trevor's offer was still in the back of her mind no matter how much she tried to shake it free. It was there no matter how much she tried to push it away. It would continuously pop up and remind her of what she wanted, she wanted to fight strong opponents. Sure the Infinity Pirates was one way to go about it, but was it really the best or the quickest? She didn't have time to think about it, she knew one thing was for sure and that was that she liked Mikoto a whole lot better than Trevor.

She brought her foot up and smashed it into the door, just above the doorknob. The door broke open, swinging widely and the trio poured in. Ridley stopped instantly, taking only a few moments to examine what was going on. Mikoto and Melanie were both locked up and he paused for a precious second examining them to make sure Trevor didn't strap a bomb to their chests.

"Let's go!" shouted Ridley, signaling to Simon.

Simon stopped for a second and just looked at the cage. "Where's me BOY!?" Simon shouted spinning around and grabbing a hold of Ridley's collar and lifting him into the air. Ridley was surprised. One, that a man about a good foot and a half shorter than him could possibly lift him off of the ground and two, that he could possibly sound as ticked as Simon did.

"I told you, they probably moved him!" defended Ridley as he struggled free.

"MOVE! Why would they move me boy, but leave yer captain sitting there as fresh as a daisy!" Simon roared, "you are the ones who stumbled upon this place, not me! Why would he hide my son, but leave yer captain here! I thought somethin' fishy was going on the moment I met you! You thought you could pull a fast one on me simply because I'm dwarven? I'll show you otherwise!" Simon pulled his pickaxe free from his belt and aimed it at Ridley's head. "I'll show ya!"

Simon was about to bring his diamond pick-axe forward and create a brand new hole in Ridley's head and he would've, if Maria hadn't stepped in and grabbed a hold of it. She was amazed by Simon's strength, even with her machine appendages; she found it hard to hold the pickaxe back. Was this one of those moments where a parent developed super-human strength to defend their kid?

"Let go of me lassie!" swore Simon as he tried to wrench the pickaxe free. "I don't have a bone to pick with you! You didn't know any better, but this slimy yellow-bellied snake did! He knew they weren't keeping ma son here, but he told me anyways! I'll crush his skull and then I'll be on my way!"

"Ridley's a liar and a downright crook at times, but he's on my crew, so I'm going to protect him," Maria hissed at Simon. You could tell through Simon's eyes that he was quietly weighing the pros and cons about bashing Ridley's head in. He slowly decided that it wasn't worth getting his own head pounded in by Maria. He lost to Rosa and he was fairly sure that Maria's punch was hundreds of times tougher than Rosa's. He just lowered his pickax to his side and ripped his arm free from Maria's loosened grip. He growled one last time at Ridley.

"Wait!" shouted Mikoto. Simon stopped in his tracks, turning around and facing the kid who was locked behind the iron bars with the seastone handcuffs.

"What?!" he shouted in a gruff tone. "I'm not freeing you. I am not going to help some friend of a crook, who tried to deceive me. You two can both rot in jail as far as I'm concerned." Simon turned around and began to leave again.

"You want your son back right?" asked Mikoto. Simon stopped in his tracks; he didn't want to believe in the kid's words. His friend already deceived him so he'd probably try to fool him again, but if there was even a sliver of a chance of rescuing his son…he'd go for it. He turned around and faced the cell. "I don't know who he is or whether or not I could help. But I can tell you if you let me out of here, I will beat the ever living crap out of Trevor. And with him out of the way, I'm fairly certain it would be easier for you to snoop around here and find your son."

Simon hesitated for a few more moments. He couldn't disagree with him, without a raging psychopath stalking the halls looking for new skulls it probably would be easier for him to find his son and get out. "Fine!" shouted Simon as he approached the small cage and placing his hand on top of one of the bars. Slowly a hole began to expand in the bars, becoming bigger and enveloping one entire side of the cage.

Mikoto jumped out of the cage. He stood by patiently waiting as Simon came up to him and used the same power on his handcuffs freeing him. Mikoto took the iron handcuffs off of his hands and dropped them to the ground. He supposed making them out of seastone would've been redundant as neither Mikoto's nor Melanie's devil fruit could get them out, but Mikoto almost felt as though they cheated as it was a Devil Fruit that got them out.

Mikoto turned to the group about to ask them where Trevor was when a loud crash was heard. "Crap, the Buster Call must've started," shouted Ridley as he turned his head up to the ceiling. A medley of screams burst forth from the arena and all over the island.

**Beginning of the Buster Call!**

****...I plan on posting again Tuesday...if I can...like I said its that magical time of the year when everything gets shot to crap. Plus I was 'sick' for a day. I hope to be back on track after this.


	132. Arena 132 Buster Call

**Beginning of the Buster Call!**

"A Buster Call?" asked Mikoto turning over to Ridley. Ridley grimaced as he nodded his head. It was at least a twenty minute hike up to the top of the island and then who knew how long it would be until the rest of the crew got there. Zesiro was the main problem, a large wave of scared pirates and other miscellaneous idiots would pour out of those small doors and Zesiro would be amongst them. It would take him forever to break out. He supposes they could leave him and he could just swim out and catch up to him…but he doubted the rest of the crew would agree with such a cold-hearted plan.

The next problem would be the design of the island. The island was designed like a giant pot and they were at the bottom as it currently stood the Marines could only blindly fire cannon balls down into the pot and let them crash into the buildings below. He could consider themselves lucky that they weren't being directly fired at, but with the destroyed buildings and the like it wouldn't be easy to escape the pot. Then there were also a limited number of staircases leading to the top of the pot, the Marines only needed to destroy the staircases or block them off while the random cannon fire killed everyone.

Another loud explosion of cannonfire smashed into the island, sending a strong shuddering throughout it. Ridley and the rest of the gang stumbled forward and fell to the ground. A few seconds later a Marine voice boomed through the arena. "This is Vice Admiral, Docket R. Jr. I am here to tell all pirates that you have no options. We have taken control of both stairwells and have five Marine Battleships placed outside the island, circling as we speak. We are here to destroy this island and any and everyone associated with it or on it. If you want to live…well, then this is rather awkward…um, good-bye!"

Ridley wanted to say something insulting about the man who just came on, but in the end he didn't really have the privilege to. It was check and mate as far as every pirate on this island was concerned. Docket R. Jr. was one of the few men who would probably manage to live through this whole predicament. Ridley looked over at his crew and noticed that the rest of the gang was already rushing out of the room as quickly as they could. He realized that this moment probably called for more immediate action rather than careful planning.

"Which way to Trevor?" asked Mikoto as the group continued to rush out of the hallways. They managed to remain together despite the numerous staff members of the URA and pirates that rushed into the halls tackling anybody around them without care or concern.

"Are you kidding me?" asked Melanie raising an eyebrow at Mikoto's goal. "I'm with you about taking him down, but now is not the time. I've heard plenty of rumors about these Buster Calls. I don't think we have the time to take him down or anything of that sort. The longer we wait, the more the odds become stacked against us surviving. We need to leave! NOW!"

"I think you are forgetting about one small factor that separates me from regular pirates," laughed Mikoto as he slammed on the brakes and turned around, he began to fight through the crowd of pirates. "I'm going to be the king of pirates! And RIDDLES!"

"Wai-" started Melanie twisting around to go back and grab ahold of Mikoto to drag him out of the arena, but Ridley's firm grip and tug on her shoulder forced her to leave him behind, "your captain is going to-"

"Be just fine," finished Ridley, "I've been with Mikoto for awhile and while I'll always question his leadership skills and his intelligence level…there's two things about him that'll always help him pull through in the end. He's good in a fight and he's a lucky bastard. He'll be okay until the world comes to the end and even then he may live, idiots always seem to live longer than smart people."

"Guess that means you'll live forever," shouted Simon apparently he still hadn't forgiven Ridley for lying to him about his son.

"Nah, my liver is going to give out long before then," said Ridley as he tried to keep in front of the newest wave of panicking pirates, "I'll die soon enough." As if to help support Ridley's belief in his life another cannon ball crashed into the hallway, striking into the floor behind them and smashing several pirates into little bits and pieces. "But I don't want to!" shouted Ridley as he poured on the gas and doubled his speed along with the rest of the pirates in the hall as they began to increase their speed.

Ridley still didn't have anything planned out for what they would do when they got to the top of the stairs. Even if they did manage to break past the guards the Marines were bound to have posted there, then what? In the bottom of the pot the Marine Battleships could only fire cannon balls out on the flat land they had lasers, spears, and god knows what else! They would be skewered the instant the Marines saw them. Right now the plan was just to keep running and hope they missed.

"Wait!" shouted Ridley as another thought hit him, "Mikoto could become the Shichibukai! They told us straight-up that if we chose to comply with their demands and Mikoto joins them they'd let us walk!"

"Selling your respect for another day," scoffed Simon, "if you were a dwarf you wouldn't do that. Dwarfs have pride! You can see our pride in the beards we grow!" Simon pounded his chest for emphasis. Melanie nodded in agreement, she couldn't believe that someone would do something so cheap. She became a Shichibukai and suffered through it in order to save her family, Ridley's plan was to sell out his captain for another day under the sun.

Ridley shrugged. He didn't care. What good did respect do him in Davy Jones' locker? The other pirates certainly would love to hear him standing up foolishly to the Marines and being a man to the last minute, but he highly doubted the pirates there cared, they'd just skin him and use his bones to pick their teeth.

(-With Enma-)

The ship shook viciously, nearly throwing Enma off of his feet. He looked over at Hiro-Shu who still laid there on the bed unconscious. "Great, all men…" shouted Enma, but he stopped when he realized the only men on their ship right now were him and the unconscious Hiro-Shu, it didn't matter, "All men to the top of the ship to fight back!" Enma was about to rush out, but he stopped, he looked over at his experiment and quickly grabbed it swooping it off of the stands. It wasn't finished yet, but it should give him a little bit more of an edge in the upcoming battle with the Marines. He filled a syringe up with the dark red and almost purplish liquid and stuffed the syringe into his pocket. It was supposed to be a pill, but he hadn't had the time to create the right mixture. An injection would have to do.

Enma was on the deck in a few seconds. He stopped and looked around at the meager offering. It was him and Rosa, who was still injured, but she had managed to load one cannon ball into the cannon and fire it off, blasting a small hole in the deck. Lily, still hiding in her tiger form, was pawing another cannon ball over to Rosa's side. Rosa loaded it and fired. The cannon ball shot forward, it hit the ground forcing some of the Marine back again, but Rosa wasn't the best shot and she didn't quite hit them like she was planning.

"Crap," muttered Enma running up to them and looking over the railing and at the Marines who were still scrambling around. They were probably planning the best way to move forward and take them out. They didn't want to turn the battleships off of the main island. They wanted to squash the majority of the pirates who were still in the arena. They had other back-up ships that were more focused on taking out any ships that decided to leave prematurely. Besides if they could leave some of the ships undamaged, they could steal them and use them as materials or for back-up ships. It would basically become an emergency ration. The Marines would take complete control of the ships and sail out with the excess materials.

The Marines stayed back. They were still debating about approaching the ship. It seems to be one of the few ships that actually had pirates on it…the other problem was it was the ship of the Infinity Pirates. The new Shichibukai. It was true that the idea of the Buster Call was to completely eliminate everything, to leave not even a tree left standing, but who wanted to try to kill a Shichibukai? That was a death wish and then some. They heard horrors of the Shichibukai and as it currently stood none of them felt safe as they stood here. They were attacking two Shichibukais along with a bunch of battle-crazed pirates…somewhere along the lines they feared the higher-ups have lost all deductive reasoning skills.

"Just keep firing," shouted Enma as he loaded another cannon and lit the fuse. There was a deafening boom as the cannon fired a single shot through the sky and buried the small, yet heavy ball into the floorboards. The Marines exchanged another worried look and left, they'd save that ship for later. Or maybe they'd just sink it at the very last second.

Enma slumped down behind the ship's railing and let out the breath he had been subconsciously holding. It was worrisome when you were on a psychopath's island with a bunch of angry law enforcers after you, they needed to prepare to leave the island as soon as possible.

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro brought his sword forward and mowed through another group of anxious Marines that had rushed down the stairs to engage the evil pirates and become a hero of legend. Zesiro was immediately pushed aside as the pirates that just mere moments ago were cowering at the sight of the Marine found themselves with enough energy to run and screw over their savior. Zesiro paused and looked around. The Zesiro grumbled something as he recognized his opponent for the day slink away out the back way. He couldn't believe he was scheduled to fight such a coward and part of him wanted to turn around and pick a fight with him, but he knew the smart thing to do was to keep running.

Zesiro was rushing up the stairs, ignoring the chaotic cannon fire that rained down upon the island and smashed into walls and floors alike. The pirates in front of him kept charging, every so often one would fall and be trampled to death by the rushing and panicking pirates. At first Zesiro entertained the thought that he would bend down and help him to his feet, but he soon found out that he got there too late. Just in time to see the mangled mess expire.

If the sights and sounds of this crowded hall weren't bad enough, the smell tortured him. Like all sharks, Zesiro had certain…_inhuman_ response to blood. And these hallways were drenched in it. Ordinarily he could suppress, it was something he had worked hard on. He wanted to eliminate the ignorant thoughts that all Fishman were bloody savages, but it was hard to hold back in this environment. His predator instincts were slowly overriding all common sense and all of his morality.

The thrill of the hunt was starting to creep up his skin and work its slimy magic. He couldn't hold it back anymore. He stopped in his tracks, causing the pirates behind him to bump into him. In an instant, not only did Zesiro unsheathe his sword, but he brought it swinging around as quickly as possible. Beheading the pirate behind him.

**Destruction of the Things We Hold Near!**

I was planning on posting last week as well, but more crap rained down from the sky! I swear get a week off of school and spend most of it working in order to pay for school. I plan to post again next week to return to a good schedule. Anyways, things heat up! The Buster Call has begun! The cannon fire is smashing into the URA, no one is safe! Not to mention Mikoto is rushing to meet a murderer and Zesiro is becoming one! What is this world coming to?

Also, I have decided as a New Year's resolution, I am going to try doing a manga…at least a one-shot. I will continue to update these stories in that time, so no worries. If you want details ask and I'll send you a PM.


	133. Arena 133 Destruction of the Things

**Destruction of the Things We Hold Near!**

Trevor sat still in his throne as he looked on at the travesty that was once his beautiful arena. True, he planned such a travesty to occur, but he still felt a mild twinge of regret now that he stood here watching it happen. This was his home, his business, his life. And now he had to sit and watch it be torn down by idiotic Marines. He was insulted, mournful, and depressed as he looked at the large cannon ball sitting in the midst of the crowd with a few pirates crushed beneath the heavy black iron.

"You're not leaving?" asked Karasu as he looked over his shoulder at who was once his own first-mate. "The Buster Call will eradicate this entire island if you wait too long."

Trevor chuckled. "I'll leave…after twenty minutes. I don't want to be remembered as one of those cowards who ran away the instant they heard the cannon fire of a Buster Call. I want to sit here, drink some tea in the midst of this chaos. Go down as the only pirate brave enough and strong enough to do nothing during a Buster Call and still escape." Of course, Trevor was the only one who thought of this, everyone else was more concerned with living, including his own staff members.

"Do whatever the hell you want," chortled Karasu at the silly thought of standing still as a building collapsed in on you. "You can't be strong, if you aren't alive." Karasu turned around and saw Mashiba was already starting to leave, but in the opposite direction. "Where are you going?"

Mashiba stopped and turned around to his boss. "I got to go," he said with a dejected tone. "I have some unfinished business on this island. Don't wait up for me; I'll catch up after I'm finished with my job." Mashiba twirled the long spear around and then quickly re-sheathed it.

Trevor smiled. He knew what Mashiba meant. It was that welling feeling that he had towards Mikoto, the desire to kill and yet for some strange reason the inability to act on that desire. He wanted to act on it, drive his fingers through Mikoto's soft neck and rip his skull free from his vertebrae, but he couldn't. He was sure that Mashiba probably had a similar welling desire to do the same with Hiro-Shu, the man Trevor had stopped him from killing.

Karasu shrugged. In all honesty, he wouldn't have waited for Mashiba even if he had asked. He was the kingpin of the Black Market; he made billions in a matter of days. Good help wasn't very hard to find if you have a stack of bills to wave about. He immediately headed out towards his ship.

Trevor sighed and relaxed. It was going to be quite boring. The cannon fire was still being fired sporadically into the arena with very little direction, but admittedly they were getting better. Their cannon fire was gradually becoming concentrated to the outer reaches of the arena instead of the center, which had already been evacuated, except for Trevor. Honestly, this was the safest place. "Duncan, where did Makada head off to?"

A big black drop of tar splashed from the ceiling and onto the floor. Slowly the tar built up and formed Duncan, the only man in this arena that actually thought highly of Trevor. "Makada didn't feel like waiting. He's been in a fairly bad mood as of late, I guess this Buster Call was just another nail in the coffin. No need to worry about him, though," encouraged Duncan, "he can handle himself."

Trevor smiled and nodded. He wouldn't have worried about Makada in the first place, it wasn't in his nature to have the slightest concern for another human being, but it was nice to know that when Trevor survived this, he'd had two faithful right hand men alive and willing to help him usher in a new age, sculpted to fit his image.

Funny, Trevor never thought of aiming to be Pirate King before. His goal in life was to enjoy it, it just so happened that he enjoyed killing. He never put any thought into anything more, but ever since his run-in with Mikoto. He felt a slight welling thought about it. Putting his name down into the history books as the third and most ruthless Pirate King ever to exist! It had a certain appeal to it. Trevor was going to be tossing this idea around in his head until it was time to leave.

(-With Makada-)

Makada slowly strolled through the halls. He was in a fairly bad mood. He had been here for years and had come to enjoy the payroll it had provided him with and now it was about to get crushed in a matter of seconds. Even worse, it was apparently Trevor's idea. He originally wanted to consider it a lie, Trevor was a psychopath, but he truly enjoyed the URA. The fights, the blood, it was Trevor's natural environment, but Makada heard him talk to Maria. He planned this!

Not only did Trevor plan this, but he made no attempt to reveal this news to him. He kept it a tightly guarded secret from everyone at the URA. He made sure no one found out, Makada was sure that even Duncan was kept in the dark about this little plan of his. Of course, why would Trevor share his plan to screw over their home, income, and possibly themselves! He was planning to activate the one thing on earth every man feared and for what? A boost in fame? It was Trevor! The man was a murderous tyrant who controlled half of the underground fights! He didn't need the title of 'Survivor of the Buster Call'.

Makada knew of Trevor's escape plan. Trevor thought this through; he wouldn't initiate something that he couldn't escape from…or kill. Trevor had thought his plan through. He would do the exact opposite of what everyone else was doing. They were all fleeing to the top to escape by sea, but that's ultimately what the Marines expected and that's where they are the thickest at. But recent technology resulted in a new method of escape…underwater.

Sailing out was impossible; Trevor had made sure to calculate that into his decision. The waiting was another key part of the plan. By the time his twenty or so minutes were up, the pirates would be at the top of the island and trying to make their escape. The Marines would be distracted and that would increase the chance of his success. Secondly, the submarines were small. They were only enough room in it for one, maybe two people and they were shaped-like cannonballs. Then they would be jettisoned out at high speeds.

It would almost appear as if the URA was firing out underwater cannonballs as a last ditch effort to survive. Of course, real cannon balls are being fired out right now so the later ones won't seem suspicious.

Makada was just strolling around when he noticed the most recent wave of idiot pirates were rushing out at him. He couldn't help himself, he just had to mow them down.

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro stood gleefully over the recent pirate. He had lost it. The smell of the blood had stirred some primal thought process. All Shark Fishman had something similar to it. When they smelled blood they felt the welling desire to kill. Sharks had the thought flicker through their brain, too. It started off as a survival mechanism, when they smelled blood in the water they would hunt down the source for food, but it came to the point where blood invoked a new feeling in them.

He would keep killing until he ran out of victims or left the vicinity of the blood…but he was trapped. The endless wave of pirates trying to escape would provide him with an endless supply of victim. His primal killing instinct would make sure he wouldn't back down.

Zesiro rushed forward, with a wide swing he cut straight into a man's chest, causing a powerful spurt of blood from his chest and he collapsed to the ground. He swung around and brought his sword behind him in a thrust, he rotated around from there and beheaded someone with ease. Another step forward combined with a downwards chop, then a swinging upwards chop made a man lose his arms. Zesiro was let loose in a crowded area, the endless wave of people made him unstoppable. He kept charging forward, a series of cuts, slashes, and bloodying chops sent numerous corpses plummeting to the ground.

He moved forward, not stopping. A wide sideways swing buried his sword into someone's neck, he didn't stop. A thrust, a chop, a swing each sent another man spiraling to the ground. Screams soon started to feel the stairwell. It was a murderous scene, even the pirates who saw this and tried to turn around and escape couldn't. The wave behind them pushed them forward like an offering to some crazed shark god.

"**Fishman Drop Kick!" **shouted a voice as a light blue blur came crashing down from the ceiling and into Zesiro's chest knocking him back and into a wall. Zesiro rebounded out of the wall and with a quick 360 degree spin beheaded another group of pirates. The man who kicked him landed on the ground. It was Ichi. "I don't want to hurt you, but we got to go and we have no time for this Shark Episode!"

Zesiro turned forward, his bloodshot eyes locking on Ichi. He charged forward and with a spin, he brought his sword forward for his neck. He felt a confident punch slam into his gut and force him backwards. It was Nito, **"Fishman Karate! Second Wave!" **Nito pumped his fist forward and forced Zesiro into the wall behind him. Zesiro tried to get back up, but Ichi had already leapt into the air and back down landing a powerful jumping kick into his chest. The force from the kick propelled them both through the wall and off of the stairs.

They crashed onto the ground in the other room, which appeared to be the forge for the URA. The URA supplied weapons to their fighters and whenever a weapon broke they came here to be fixed. Nito came rushing into the room just as Zesiro forced Ichi off of him and brought his sword flying forward in a thrust. Ichi danced to the side and let the sword breeze by him. "Kind of upset we found him that other blade now." A heavy shoulder from Zesiro was thrown into Ichi, blowing him back through the air.

"Just remember we used to always have to calm down Shiro when he got like this," reinforced Nito, "calming down Ze-shiro shouldn't be too hard!" He quickly ducked beneath another swing of the sword from Zesiro. Nito leaned forward and viciously head-butted Zesiro knocking him back. "So, calm down Zesiro! We are away from the blood, so you can come back to your senses!"

Zesiro's only response was a blood-freezing rush at them, along with a loud snap as he brought his massive jaws together trying to rip their heads off. Any sense of brotherhood between them had been brought down and crushed in an instant for Zesiro. However, this didn't seem to faze the two brothers as they continued to try to help Zesiro out of this rage. It quickly became apparent that they were no match for him, his swords gave him the reach advantage, his training gave him more strength, stamina, and skills. His swords came swooping up from the bottom towards Nito and Ichi's legs.

Ichi leapt up into the air to avoid the blow, while Nito moved back and out of the sword's reach. Zesiro stepped forward and launched two independent thrusts at them. Nito ducked beneath, but he still felt the sword cut into the air above him. Ichi wasn't so fortunate; there was no good way to dodge the thrust while he was airborne. He twisted around in midair to avoid the incoming thrust, but the sword came slashing through his leg still. Ichi crashed to the ground and Zesiro didn't waste a second. He closed in and brought the sword crashing down for Ichi.

Ichi panicked. He spun around and brought his leg forward, smashing his foot into Zesiro's wrists and knocking him back. While Zesiro was distracted, Nito tackled him, bringing him down and onto the ground. Ichi twisted around, jumping forward and on top of the pile. Together, Ichi and Nito were somehow managing to hold him down against the cold floor.

However, even the two of them weren't strong enough to keep the monstrous shark down. Zesiro ripped them off of him and threw them across the room. He stood up with a tremendous roar as he made quick and powerful slashes into the air.

"Crap," said Nito as he grabbed his head with his webbed hand, "Ze-Shiro is just so much stronger then we are. We can't beat him down like this…maybe if we…" A long and skinny sword came swinging down and blocking their view of Zesiro. Nito looked up at the blade and at its owner, Makada. Nito shrunk back upon recognition of this URA staff member.

**The Sword of a Predator Versus the Sword of a Killer!**

Hey! Remember that thing I was doing quite a few chapters back about each characters profile and how I had to stop at Enma's because I lost my thumb drive? Well, I found it! I'll continue with the character profiles next chapter!

Blood and guts are almost guaranteed for the next chapter as Zesiro and Makada go head-to-head in a man's duel!


	134. Arena 134 The Sword of a Predator

**The Sword of a Predator Versus the Sword of a Killer!**

Makada glared down upon Nito and then looked over at the monster running amok in the forge. "You're lucky I actually considered this man to be one of the better of the URA contestants, because if he wasn't…I wouldn't be saving your asses." Makada strode forward, his intention was far from good. He saw this as a way to vent his frustration. Kill some random passerby and he'd calm down eventually. And this one actually seemed like a worthy swordsman.

Zesiro roared forward, charging like a beast towards Makada. Makada's sliver of a sword snaked its way out and blocked Zesiro's simultaneous chop with his dual swords. Makada then stepped forward and pushed Zesiro off of him, quickly rotating around the human brought his sword back around only for one of the Fishman's sword to block and have the other sword come rocketing forward in a thrust. Makada slid the blade back, jamming his sword's hilt into Zesiro's wrist and throwing his arm back and away from the action.

"Who are we supposed to vote for, Nito?" asked Ichi as he looked on the fight with an already stellar appreciation. They may have been fighting off Zesiro already for the first few minutes, but he could already tell that this fight was another level. He and Nito were undoubtedly about to lose, however, there was already a welling horrible sensation that Makada could kill Zesiro…and that Zesiro could kill Makada.

"We…uh, we cheer for Zesiro!" shouted Nito, "we cheer that Zesiro comes back to his senses and takes down this URA staff member! That's what we wanted! Ze-Shi-Ro!"

Makada zoomed forward, eager to draw blood already. He brought his sword up into the air and brought it crashing down. The speed of his sword was greatly exaggerated due to its length, regardless of this speed, Zesiro already managed to bring his two swords in and forming an X to catch the blade. He stepped forward, rushing down the blade with momentum. Makada brought his sword swooping inwards, using the place where Zesiro had caught the blade as a pivot and moving in as close as he could. In an instant they were face-to-face with both of them, trying their best to hold off the other from slashing their heads off in one-fell swing.

Zesiro brought his knee forward, aiming for staff member's gut. A rising knee strike to Makada's gut and it almost made contact. Makada swung to the side, avoiding the knee strike and breaking off their stand-off, he quickly moved to Zesiro's side. Makada left his sword out of this fight for awhile, swinging his elbow in and aiming for Zesiro's head. Zesiro ducked beneath it, and rotated around bringing his two swords in for Makada's waist.

Makada's sword blocked it again, neither side was wasting a second at trying to kill each other, but both sides wanted to stay alive. Their intention was on blocking their opponent's killing swing and then trying to land their own. Ichi and Nito were going to be the only two to ever see this fight and they intended on doing it justice when they retold it again and again.

Zesiro, still in his blood-induced rage, brought his swords down with a swing, forcing Makada to back up. He didn't stop there, Zesiro stepped forward firing a quick thrust for Makada's waist. Makada parried the first thrust with his own sword, but when Zesiro fired the second, he had to think quickly. He stepped forward, swinging his head forward and down into Zesiro's. The head butt caused damage and forced the Fishman to halt to his attack. Makada immediately stepped back, the rush of the fight came swarming to him.

Makada's next swing was wider, covering a large arc as it cut through the air. There was an audible whoosh as the sword moved through the air, it didn't slow. The blade was incredibly thin, barely displacing, it was small, but if it hit you the thin blade would tear through flesh and bone. The thin blade was actual better for cutting, all of the power of his swings would be concentrated onto the thin strip of metal. Even though they were sharp, Zesiro's blades were like blocks of wood compared to Makada's. The thin blade had other advantages to it as well.

Makada leapt back, the extra distance worked to his advantage. The length of his blade being longer was another distinct advantage of his weapon. Once he took his distance, once he had that distance he lunged forward with a thrust. The thin sword wavered as it moved through the space, it danced about covering the distance quickly towards Zesiro. Zesiro brought his two swords up to block, but the thin blade was impossible to catch. It swerved through the guard and pierced Zesiro straight through the brave warrior's side. Zesiro grunted as he felt the warm sensation of blood spilling from his wound.

Zesiro stumbled forward, making several fruitless slashes into the air, each one with enough power to behead Makada, but none of them landing close enough. Makada dodged backwards again, just to be safe. While he wasn't quite skilled or seeing clearly enough to land a hit, a blind man could hit by luck. And in a lot of battles, that's what it wound down to…luck.

Zesiro charged forward, an already blood curdling slash beginning behind him. He spun forward, sending a tremendous hurricane of a cut forward and for the poor fighter. Makada knew better than try to block the horrible swing, he ducked beneath it, letting the swing blow past his head. He stepped forward and swung his own blade forward, aiming for the poor Fishman's shoulder. Zesiro instinctively brought his own sword crashing down on top of Makada's, deflecting it to the side.

Zesiro brought his second sword around and for Makada's head. Makada grunted, the dual sword-wielding was the biggest problem, even more annoying than his monstrous strength. One of Makada's hands left his sword and caught Zesiro's wrist, holding it and the killing slash off. Zesiro brought his other sword, the one still being parried by Makada's own sword up; smashing it into Makada's handle and forcing him back another inch.

Neither side was willing to back down, nor could they. If Makada loosened his grip on Zesiro's wrist, Zesiro would bring his sword slicing in for Makada's neck. If Zesiro weakened the pressure on Makada's sword, Makada would mow him down without a second thought. They were at what seemed to be an impossible-to -escape stalemate. If a mutual decision to back-down was the only way out of this, neither side would ever break free.

Luckily it wasn't. Another cannon ball burst into the room, squashing the ceiling and bringing debris, wood, and dust swirling around the two swordsmen. Both sides simultaneously decided to continue the attack, Makada loosened his grip on Zesiro's wrist and brought his own fist forward for Zesiro's jaw. Zesiro let the pressure off of Makada's sword and brought his blade swinging in. The two clashed, Zesiro's sword had just dug into Makada's skin when his fist snapped into his jaw, throwing the two apart and worse than ever before.

Zesiro blinked for a few seconds, the swift hit to his jaw had brought him to back to his senses. The smell of blood had dissipated and now the room smelled like hot iron and burning wood. He felt the world spinning around him and he was even slightly disorientated from, what he dared to call, the high of his life.

That was the best way for Zesiro to describe that frenzied state for sharks. They don't black out and go on killing sprees, they aren't taken over by some other personality buried deep inside, it is just…your inhibitions go away. You think about killing someone for just a second and your body does it, there are no second thoughts or second guessing yourself. You just do the first thought that pops into your mind and you do it as quickly as you can. On top of that everything is distorted voices, faces, memories, you lose yourself in that state. Even now Zesiro was desperately trying to figure out what was happening.

He was on the staircase, watching poor people get trampled, small flashes of him fighting with Nito and Ichi, and now he's stuck in dust cloud bleeding and a horrible pain in his jaw. He didn't have any more time to think about it, though. Makada came soaring out of the cloud and at him. Zesiro barely had time to react; he brought his swords out and blocked the heavy-handed stroke of Makada.

"What's the matter?" questioned Makada as he applied more pressure to the blade and leaned in closer to Zesiro, "what happened?" Makada continued to test Zesiro's strength, while it remained unchanged there was a definite difference in his demeanor. Suddenly it hit Makada like a flash of lightning, "oh…I see, Fishman frenzy. Maybe it would help you if I enlightened you on how exactly you got caught up in this little situation."

While Zesiro would appreciate the offer, he highly doubted that Makada was serious. As if to prove Zesiro right Makada stepped up his game, he began to lean onto his sword, putting his body weight as well as strength behind the very tip of blade and force it down onto Zesiro. The extra force was just what Makada needed, it easily broke through Zesiro's strong, and somewhat impromptu guard. Makada then brought his blade swinging back up and slicing through the dual-swordsman's skin. Zesiro groaned and stumbled back. Makada immediately swooped in to take advantage of this mistake.

Makada's long sword swooped in, swinging upwards from the ground as if it had been propelled by a powerful spring. Zesiro brought his two swords down, slamming both of them into the arcing blade of Makada and he tried to force the blade to a halt, but it was too late. Makada had put enough force onto his rising blade to lift Zesiro and his blades up and off of the ground. Zesiro was throw into the air, by the powerful slash of Makada.

Zesiro quickly corrected himself in the air and landed safely, but he was barely on his own feet for two seconds before Makada was already upon firing another life-threatening slashes aiming for Zesiro's waist. Zesiro tried to block the slash, tucking his sword closely next to his body to mitigate the damage, but the wide swing of Makada's sword only built up the power and brought the sword slashing into Zesiro's side and throwing him back again.

Zesiro caught himself, skidding about in the forge trying to dig his feet into the ground and gain better footing. Once more Makada rushed him, repeating the same strategy as before he brought his sword swinging in from the side aiming for the waist once more. Zesiro brought his blades up, ignoring the slash and stepping forward. He brought his two swords chopping down each one aiming to behead Makada.

Makada allowed himself a brief smile as he realized it had been awhile since he had had this much trouble with an opponent. The URA was beginning to seem boring in comparison to this fight…all other fights he had been had slowed to a halt, they had been no match for him and his sword, but this Fishman was starting to get the blood flowing in him again. He stepped back, grinding his blade against Zesiro's as he brought it up to block against both slashes.

Zesiro immediately started up again. He applied continually pressure to one of his blades holding down Makada's sword and then he lifted the second sword up and brought is back down again. He continued this performing short and concise slashes while holding Makada down. Makada let out a brief curse as he tried to brace himself, the heavy and continuous strokes from Zesiro were gradually weakening his sword and stance. Luckily, Makada still had a few tricks up his sleeve. He stepped forward, rotating his sword around in a circle, he brought the side of his sword smashing into Zesiro's face and forcing them apart again.

Zesiro stepped in again; he couldn't allow Makada to take the distance again. He pressed forward, instantly moving in and getting as close as he could to Makada. He was right up against him and preparing to mow him down with a powerful thrust. Of course, just because they were at close-range didn't mean Makada had any intention of backing down. He had already swung his sword into the air and was bringing it down Zesiro.

**The Final Clash of Two Swordsmen**

****The end of this chapter. I got some things to do for the rest of the day, so I was worried I wouldn't be able to post this, but here it is!


	135. Arena Arc: 135 The Final Clash of Two

**The Final Clash of Two Swordsmen**

The weight of Makada's sword alongside his own proud muscles, propelled his sword downwards. Zesiro's own muscles made his thrust faster though and cleaved it through the air and for Makada's soft gut. Both sides tried to dodge the strikes while keeping their own going, but neither quite succeeded. Zesiro's thrust ripped into Makada's skin and released a gusher of blood, however, Makada's strike also went through. It was brought down heavily into Zesiro's shoulder and he let loose a particularly bad word as the blade ripped into his skin and possibly ruined his shoulder.

Zesior backed off, his shoulder now tender and it was couple with a painful twinge whenever he simply moved it. He needed to be extra careful of it now, the only reason it survived the first blow was due to the mutual dodge. Makada was focused on dodging, so he unintentionally lessened his focus on his slash. Of course, the same could be said for Zesior, his cut was a lot less deep than he had intended it to be.

Makada never killed for fun like Trevor or Duncan, but that was because he never felt the glee or pride that they felt from it. He was a little bit more business-like in his killing. He only did it if it benefited him, even if that benefit was small like some way to release frustration, however, he supposed if all fights were like this he could get into it more. Regardless, he didn't have time to hang onto those thoughts, he rushed forward toward Zesiro and began another swing for his side.

Zesiro contemplated for a moment about rushing in and trying for another dual exchange like last time, but he decided it wasn't worth the risk of getting lobbed in two. He held back and instead blocked Makada's wide swing with his own two swords. He was impressed with the force and power behind Makada's swing as it literally swept him off of his feet and flung him to the ground. Zesiro laid there dazed for a few moments from the monumental swing.

Like all good killers Makada was insistent and turning that dazed into dead. He stepped, bringing his sword up into the air as he went. Then, in order to ensure no loss of momentum, he brought his sword down while still moving forward. His sword swung down, instilling a moment of fear in both Nito and Ichi who were both still watching from the sidelines. Zesiro crossed both of his blades bringing them up in order to block whatever attack was coming. He felt Makada's powerful downwards swing smash into his sword and push them down closer to his chest. Zesiro grunted through clenched teeth as he stared up at Makada.

Makada's two different colored eyes both seemed like abysses due to how close they were. A green and blue abyss, completely void of all emotion or guilt, were settled right next to each other. However, Zesiro's attention wasn't really on Makada's eyes, they were on his blade that was mere centimeters away from plummeting into his flesh and ripping apart his bones.

Finally with a tremendous push, Zesiro managed to dislodge Makada from atop of him and break free from the sword's press. Zesiro quickly scrambled back onto his own two feet and took up a powerful fighting stance. He didn't want to be caught off guard again. One near death mistake was enough for him.

The two immediately started their fight right back up, neither side willing to back down and call it quits now. Makada stepped in, swooping his sword up through the air and bringing it back down with renewed force and power. Zesiro crouched down and then shot back up, slashing one of his swords across Makada's forcing a neutralization of force. However, Zesiro continued his rush he didn't hesitate at all. He rushed in, getting in as close as he could to Makada's body before his sword arm recovered from the failed slash. He charged in as far as he possibly could.

He pressed himself against Makada and was bringing his sword forward aiming for Makada's side. Makada slid his elbow into Zesiro's arm, forcing the blade away. Makada charged forward, bringing his shoulder down onto Zesiro's head and forcing them apart once more. Makada quickly backed up again. He was starting to believe a more cautious approach was a wiser choice.

But for some reason, he couldn't. It wasn't that his feet wouldn't go back…it was something else preventing him. Makada smirked, for so long he had been a warrior for the URA, a henchman for Trevor, and a whipped dog for the Marines. For the longest time he hadn't thought about the warrior he was before the URA. He had turned his back on that for the money that the URA provided and the protection that Trevor's Shichibukai status provided. But now that he was back, growing closer to square one, he was easily starting to double-guess that choice. Should he go back? Become a regular pirate again? The thought was starting to sound actually good. Maybe Trevor was feeling the same way.

Makada smirked as he lifted his sword up into the air. Ordinarily such a stance would be seen as having so many holes in it, but Zesiro had already experienced the man's strength with that dropping slash. It seemed impossible to get in close when he was in that stance. Makada's dropping slash had the weight of the sword along with all of his strength focused on the tip. While there was no guard, it was a killing stance. If the sword were to hit you, it would rip through you beyond a shadow of a doubt. If Zesiro could get in before the sword dropped…he had his pick of Makada's vital organs.

This was the Grand Line decided Zesiro. Pirates who hesitated, who held back, who felt the slightest twinge of fear would end up as fish food by the end of the day. While Zesiro was none too fond of dashing towards Makada, accepting the lack of the battle plan and considering that winging it was the best option, but he sadly had to accept it. He charged forward, bringing his two swords inwards and preparing for the fastest thrust of his life. He was placing his bets on whoever was faster would win. The charging shark's thrust or Makada's powerful downwards chop.

At this point there was no backing down. Zesiro was charging forward, he couldn't stop, even if he tried to stop his momentum would carry him through to the execution zone. Makada's blade has already begun its fast descent for the ground. Zesiro was almost in the blade's drop zone. Zesiro realized he wasn't moving fast enough…there was no way he could possibly get in close enough to Makada before Makada's blade fell. Zesiro compressed his legs and rocketed forward, hoping against hope that he could do it that he could close those extra two or three inches he needed.. Zesiro reached out, flashing his sword forward at an incredible pace. There was a brief flash as the two swords came towards their respective targets. The fight had ended.

Both sides stood still for a second as silence fell in the room. There was still the low rumbling as the shouting from the hallway continued, but even that seemed to dull as this tremendous battle had ended in this instant. Zesiro felt the warm dribble of blood, slowly snake down his forehead. Makada was the one that collapsed, however.

He had a huge gash in his side from the exchange. He was down, he collapsed the ground, one hand holding his wound close as he hit the ground. Even after Zesiro mowed him down, his sword kept coming down and actually managed to nick Zesiro. It was enough to draw blood, but it wasn't a powerful enough blow to kill like he originally planned. Zesiro slicing into him had weakened him; it cut down on the speed and power he needed to kill Zesiro.

"Ze-Shi-Ro!" shouted Nito leaping forward and tackling the victor to the ground. Zesiro winced as he felt his shoulder shift once more from the heavy blow Makada had delivered. "You won!" cheered Nito almost forgetting that moments ago Zesiro had wanted to kill him in a bloodthirsty rage. Zesiro finally managed to push Nito off when Ichi came flying through and landed on top of him again knocking him down to the ground.

"I appreciate the victory hugs," said Zesiro, despite knowing very well that was a lie. He didn't care for the hugs and he cared for them even less at this exact moment, "but isn't this place under attack by the Marines?" questioned Zesiro, the last few minutes were definitely a blow, but the Buster Call that was taking place right now definitely wasn't debatable.

"You're right!" shouted Nito grabbing hold of Zesiro's arm and racing off, dragging Zesiro along. "We better get go!"

(-With Maria-)

The wave of pirates kept coming. The URA probably catered to thousands of pirates at the same time and that was probably an understatement nowadays. The pirates rushing by her, kicking her feet as they tried to race by. They felt free as a bird to shout any number of vulgar obscenities at her for being 'slow'. Maria, of course, felt free to yell back at them calling them 'brats' and the like for being rude. It wasn't until just now she had the free time to turn around and notice that both Melanie and Ridley got separated from her. For a moment she debated about turning around and seeing where she had lost them, but another jerk bumping into her from behind and nearly sending her sprawling to the floor immediately eliminated that option.

She just had to keep going forward and hope that the other two would be safe. Suddenly, she felt like it wasn't the other two she had to worry about. There seemed to be something causing an uproar up ahead. She had already determined it impossible to turn around and go some place safer. She braced herself for whatever it may be and headed on.

(-With Ridley-)

Ridley snickered quietly to himself as he headed on his way. While it was true that the URA was in trouble and things were going to hell in a hand basket fairly fast, but luckily there were a lot of people. He wouldn't be slowed down by a slight detour, would he? With all the pirates rushing taking the halls and the stairs was just extremely slow anyways. Originally he had planned on escaping, but he decided he may as well take advantage of this chaos and make a little money off of it.

He remembered when he and Melanie were snooping around earlier that they had stumbled upon a money vault. Originally he had left it be because he didn't want to tip Trevor off, but if he could go grab a bit of cash for the high seas, it wouldn't hurt the crew. Plus any money Ridley didn't take would undoubtedly be left behind by Trevor, whose only concern was killing. Further reconstruction of the area around Ridley reminded him that there was also a secondary stairwell around here for 'staff only'. Ridley was sure that they wouldn't mind him using that or taking their money.

Besides the risk was nearly minimal. Trevor, Makada, and Duncan all would've had a good half an hour head start to grab money and go. Why wouldn't they take it? It would be so easy for him to slip in and slip out with a new bounty for the ship.

(-With Melanie-)

Melanie trudged forward. She had no idea when she got separated from Maria and Ridley, but must've happened awhile back. There was something nagging at her to turn around and go back to kill Trevor, but her full attention right now was on escaping. After her near death experience she decided that it would probably be best to live after she got her revenge. She highly doubted that the Marines would let her walk despite being a Shichibukai that was the nature of the Buster Call…complete eradication. Even the Marines on this island aren't safe from the destructive Buster Call.

Melanie just sighed and continued trudging on through the endless wave of bloody and dirty pirates. All the meanwhile the thought of taking Trevor on once more and finishing it raged through her mind.

**Falling Chances!**

Nma? Zesiro won! The Infinity Pirates take the first victory by storm! Then again there's still Duncan, Mashiba, Karasu, and Trevor not to mention the Buster Call going on around them. There's also a number of other plot twists waiting in the wings! You better keep reading to make sure you don't miss an action-packed second!

Also, I completely blanked on Enma's profile last chapter. I forgot to edit it into first-person speak so that's why I didn't have it last chapter. My fault, my fault completely…I DIDN'T LOSE MY THUMBDRIVE AGAIN, OKAY! I didn't…well, here it is!

Name: Trafalger Enma

Alias: The White Devil. My bones are pure white and they are my weapon…I don't think there is any other Bounty name more fitting for me.

Weapons: Most notably is my Hone-Hone no mi or the Bone-Bone fruit. It allows me to control and produce my bones. I have a serious of various attacks that rely on this Devil Fruit to work. My favorite tends to be my bone spear as it allows me to attack at a distance. I suppose I should include my brain in this section as well as I think my every move through and I always think my moves through.

Appearance:  
Now I know I'm not huge, but I am rather strong still. The Hone-Hone no mi strengthens my bones to the point of steel. Down my entire left arm is a series of gears and cogs that stretches all the way down. I also have the number thirteen tattoed on me as well as the world 'Death'. It all happened due to some stupid choice that happened in my past.

Personality: I'm very religious, however, I prefer Lucifer to any other god in the world. Lucifer gave people freedom…the freedom to do wrong, but freedom nonetheless. I'm good at reading people. Many years of learning how to be a doctor will do that. You learn to sense the nervousness in your patients and it is your job to make them feel better. I like reading, especially medical text books. Its just a good past time if you ask me.

Mikoto: We met while he was in a hard-patch in life and he made many, many mistakes and as a result I sometimes feel he's a little bit of an idiot for those mistakes he has made, but that's in the past. Now he's my captain and the number one person I trust. I don't think he even knows how to betray people.

Ridley: The music certainly makes things nicer. Me and him play cards all the way into the night, we are both big gamblers and we enjoy the back-and-forth. Without him, my days aboard the ship would be painfully boring.

Sage: A sweet young girl, isn't she? She does her best at all times and keeps us well fed. A Seasonal Affective Disorder makes her even more interesting; she's well read and makes for a good conversationalist. I don't believe she particularly cares for my religion or discussions on frog dissections.

Zesiro: I've probably spent more time with Zesiro due to his injuries than anyone else on the ship. With that being said he's not someone who'll turn tail, he'll be with us until the end, defending his allies with his life.

Hiro-Shu: Hiro-Shu remains quiet and steers the ship. We don't converse too much, but I imagine he's a good guy.

Maria: I'm worried about her. She fights a lot and that generally means that she's going to need to be patched up a lot. Patching up my allies isn't something that I see as fun. Plus her machines make it even harder to take care of her.


	136. Arena 136 Falling Chances

**Falling Chances!**

Maria was still in the midst of the pirate rush when it happened. Her eyes came to rest on what was before them. It was a hulking black mass that the pirates in front were incapable of stopping before they came skidding into, being absorbed by it. What the heck was it? She doubted Trevor would install such a weird mechanism into the URA, not with the fighting force it had. So, why was this seemingly endless black mass engulfing these pirates? She soon realized that if she didn't escape soon, it wouldn't be just engulfing the other pirates it would engulf her. She tried to turn around escape, but another wave of pirates pushed her forward like she was sacrifice to a black liquid deity.

Since there was no way back her most obvious choice was to destroy it. Then again it was the choice that Maria preferred. Why should she back down? She was a pirate, wasn't she. She waited until she was close enough before she smashed her foot into the ground, pivoting forward and throwing her entire weight behind her fist. The punch smashed into thick mass and it reverberated loudly, the mass shook like a wall of jelly, but that was it. Maria was about to try to fire another punch when she realized her first punch hadn't come back, it was stuck in the mass. She managed to pull it back a little, but the black goop remained stretching out and attached to her arms.

A thousand tentacle-like black liquid strings remained glued tightly onto Maria's metal fist. She tried to bring her fist out of this mass, but she couldn't. It was too tightly attached onto her fist, she couldn't shake it off no matter how hard she tried. She panicked slightly and brought her fist forward and punched the wall again. Her other fist got stuck into the mass now and since her other hand hadn't broke free yet, she was now completely stuck in it.

Another jerk behind her smashed into her back forcing her forward again and now her head and chest were flung forward into the mass. Another bump from behind forced her entire body into the mass. Her vision completely disappeared once she entered the mass. Her vision was gone; her nose was filled with a horrid scent, not to mention the gooey, chunky liquid that was no covering her entire body. She couldn't break free from the glue-like mass. She had no way to know what was going on on the outside of the mass; she just knew she was trapped.

(-With Enma-)

Enma brought his bone spear out and he stepped forward, stabbing it through another Marine's stomach and tossing him out of the way. He took another step, swung his spear around, and smashed the shaft of the spear into a man's head. Another Marine fell to the ground, collapsing due to the sharp pain in his head. Enma rushed forward, he wasn't about to stop now. The Marines just kept on coming. It was already starting to wear heavily on Enma, he had been fighting nonstop for what seemed like hours. Whenever he brought one Marine down another would arrive to take his place.

Rosa's misguided cannon fire helped in some ways, but she had come close to hitting Enma once or twice. It was already obvious that she was no marksman. The large cannon ball would be launched and smash into the floorboard at either a completely irrelevant location or next to Enma's own foot. However, if they stopped the cannon fire more Marines would just flood in to fight this way at least they had some form of worry when charging in. A shot from a cannon is deadly and no one wants to be the unlucky one that gets hit by Rosa's insane firing technique.

Suddenly something hard and heavy hit the side of Enma's face sending him twisting and falling to the side. Enma hit the ground hard. He tried to straighten himself out, but the entire world was spinning around him. He had no idea who had hit him, he thought he had everybody separated from him by at least a good three or four feet. He was using his longer spear to keep people at a good distance away from him. For somebody to instantly jump into his range…it must've been someone fast and from the pain in his cheek, someone strong as well.

"It's…it is Docket Jr.!" shouted one of the Marines as they jumped up and ran back. In front of them stood a man of impressive build. His body was heavily toned to the point of perfection. His muscles slightly bulged from beneath his Marine coat, which he was just now taking off. He swept it off of his shoulder and carefully folded it. He handed it off to one of the nearby Marines.

"The Marine coat is the symbol of justice!" he shouted turning around to the Marines that were stationed behind him. "If it gets dirty, then that means Justice itself got dirty. You should protect it…you should protect your coat with your life!" The other Marines were divided at this declaration. Some of them shouted and hollered for the speech, others felt a little embarrassed that their coat meant more than their lives. Docket then turned around and faced Enma.

The man was not only large in stature, but wearing a tight shirt beneath his coat also allowed Enma to get a good look at his body. No nutritional problems there. He was obviously well-trained and conditioned even for the Marines he looked well off in the muscles department. Aside from his coat and jacket he was draped in thick white pants, however, they looked more like someone completely bleached their jeans. Speaking of bleached, his hair also had that bleached yellow color to it. Covering his eyes were a pair of light blue-tinted goggles that for some reason made Enma feel a bit uneasy looking into them.

"I may be a Marine Vice Admiral, but I'm new to this so go easy on me!" he laughed. "In all honesty, I wasn't supposed to be out here fighting on the island. The original plan was for me to stay on the ship giving orders, but…I also wasn't supposed to broadcast our intents of using a Buster Call on this island," Docket gave a quiet cough to try and cut the tension, "so risking my life like the rest of these yahoos is my punishment." Once more the Marines felt a little annoyed at Docket for that unnecessary banter. It appears that Docket Jr. wasn't particularly good at not saying the wrong thing. Whenever he opened his mouth it seemed to rub someone the wrong way.

His underlings seemed to agree with Enma's statement as most of them were sheepishly smiling and looking away, unsure of the best way to respond to this. "Ah, screw it," said Docket taking another step forward. His hand flickered forward for an instant and Enma brought his guard up to block whatever it was coming for him, but he felt nothing solid hit his guard, instead he felt a dense and heavy blunt object smash into his back on the opposite side of Docket!

Enma immediately twisted around, cleaving the air with his long spear to destroy any Marine that had decided to get the drop on him, but to his surprise…no one was there. Enma felt so bewildered he dropped his guard slightly and he immediately regretted it. Almost immediately Docket launched another attack, just out of the corner of Enma's eyes he caught Docket's hand flicker and seconds later he felt a dull pain in his side.

Somehow, though Enma was unsure how, this man was delivering quick dull blows from a distance at unpredictable angles. Well…only unpredictable if you had no idea how they were coming at you in the first place. Enma backed up and looked over at Docket…the only signal he gave was a slight wave of his hand, but beyond that…nothing. An untraceable attack that could be carried out with the slightest wave of the hand. The only explanation of the attack was a Devil Fruit. But that could mean anything!

Another wave of Docket's hand. Immediately Enma went on the defensive, bringing his spear in and swatting at the air right in front of him. Docket only smiled at Enma's 'cute' ploy. Enma felt another entity smash into his rib cage from the side. Enma's eyes widened as he was thrown back from the blow. He quickly caught his balance and steadied himself. Docket waved his hand again, sent Enma sprawling to the floor in order to dodge the attack. The Marines got a good laugh at that. How could he possibly not look like a fool trying to dodge an invisible attack?

The good news was due to not being beaten around he finally found his first clue to Docket's attack. He wasn't waving his hand, it was more like a throw. Like Docket was throwing something of medium size, but once more nothing popped out into Enma's hand as to what could be invisible and change its trajectory? Well, not automatically change its trajectory as it didn't chase after Enma, there had to be something else. Maybe it was a signal for someone else in the crowd to fire an attack?

No…Enma glanced behind him and realized the first attack he took was to the back and what was behind him was the ship and there were no Marines there to fire at him. There had to be another strategy behind Docket's strange attacks.

Suddenly Docket waved both his hands…this meant that if Enma's math was right two attacks were coming for him. Enma returned his bone spear to his body and quickly produced a series of bones protruding from his arms, they formed a net-like shield that should protect him from the attack if he could estimate where they were coming from. Having no clue, he guessed left. He twisted around brought his shield up. He knew he had guessed wrong fairly quickly as another solid shot smashed into back. Enma grunted as he felt it smash into bones. The second shot that collided with Enma's liver was the one that caused the most pain. It was just bad luck that both of them made their way through Enma stumbled forward and looked to his left and what was behind him. Once more it was the ship…how could an attack be originating from his ship?

While he would love to find out what was making those attacks, but he didn't really have the time. He needed to focus on Docket first and take him out before he would probably get the time. Even then there was still an army of Marines that needed to be handled. If only the volley of attacks from Docket would stop…Enma let loose a heavy sigh as he realized he had to charge in without a single idea of how to beat Docket Jr.

Another quick serve from Docket sent a heavy volley of whatever towards Enma. Enma scrambled forward, desperate to avoid the attack. He couldn't believe the guy was actually capable of putting him on the ropes like this. Each attack he threw at him came from a mysterious source, the only reason that Enma had thought of was a Devil Fruit, but that still left an impossibly long list. There had to be another hint in Docket's posture. Docket made another movement, sending a quick shot for Enma's head. Or what seemed to be aimed for Enma's head. Enma brought his shield up to his face to try and save himself, but the problem was that he felt the blunt object smash into his gut going upwards. Great now his attacks can come from the ground as well.

Enma tried to steady himself, but a second attack from Docket came crashing in and smashing into Enma's head throwing him backwards once more. Enma hit the ground hard. He felt a shooting pain in his temple now. He collided with the ground, Enma quickly jumped back up onto his own two feet. And he almost immediately fell back down. His world was slowly blurring together due to the multiple hits. He'd have to remember to give himself a check-up, make sure he didn't hemorrhage from that last hit.

Docket took another step forward, his hands at the ready to throw another…whatever at him. Enma would have to try to take him down quickly before Docket took it. He'd just take Zesiro's method, finish them before they finished him. That way no matter how Docket was attacking him, he would win. Enma's famous bone spear appeared in his hand at the ready.

**Docket's Drive!  
**

I'm getting quite a bit ahead in the writing of this story. I got maybe six or seven chapters into the future done. I figured I'll give you guys a bonus update! Enjoy!

The troubles the crew are getting in are growing larger and larger. The Marines are here too, don't forget! Cross your fingers and hope that both Maria and Enma can get out of their own tough spots.

Speaking of Maria, this is the last of the first-person profiles. Here you go! The profile of the Infinity Pirates own, strong punching cyborg, Maria!

Full Name: My name is Maria Euthanatos

Bounty Name: 'Cyborg' Maria

Devil Fruit/Weapon: Who needs weapons when you got two perfectly good fists.

Physical Appearance: I am a little bit taller than your average girl and possibly a little bit bulkier due to my muscular physique, but not overly so. I have long silver hair that stretches past my shoulders. I have a black jacket that wraps around my body. I've also got purple eyes. Oh, and if you didn't notice I have machines for my arms and legs!

Personality: I tend to like to be a little bit quieter than Mikoto and especially Ridley. I've been told I can be rather arrogant, but I prefer the term self-confident. I'm strong and I'm not going to act like I'm not. If you ask me most people who annoy me are 'brats'.

Goals (Or Dreams if you prefer): My original goal was to be the strongest unarmed fighter, but with these blasted mechanical appendages that option is out. So, I'll just be the strongest PERIOD!

Opinions of her fellow crew members:

Mikoto: He's an oddball…Nothing wrong with that, I suppose. I think he's overly attached to my cyborg modifications and the all. I, on the other hand, am rather amazed by the fact that he turns into a coyote.

Ridley: What's the best word to describe Ridley? Loud, destructive, weak, a brat? Any of those words fit him pretty well. The first time I met him it was me saving his butt…admittedly he did let me out of prison…

Sage: The chef of the crew. She seems overly interested in me, she tries to engage me in 'girl talk'. I have absolutely no idea what she wants me to say…I prefer hitting the punching bag than hitting on guys.

Zesiro: Hmm…a strong opponent. My goal is to become the strongest and in this case, Zesiro is the only person on the crew I see as an obstacle.

Hiro-Shu: I don't know want to say about him. He doesn't talk, he's strong, he's a reliable person, but…that's about it. Three things about a person I'm going to be fighting alongside.

Enma: Me and Enma are at odds a lot. He believes I shouldn't be so reckless during fights, he believes I should take things slower and try not to get injured. I say I know what I'm doing…I know he's trying to take care of me, but I can take myself…I don't need anyone else to do it…


	137. Arena 137 Docket

**Docket's Drive!**

Another attack from Docket smashed into Enma's jaw and threw him backwards. A normal man would probably have suffered from broken bones by now, luckily the hone-hone no mi strengthened Enma's bone strength. Attacks like these weren't strong enough to break it. However, they were starting to pile up.

Rosa watched on from her spot on the ship, dozens of times she had debated about jumping to the rescue, sword in hand and tiger in suite. But she had to remember that right now the only thing preventing the rest of the Marines from rushing forward and laying claim to their ship was her own erratic cannon fire. So she stayed strong and remained on the ship, hoping that Enma would as well.

This time another powerful volley from Docket hit Enma, one in the gut and another crashing into his shin. Enma was knocked to the ground with a raging pain in his leg. The shin was arguably one of the worst places to get hit and while his bones were strengthened however, without the extra padding of fat or muscles around the shin to protect his precious bones and nerves it hurt worst than any other body part.

Enma collapsed to the ground and was immediate met with another smashing shot to the face. It hurt Enma to admit but even after meeting the wrong end of Docket's attacks numerous times now he was no closer to figuring out how he was attacking! The man's attacks seemed to emerge out of thin air and strike him in a seemingly impossible area. Enma was struggling to keep up with the attacks, by now the only thing he figured out what was that Docket was apparently throwing something, but even that didn't help him out much.

The direction of Docket's throws had nothing to do with where the hits would come from; secondly Docket wasn't a newbie to the fighting circuit like all professional fighters he knew the benefit of throwing feints. Whenever Docket made a throwing motion, Enma would cringe at an attack that would never come. Docket had Enma hopelessly backed into a corner with no escape from the unrelenting attacks or psychologically hurting feints.

Suddenly, Docket dropped attacking and just stood there as if relishing his work. Enma wasn't about to let this moment pass him by, he charged forward almost stumbling due to the recent attacks to his legs. Enma thrust his spear forward aiming for Docket's chest. It wasn't until he was half way there that he realized Docket still had a smug look of pride on his face. Docket swung to the side with the speed and precision of an expert. Docket then swung his elbow forward for Enma's face. Enma was confident that his own hardened skull could withstand the blow, so rather than dodging Enma took it upon himself for an equal exchange. He produced a small bone knife in one of his hands and moved forward for Docket's gut.

Enma was not ready for the power behind Docket's blow. The heft behind it was immense; it was a solid elbow to the face throwing Enma back despite his own hardened skeleton. Docket cringed slightly from the reverb, but nonetheless he didn't seem fazed as he backed away. Meanwhile Enma was reeling, not only from the physical shock, but from the psychological one. Not only did Docket manage to perfectly dodge his blow, but also deliver one through his own super solid defenses. His steel-like skull had been the one to give in the exchange, but how? Was this another benefit to the man's supposed Devil Fruit?

Enma muttered something under his breath. "The tests for it still aren't completed…" he said as he reached into his pocket. "But I do suppose a trial run would have to be done at some point in time." From his pocket he produced a small multi-colored ball. A complete test drive, he had been working on the item for an extended period, but this was the first time he would ever put it to the test. He took a deep breath and bit into the small item, crushing it into a fine dust. There was a sudden swirl as he felt the drug work its way through his body. It felt weird, but regardless he needed to use it.

Docket waved his hand once more. Another attack undoubtedly came crashing for Enma. Enma brought his own arm up to block the incoming blow and tried to use the power of the new drug, but sadly it appeared that his drug had absolutely no effect. Only thing that did occur was his own arm began producing small bones like always, nothing special and definitely nothing that would help him win the fight. He had no choice, but to grit his teeth and hope to weather the blow.

It didn't really help. He still felt the solid blunt object drive itself into his shoulder blade and force him forward another two or three steps. Docket through another weapon at Enma, reflexively Enma's hand went up and covered his face. He immediately felt the weapon drive into his abdomen. Enma was thrown back again. Enma's vision was becoming blurry and he was weakening, each part of his body ached. How was this man hitting him?

"Yar har har!" laughed Docket, "I guess people can't block what they can't see, huh? New advances in technology are amazing, right boys?" The Marines behind him laughed alongside Docket declaring how proud they were that that man was their leader. A few minutes ago they were mocking him for being so fool-hardy. Now? Now they were praising him? Talk about not having your mind made up about a person.

But still Enma felt like he had learned something, "what about the advances in technology?" he asked as he tried to stand up by himself again. He was breathing heavily, but this new glimmer of hope refilled his energy. He had forgotten that fights aren't about who has the best strategy or weapon…the person using the weapon and strategy was even more important. And lucky for him…Docket Jr. seemed fairly unreliable.

"Uh…simple barbaric pirates," scolded Docket in a very condescending voice. "You've been at sea way to long if you haven't learned about the new technology that great ol' Vegapunk, Void Furrow, and many other geniuses of our time has blessed us with. My weapon is one such great technologically advanced weapon. Its…HEY! Don't think you can get information from me! I'm not as loose lipped as I seem. I know, I seem very loose lipped as I was about to tell you all about how my weapon bounces of surfaces allowing attacks from all directions, but…HEY! You're sneaky ain't ya, ya pirate?"

While Enma ordinarily would've taken that as a compliment and admitted that he was fairly crafty, but against this man it felt wrong. It felt like he was taking candy from a baby. The guy had no idea how easy it was to rip information off of him. He was basically handing it out to anyone who thought to ask. Admittedly it took Enma this long to figure this out. At least now he figured out the way the guy's weapon was hitting him from the most improbable locations. It was hitting another object, bouncing off of it, and hammering him from that new spot. The weapon was basically changing the direction it was coming from. Even worse it could change its direction more than once so even if Enma did dodge it, there was a chance it would come at him again.

Based on the dull pain Enma was feeling it was probably just a ball with hardened skin to help inflict damage and stay together. However, that still left Enma with the problem that he couldn't see it. Was the skin of it translucent as well as hard? It didn't matter, with that information Enma believed he may be able to put enough together to defeat Docket.

The ball would always bounce off in a predetermined path based on how it collided with a solid surface, which meant that Enma could trace it from start to finish. He was fairly certain that if he knew the start point and if he could also put together its initial trajectory along with its momentum, putting together its flight path would be as easy as pie. Enma quickly began calculating the exact trajectory it could go based on his surroundings.

Most notable additions to his calculations were the almost completely flat floor, the ship, the decorative columns of the URA, along with a few mismatched materials that laid about them. "You might as well tell me the rest about your weapon," stated Enma hoping to drag the last few bits about its movement pattern from him.

Docket's response was "dream on!" He tossed it; he had decided to forgo the usual method of gently lobbing it in order to hide his method of attack, but now he put his entire body behind throwing it with even more force behind it. The small ball shot forward at an incredible pace. Based on the release point, its collision point would be…his left shoulder blade.

Enma swerved to the side to avoid it. He felt the powerful ball whizz by, creating a strong gust of wind that swirled around it. Enma took another step back to ensure that he avoided. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Docket whip another shot forward. Enma quickly calculated its location and dodged it once more. Enma wasn't fond of figuring this math out, but it was better than taking several hits to the head.

Enma quickly formed another short bone dagger and tossed it at Docket to throw him off of his game. Docket didn't mind the incoming attack, he moved to the side and threw another one of his balls forward. It shot forward with incredible speed. Enma brought his arm forward and generated another small bone shield. He shifted his shield up at the moment of impact to deflect it into the air. He still felt the weapon shudder into his body, but thankfully it was only a meager wound.

Enma was still out of luck, even with his knowledge of Docket's weapon. The fact was simple, Enma was at a disadvantage. Spending those minutes trying to put together what Docket's weapon cost Enma pounds of flesh and blood. He still felt every shuddering bruise that had been inflicted by the speeding ball. He was already behind him, coming back would be difficult. His legs, arms, and the rest of his body had bruises and heavy wounds. In order to come back he'd need to take his time. Even if Docket didn't have a Devil Fruit, it was apparent that at this point he was simply outclassed due to his own heavy injuries.

Another shot from Docket flew from his hand for Enma's skull. Of course, Enma liked to think by now he had learned the attack pattern of Docket's shots. He dodged to the left first. He felt confident as he felt the air whoosh by, grazing his cheek. He stepped forward, rushing inwards for Docket with his new spear already drawn and at the ready. It wasn't until he was about halfway there when he fought the ball re-colliding with the back of his heel. He had forgotten it was like a boomerang. Even after the first shot, if it hit another object it could bounce back and strike again. With the second shot, it swept Enma's leg out from under him and made him fall to the ground. Enma grunted as he felt his entire body hit the cement of the island.

Docket produced another series of smaller balls. This time each one was fit between each of his fingers. He held out four fingers with a total of three balls in between them. He swept his hand backwards, throwing all three of them out together. One was aimed at the head, the other chest, and the final one for his knee. Knowing that even if he dodged the initial shot, Enma decided he would be much better off deflecting them. Brandishing his spear once more, he stood up and swatted them away from his body, sending them all scattering in miscellaneous directions. Enma quickly caught his breath and continued his charge from before.

Suddenly, he felt it. His drug was starting to kick in.

**Side Effects**

I'm supposed to get eight inches of snow...and then I'm going to have shovel it all up...lovely. Anyways, that's right Enma's special new project has borne fruit, but is that fruit going to be an foul smelling Durian or a delicious golden apple? Its still up in the air at this moment.

Also, I did a bonus update last week (which based on the reviews only one person took note of...anyways, expect more of those. I'm like 8 chapters ahead of you guys so you may be in luck and I may just do a bonus update next week as well. Keep an eye out for it.

Finally, the Poll 'Do you think Mikoto will become a Shichibukai' has been taken. And its been replaced with a new one. Basically its asking if you want me to go and do the whole OC profile whenever I introduce a new character to the crew like I was doing at the beginning or not.


	138. Arena 138 Side Effects

**Side-Effects**

Enma's entire body felt different. The drug not only influenced his Devil Fruit, changing the wavelength the same way the infamous Rumble Ball did, but it also changed his body. Enma originally had his doubts, but it was working the way he was expecting it to work…just slower. And ultimately it made sense. Drugs don't instantly affect the body, it usually takes time to digest and enter the bloodstream. It was foolish of him to expect an instantaneous infusion of power. Now that he knew about that he could start planning ahead, but first…first came taking down Docket!

Enma struck forward with his spear. Obviously it was spear and just as obviously it was too short to even make contact with Docket. However, that's where the drug provided Enma with a little flexibility. The spear twisted around and grew! Well, not actually grew. More like it shifted. The spear grew thinner, but longer as if it was no longer a solid bone. And it wasn't.

Enma had spent days focusing on the drug's effects, making sure everything was tuned to the exact measures he wanted. He felt as if he had finally grown close last time and he really did almost reach the optimum drug for him. It liquefied his bones. To ordinary people this would mean almost certain death, unable to remain solid, they would puddle onto the floor, useless, but for Enma this was a benefit. His Devil Fruit allowed him to manipulate even his liquefied bones, which allowed him to remain in his human form without becoming a puddle. More importantly it meant his weapons were no longer restricted to one shape.

Even as Docket began to dodge the extending spear Enma did not fret. His weapon was liquid and completely under his control. It was no longer limited to the idea of a spear. It curved right, changing its target mid-flight and turning towards Docket. Docket brought his two arms up to block and felt it as the liquid bone spear rammed into it. The liquid splurged into the cracks between his arms and the spear-tip reappeared on the inside of Docket's tight guard. Docket was immediately face-to-face with the weapon. He twisted around, throwing Enma's weapon aside and breaking free.

Docket jumped back, taking a few steps at once. He turned around to face Enma and let a single one of his weapons fly for Enma's head. The liquid bone oozed from Enma's body, covering his arm instantly, coating it in a tough steel-like bone armor. Enma reached up and blocked the incoming attack with his new handy-dandy bone gauntlet. The ball sunk into the liquid bone, settling in before it ever touched the skin that lurked below. Enma reached into the liquid and pried the small ball free. He tossed the small ball aside and began to walk towards Docket, in a well-paced stride at that.

Docket immediately began emergency actions. He took out six of his small ball versions and flung them all into different directions. They collided against walls, ships, columns, anything that they found and rebounded off of them. Suddenly one lurched out after one of its rebound and was headed straight for Enma. Enma leaned back and watched as the ball came whizzing by in front of his face. Immediately another one of the balls rebounded perfectly again coming flying for Enma's back. Once more the liquid bone came out of Enma, it covered Enma's back in the goo. The ball drilled into the bone, spinning and sending splurts of bone around, but once more it did nothing to the skin nor the person beneath it.

Enma took another step for Docket and at that one moment, he realized that something was wrong. The fight still hadn't left Docket's eyes. No, it was the far opposite of that. Not only was there still fight behind his eyes, burning brightly, but it was stronger like he had some sort of secret plan set in motion. Enma had no idea what it was, he was fairly certain he had already proven that all of Docket's weapons were useless in the face of Enma's superior Devil Fruit. He took another step forward, still keeping an eye on the balls that swirled around him. Finally, one was launched off of its trajectory and entered into Enma's zone. Enma swatted it aside again using his bone gauntlet. The sound of another ball came whizzing by Enma's ear. It would've missed him regardless, was that what Docket was planning to miss?

Enma shrugged it off and took another step forward for Docket. He was trying to figure it out, why had the light been extinguished from Docket's eyes? In all fights there came a point when you just gave up? Was this the irresistible pull of Marines? He remembered his young friend, Alice. She so wanted to be a Marine. And as Enma stood in front of Docket who continued to fight on, he had to applaud all Marines everywhere to keep fighting despite not having a fighting chance. It was a shame. But pirates were just better.

Enma reached back. His bone oozed out and quickly took the form of an irregular spear. Suddenly Enma felt something, a solid thud in his back. He remembered that a few moments earlier he had gotten a ball jammed into his bones, but that was it, nothing more to fear his bone armor had protected him. He realized that they may something more to it. Another ball, perhaps? He felt it instantly, just as he had feared. The second ball had come sliding. It smashed into the first, dispersing all of its energy into it. This caused the struck ball to sink in even deeper with new force behind it. The ball was propelled even deeper into his backbone.

Enma's eyes went wide as he accepted the shocking truth. If his backbone wasn't in its liquid form that attack probably would've caused paralysis for a few minutes if not for the rest of his life. He paused for a few seconds as he considered the possibilities. Docket was aiming for this move for awhile now. Enma couldn't believe cool headedness that was required to both think of and perform such a move. He was impressed by the move, but sadly he didn't think it completely through. Enma struck with his hardened gauntlet. Docket's eyes blurred as he was sent spinning to the side.

He collapsed to the ground in a defeated pile. Enma was breathing heavily. The hammered shot to his back was still reverberating into him. He looked over at the remaining Marines. There was still a large amount of them standing around, but the look on their faces was the same, shocked disbelief. They couldn't believe a Vice Admiral lost to a run-of-the-mill pirate. This was why they were hesitant to attack this ship! The ship of a Shichibukai was too much; they didn't want to be here. Attacking two Shichibukai's side-by-side? What were the higher-ups thinking? They grabbed their weapons and the unconscious Docket and rushed off.

Enma took a deep breath and turned around. He turned back around and started to head back to the ship, he needed some time to relax. Docket had actually pushed him hard, he needed to recover from the modest injuries Docket had decided to inflict on him.

(-On the opposite side of the island-)

The ground exploded. Through no use of the cannon, it was something else. Or someone else. 'Dark Knight' Shane was having a specifically fun time with the incoming waves of Marines. He decided to re-perform the same trick again. He placed his palm onto the ground and let it superheat the ground, causing it to explode once more, sending debris of concrete up into the air forcing the heavy shrapnel into the Marines guts, legs, and other various body parts.

Suddenly vicious vines came striking out of the ground, wrapping around the various Marines and dragging them back down. Each vine had dozens of thorns that tore into the Marines that they were wrapped around. Suzanne crept up next to Shane, "isn't this just so romantic?"

A gold plated warrior zoomed in striking down another group of Marines behind them. It was Armani Dove. He laughed as he threw his head back and looked at them, "extremely romantic, my dear." He struck down another Marine as they were charging for him.

Suzanne growled and was about to strike out against him with her own Devil Fruit power, but Shane stopped her. He didn't care for Armani Dove, but as it currently stood he was holding up his end of the bargain. These Marines were relentless, so it was nice to know that someone else on the island was actually capable of taking them down without skipping a beat. So far each Marine Shane took down brought another two or three with him. He couldn't take down all of them by himself and his crew was busy readying his ship. It was him, Suzanne, and Armani who were holding off the waves right now.

Another Marine charged them. Armani twisted around and sent his fist straight into the man's head, throwing over to Shane. Shane twisted around, spinning his unwieldy halberd around and up into the man sending him rocketing sky-high. The man's torment didn't stop there. Suzanne's thick thorn-covered vines shot into the air, wrapping themselves firmly around the Marines and then bringing him smashing into the hard floor. The combined triple attack definitely finished off the poor man, rendering him useless and possibly handicapped for the rest of his life, if not worst.

The rest of the Marines all had obvious worry written on their faces. None of them wanted to rush forward to meet what would probably wind up being their end. They didn't retreat, knowing better than to show fear in the face of adversity especially with their superiors watching from aboard the ship. A cannon ball from one of their ships fired out landing near them.

(-With Trevor-)

Trevor tapped impatiently on his throne. He had grown weary with waiting; he figured he should leave now. But he wanted the Marines to know he wasn't afraid of them. He had no sort of trepidation for them. He was a match for them and he wanted them to know it. This was only his first step.

His reputation as a cold-blooded killer wouldn't last him forever. He would need a new reputation and one that would freeze all of his enemies' blood. He had already decided that the Grand Line presented him with no challenge. His goal was the New World. He would gather a new crew and set sail, aiming to take the world by storm. And with his reputation as both a Shichibukai and now a survivor of the Buster Call, they would flock to him. Flock to his new pirate flag.

He had Makada and Duncan already enlisted in his crew. A master swordsman and skilled Logia user. The thought of the monstrous crew made him beam. A destructive force like no other was about to be unveiled onto an unsuspecting world. He paused for a second as he realized that Makada had not yet returned from his little venture.

Not to mention there was the matter of Duncan. Trevor scratched his head, wondering why Duncan left. As far as he could remember there was an intruder or a similar matter and Trevor had told Duncan to handle it, but that was it. He didn't remember who it was or if there was even an intruder? Trevor felt slightly crossed at this matter as now. He just couldn't shrug it off. Now who ever entered this room Trevor had to personally take care of. This was just a little annoyance, but seeing as how Trevor was currently betting both his position as Shichibukai and owner of the URA today he would rather not have any other annoyances.

Just outside Trevor's room a young girl was standing there, looking in at the room. She had a smile on her face. She did what she was supposed to do…she got Trevor alone. Now it would be a straight-up even one-on-one fight between Mikoto and Trevor.

**Different Fuel**

I was really ho-humming it about the ending, but I really wanted to point out this young woman one MORE time before the end of the URA arc. Can you find when I pointed her out before? I have just put the finishing touches onto the URA arc, so I'll probably be kicking this into a once a week posting until it ends or at least until the Mikoto-Trevor fight.

However, I'm going to be away from the computer for the next few days (this will not interfere with the uploading schedule at all not even Iron Hammer's and Soul Eater's), but I will be unable to answer any further questions until Saturday possibly even Sunday. (Don't worry its nothing serious).

Also for those of you who think this is it…there is no possible way for this arc to have any plot twists left…you are wrong…so, so, so, so, so wrong!


	139. Arena139 Different Fuel

**Different Fuel**

Valerie moved through the hallways looking for remaining pirates. She was starting to feel the effects of the Buster Call. It wasn't a good thing. It was horrible. Every cannon ball that hit the island made it shudder, the hallways were filled with screams, the entire island was in a panic. And it translated to her as well. She was starting to feel the overwhelming desperation from the pirates. She swallowed her fear and descended a little deeper. The Buster Call wasn't done with yet. They were still warming up the big guns for the Grand Finale. She just needed to get in, make sure no pirates were trying to sneak out, and get out herself.

She came to a screeching halt in one of the hallways. It was to the side away from the direction she was heading in, but nonetheless the scene immediately grabbed her attention. Not only due to the obvious carnage, but because…it was indiscriminate. She saw Marines and pirates laying about, all of them had a gaping a hole in a random spot. No, not random…Valerie realized as she got closer. The spots were not random they were all located where a vital organ was. All of those vital organs, however, had been ripped through.

One of the men, one of her men, a Marine, had had his heart ripped through. She bent down to examine the wound and immediately felt a pit in her stomach form. The wound was unnatural. Ordinarily the power needed to pierce through the skin, ribs, and heart would have left a horrid wound, ragged edges, but this wound was smooth it was reminiscent of a surgery wound. Valerie thought for a second about rubbing her fingers in the wound, feeling the smooth torn skin, but suddenly she remembered that it was a corpse…and the thought vanished, replaced with sheer sickness.

She withdrew her hand and walked away. Her interest was still strong in who could do such a thing. She knew it wasn't a Marine who had this power, so that meant a pirate was like this. She tried to calm down, but she couldn't. The air of the Buster Call wasn't allowing something like that, wasn't allowing her to calm down. The tension was palpable…the screams of Marines and pirates alike were roaring through the building.

And they were getting worse. Even when she covered her ears they would still pound into her head. She wasn't tired at all, but she was on the verge of collapse because of this. Because of those voices, she felt like falling and giving up. She lost it. Valeria collapsed. The voices emanating in her head as if they were no longer coming from the world around her, but in her head. She felt the voices pounding in her head; no one was around for the screams to come from. It must've been her imagination or something.

She tried to stand back up, but another pounding scream sent her scrambling back to the ground. The voices were loud, so very, very loud. She felt a hand confidently clamp onto her shoulder, she spun around striking the air, but quickly collapsing again from the emanating screams.

It was her partner, the man in the mask who was standing behind her. He crouched down next to her, despite his mask there was an obvious smile underneath it. "I was wondering when it would be," he said as he looked down at her. He snaked a small syringe out of his pocket and injected its contents into her, "this is just a mild sedative…nothing to worry about. This is just you gaining access to your Haki. We all went through it, however, very few ever had it awaken in a place like this."

"You'll definitely become a magnificent Marine, so stay alive," he said as he lifted her upon one of his shoulders and headed out. He spared a moment looking down the hallway at the wounded bodies of the Marines. "Ah, the good old days." With that he disappeared into the darkness of the hallways.

(-With Maria-)

Maria was still struggling to break free from the heavy black wall that was sucking her in. She couldn't escape. The only thing that was saving her from completely disappearing into it was her own leg strength. She had them firmly planted into the ground, she refused to let something like this be the end of her. She buried her feet into the floor tiles and tried to stay strong. Only problem was the other people around her. She felt another idiot slam into her back and force her forward another few inches into the mass and then again and again. She was slowly being engulfed into the darn wall due to the brats behind her, foolishly charging forward. She tried to break free, but she couldn't.

She tried to pry herself from the wall, but couldn't. She struggled once more, but finally she just had to admit she had lost to the blob. She let her muscles relax as she felt another idiot bump into her from behind. Did she really just lose? She had been fighting for such a long time…she was going to be a semi-finalist in the URA tournament. Her goal was going to be the strongest and she just gave up to…a black blob? She wasn't even best by a human? She wasn't giving up like this.

She twisted around, clawing outwards trying to find something. She felt something cold rub against her. She stretched out once more, smashing her hand into whatever it was. It was sheer luck that she found it, she felt herself getting sucked deeper into the black blob. But she hadn't given up yet, with her hand smashed into the wall, she tried to grab ahold of it. She buried her fingers into, pulling herself forward. A desperate attempt to break free.

She pulled forward, trying to yank herself free from the blob's own inner-suction. She wasn't backing down in this case. She'd stay strong and break free somehow in some way, she'd break free eventually. Suddenly she felt an arm wrap around her neck and yank her back. Maria twisted around, eager to see who was holding her back. To her surprise she saw Duncan with one arm confidently wrapped around her neck. Maria turned around once more, panickedly sending out a fast swing. Her punch buried itself into the side of Duncan's head. The tar-like composition of the head exploded in several directions, it crept all over her fist. Duncan's smile didn't fade, his head may have been caved in from one punch, but he didn't seem fazed by it.

"You're gonna have to try harder than that," said Duncan as several tendrils of his tar-like body whipped out and around her, restraining her movements. A heavy, almost solid blob of tar came shooting out slamming into Maria's head, yanking it back. Her eyes went wide as the pain resonated through her face. She struggled again to break free, her arms testing the strength of the tar ropes, but she couldn't break free. She spun out, launching a wild kick into nothing. She felt her feet squish into the tar wall. She tried to yank her foot free from the oppressive grip of the heavy tar, but the tar adamantly remained glued to her leg despite her berserk protests.

Maria rotated around again, trying to pry herself free again. She fired a quick punch into the utter black blobs that surrounded her. She felt her fist slip straight into it, the black liquid once more engulfing her. She struck out wildly, slamming her elbow into the blind spot behind her. She felt it hit the same black liquid once more.

The tar stretched off of Maria, freeing her instantly. She looked around for a second as she noticed the tar was gradually backing off giving her more space enough to run around for a few seconds, she was free? No, she wasn't. She was just given more room. She was still trapped like a rat. Even now as she scanned her surroundings, she had no idea what to do. There was nothing around her…just a big black wall of some kind of liquid.

"Logia-Type, Taru-Taru no mi*," laughed Duncan as he continued to slide around Maria. "Right now you are perfectly incased in a giant tar bubble. Ordinarily anything that gets absorbed into my body stays in my body forever, never aging, never even growing aware of being inside my body. However, that seems rather rude to my boss' little prospect. So, I'll give you an honorable death! **Tar Pistol!" **A slight ball of tar dripped off of one of his fingers. He flung it forward, sending a hardened ball of tar for Maria. It blew solidly into Maria's body forcing her to step into the tar again.

Maria ripped herself free from the tar once more. She was breathing heavily as she was tired from her previous struggling. She brought her two arms up to her side, clasping them in front of her. The guard was one of the most solid ones possible, she began to rapidly turn around trying to relocated Duncan, but he somehow managed to remain out of sight. She couldn't find him. She kept spinning around to find her attacker. She smashed her foot forward and remained steady. Her head kept swiveling from side-to-side to keep her eyes open.

Several shots of tar came shooting in, splashing around her feet. They basically froze straight over them, freezing them in place. She struggled to break free, but she couldn't. The tar was basically like incredible glue, her feet couldn't rip themselves free from the tar. She felt a heavy blob smash into her back. Duncan had circled around. He swerved around her now that her feet were stuck to the ground and now he launched attacks at her back. It was a cheap trick, but Maria couldn't expect everyone to fight fairly.

Maria sensed it for a second. She rotated around, twisting her hips as much as they could. Her entire body was rotating to the side. She struck out, she felt her fist bury itself it into more tar. But she saw it. It was buried in Duncan's face. His entire face had melted away into a half-tar, half-human mush. Crap, she pulled her fist out and watched Duncan's face reform. The cruel smile was still present on his face. It looked like it didn't even bother him, one of her strongest punches just didn't bother him. How much force would she need to put behind her punch to blow away that smug look on his face?

Duncan was hiding and attacking from her blindspots, which were huge due to the fact that her feet were stuck. Sadly, even if she could catch him and hit him, she couldn't hurt him due to the bastardly Logia powers he possessed. She was at a complete disadvantage compared to Duncan. She tightened her fist as she tried to find him again. He was like a shark in a goddamn ocean…and she guessed that made her a sitting duck. She tried to rip her foot free from the tar once more and there was some give to it, but she still couldn't break free.

She ducked just as another hardened ball of tar whizzed above her head. She tried to calm down, but the attacks from Duncan made that near impossible. The continuous chain of attacks that came screeching for her every second made it impossible for her to remain positive. She was in one of the worst positions humanly possible.

Maria struck out once more. She forced all of her power out into her legs. She rotated around, forcing the power out. Her power stretched out from her shoulders down into her wait and from there it spread out into his legs. She smashed through the tar and broke free. She almost stumbled out, but she immediately struck out with her legs. She fired multiple kicks into the air to ready herself for the incoming attacks.

Great, one obstacle down…two more to go. She was still trapped within this bubble of tar with Duncan swirling around, his killing intent leaking out all over the small room Maria had been given. Not to mention her punches still had no effect on him. She stretched out with her arms and did a quick round of shadow boxing as she prepped for the incoming attacks, undoubtedly Duncan was readying his new strategy to take down the newly freed cyborg.

**Overheating**

A chapter a week is the plan! It feels good to be writing and updating this quickly again. It's nice…anyways, it appears Valerie is growing at an alarming rate. It looks like she is also awakening her Haki in a similar way Cobi unlocked his. Lots and lots of people dying around them. But chances are you are more focused on her partner whose name (and face) have yet to be revealed.

Other than that! Big, big news! I am working on something very special for Saga. I'll tell you when it's completed. I already about 20% of it completed since I thought of it last week. As long as I don't hit any bumps in the road it should be awesome!


	140. Arena 140 Overheating

**Overheating**

Duncan's body exploded from the tar, reaching forward to embrace Maria. Maria's leg came screeching around in a circle, slicing Duncan into two separate tar entities. Her kick had been quick enough to make sure the tar hadn't stuck to her legs, but once more Duncan seemed unfazed from the kick. He quickly recoiled into the tar, though, seeing this technique as a bust. The tar he disappeared into splashed as he vanished into it.

"Crap," said Maria, realizing she may have lost her one and only chance to bring him down. If he didn't leave the tar dome again, she would never have another chance to take him down. It sucked, but it was true. She used another fast kick into the air in order to try and buy herself more time to figure out the way around this predicament.

Of course, that attack meant nothing to Duncan. Another almost gatling gun-like wave of tar bullets came crashing in at her. Maria's hands snapped forward in a series of fast punches. Each punch had a slight angle to it to send the tar bullets away in various directions rather than splattering onto her or her fists. She had already had to fight with her feet stuck, so the last thing she wanted to happen was for her arms to stick into them. She stepped forward and batted the pellets away with superior speed and precision.

Duncan smirked as he once more vanished into the tar behind him. Maria chased in and landed a quick punch into the tar, hoping that by some miracle not only would it barely hit him, but it would affect him too. Duncan laughed. If it wasn't for his Devil Fruit, she may have actually stood a chance. Her power, speed, and instincts were all top-notch. However, Duncan would still win. He slung another ball of tar at Maria, aiming for her shoulder, but just like before, Maria's instincts kicked into high gear as if sensing the attack.

With a powerful spin, she launched a roundhouse kick, slicing the tar in half and sending each half in different directions. She planted her foot as she puffed out her chest in victory as if saying 'how's that' to Duncan and his pathetic strategy. This only made Duncan cackle quietly from his safe spot within the massive tar heap.

Duncan was surprised by her fighting spirit, though. She was surrounded on all sides by her opponent, no escape possible and she couldn't even touch him. Even if she could, and then if she could beat him, when Duncan died or fell unconscious and his control over the tar broke… the only thing that would happen is the room would collapse. The tar would once more engulf her in its sticky hold. Victory even in defeat, that's the way Duncan liked it.

Duncan found himself unusually riled now he thought about it. This little girl… with her ego big enough for two. He found her… annoying. He has shown undying loyalty to Trevor and the Arena time and time again and then she waltzes in here and he fawns over her and her strength. He was Trevor's favorite until she came along, so he would just have to remind her and Trevor where his rightful place was. Right by Trevor's side.

Duncan created a huge ball of tar, one at least three times the size of his other ones. He let it harden, then he gouged out the insides and filled it full of liquid. It was basically a pot filled with tar. Not only could it cause a concussion if it actually hit anyone, but even if Maria broke it apart like his last attacks, she would be covered in his tar. She would be completely incapable of moving it would be his win. He let it go flying towards her.

Maria's head swiveled around first, locking onto her new target. Her entire body followed, completing the turn. Her entire body was directed at the large ball. She smiled. Duncan was apparently stepping up his game. He went a size up, too bad it didn't mean anything to her. No matter how big he made them, she'd just keep breaking them. She pivoted forward, sending a fast right straight for the large ball. With the slightest rotation added to her punch, she easily abolished it. Her fist smashed straight through one side and causing the rest of it to break off and shatter. It was only then when she realized her grave mistake.

She had thought Duncan wouldn't think of such a treacherous technique and yet here it was. The ball exploded, covering her in the thick black stuff. She immediately began thrashing about, trying to fling the crap off of her body, but it was to no avail. The tar weighed down on her, sticking to her arms and chest, refusing to be knocked loose from its latest captive. Maria was trapped once more.

She watched as Duncan sunk back into his swimming pool of tar. He was barely visible beneath the thin black curtain. There were little ripples as he began circling around Maria, his trapped rat. With her feet firmly planted in the ground, fixated in one direction she probably seemed like the perfect target to an experienced killer like him. From there he immediately started the attack.

The balls of tar began flying towards Maria. They blew in from all sides, like an angry hornet's nest. Even without her full-range of motion with her legs and even her chest being restricted, she still had enough power to blow them away. Her quick hands smashing into each and every single one of the balls that were to the front of her. Her hands screeched out, each one hitting another sending them all spiraling into a variety of directions. Her speed and strength made such a technique simple for her.

Maria groaned as she felt several of the balls smash into her back. There was no way for her to block those and Duncan knew this. He stopped his circling and took up a station primarily behind her. He continued his attack. Every one of his Tar Pistols came flying in towards her back, each one hitting her solidly between the shoulders.

Maria tried once more to break free of the tar. She twisted again, ignoring the constant stinging assault on her back for the time being. She needed to break free, but she couldn't. There was a huge strain on her entire body, the human and machine parts alike. She sighed as she realized that she overworking her body with the constant fights and now this. It was bad news for her. Her body was overheating like any normal machine.

She looked down as she tried to calm down and give herself some time to let it cool down, but when she did so she noticed something interesting. She might be able to use it. Duncan seemed to have taken note of the change in Maria's face that she had finally come together with a new plan as he increased the numbers yet again. The hardened spheres of tar came at a higher pace now.

Each one came flying in at her with the intention of killing her. They were being aimed at vital spots now, but that didn't bother Maria. Why? Cause all of her vital spots were within arm's reach not a single vital spot was located in the vulnerable back. She swatted the ball down and away from her liver, another away from her heart. Her punching speed not only matched Duncan's throwing speed, but surpassed it. Finally Maria pressed forward, knocking another ball aside she moved her legs forward. The strain was evident, but almost immediately the tar surrounding them broke!

She caught herself and charged forward towards Duncan who was still in mid-throw. She closed the distance in a short amount of time, quicker than Duncan could retreat into his tar dome that was for sure. She was face-to-face with him in a matter of seconds, of course, Duncan didn't mind. Despite her immense strength and ability to break free from his tar's grip, she couldn't harm him! He was still a Logia and she didn't magically master Haki in the past two seconds. His overwhelming belief in his own Logia powers was proven fruitless in the next second.

As Maria's powerful right hook drew closer to Duncan's head, he felt the most immense surge of heat outpouring from it. Her limbs were machines, and just like any other machine, they grew hot with overuse. She was overheating. Of course, ordinarily this just meant that she may be able to burn her opponent with her punches, but against Duncan it meant more, so much more.

Duncan was a tar man, and that means whatever happens to tar also happens to him. So what happens to tar when it is exposed to extreme heat? It hardens. And that was the Taru-Taru no mi's one weakness. When it was exposed to heat, the user would harden and it would be possible to hit him. The strength of Maria's punch went in, unhindered and straight into Duncan's skull. Duncan's body was basically wrenched free from the tar and pulled out of his large dome. He was dazed as he tried to figure out what had happened.

The power of her punch had actually knocked him unconscious for a split second, and even now he was having trouble seeing. His vision was blurry due to the fact that his brain was probably rattled from the force of her punch. What had even happened? She shouldn't have been able to even lay a finger on him, but with that kind of power it was possible that she could just rip his head free from his shoulders. He was just coming to again when Maria brought her steaming hot knee forward and into his face, throwing it back again. Duncan quickly came to his senses and retreated back into the tar before Maria could get another punch in. Once he was safely tucked away in the tar he tried to catch his breath and figure out just how bad the situation was.

Despite recently finding out that Trevor orchestrated an attack on their home, and that a Buster Call was pointed straight at him, it was possible that this was the number one biggest surprise so far today. Maria hadn't stopped attacking. She continued to punch feverously. She stepped forward and continued to pound her fists into the tar dome, quite literally actually. Her punches sunk beneath the surface and came flying at Duncan still. Duncan was caught off-guard. No one has ever been crazy or stupid enough to try such a ridiculous stunt, but her she was throwing wide punches into the tar. Through either sheer luck or determination her punches came in. One smashed solidly into Duncan's cheek. Duncan turned around quickly and tried to fight back, but another punch came flying in, and then another. She refused to stop, despite the thick wall of tar that separated them her punches kept on coming.

Every one of her punches found their mark, screeching through the wall and into Duncan's body forcing it back little by little. He couldn't move, Maria was plowing her way through the tar dome forcing him back each and every time with renewed force each time. Finally Duncan felt it his body had exited the goop. The tar had been lifted as his body had been forced out. Maria had successfully fought her way through it all and she was still going. She brought her fist through once more, smashing into Duncan's jaw and jerking him back against the ground. And he was out.

Maria ripped through the last layer of tar and into the fresh air again. She stepped forward, but nearly fell flat of her face. Her legs were at their limits. She wanted to say she knew she would've won all along, but right now if Duncan had enough strength to stand he would be the winner. Maria's legs were overheated and about to give-up. She couldn't help but wobble as she took another step. Her legs were dying now… she had pushed them and pushed them and now they were admitting that they couldn't keep up. She collapsed onto the floor. She was done.

**One Single Punch**

I currently got a new Beta-Reader, so hopefully the amount of errors have decreased. Everybody thank Labyrinth-Designer for a wonderful job Beta Reading!

I hope Maria knows it not wise to fall asleep in the middle of enemy territory. However, almost all the baddies of the URA are being wiped out by their crew. Trevor, Karasu, and Mashiba are left. This arc is speeding up, but more plot twists still lurk in the shadows!


	141. Arena 141 One Single Punch

**One Single Punch**

Enma was considering them lucky as he looked out over the land from their ship. Due to his efforts to knock back Docket Jr. the rest of the Marines had slowed their attack due to fear of the man that beat a Vice Admiral. Enma didn't mind that his drug had worn off awhile back, but he didn't have enough time to brew another one. Not to mention the pain from Docket's attacks still lingered. It was painful for Enma to just try and hold back the attackers, even with as few of them as they were.

Rosa's cannon fire had lessened as well, not due to Rosa's fatigue, but due to ammunition running low. They didn't have an infinite amount of it, so she began holding back and trying to spread the attacks out more. As the battle dragged on, they were losing. There were more Marines and fewer cannon balls. If this developed into a war of attrition and lasted even a second too long they would be done for. Another Marine came charging in.

Enma stepped forward and took him down within seconds with a quick sweep of his spear, knocking his feet out from beneath him. As a shot of false strength Enma brought his spear tip down into the man's shoulder and sent him away. Enma had no interest in killing them, he was a doctor after all, but seeing the other Marines slowly steel their confidence and prepare for another attack he was starting to debate if that was the only method for forcing them to back down.

One of the Marines standing around rushed in again. His act of bravery seemed to cause a stir as soon after that another five or six began to charge at Enma. Enma stepped forward, sweeping his long spear through the air and at the man. The man backed away for a second, but that didn't do him any good. Enma chased him in. He stepped in the same amount of distance that the man had stepped back, causing his spear to shoot forward and pierce him in the gut. The man collapsed to the ground. Enma swung around ready to face the remaining Marines, but instead was forced to duck.

A large golden weighted spear came crashing through with immense speed. The spear pierced into the first Marine's skull and shish-kebob'd him. The force of the throw had an added effect of forcing him over again and into the next Marine, causing an almost domino-like effect that brought them both down. At first Enma felt relieved at the thought of someone else helping him out defeat these marines, but he quickly remembered… just because they were enemies of his enemies, didn't necessarily make them his friends.

The man who pulled it was a large guy and Enma almost immediately recognized him from both the tournament and from Maria's tales. It was Mashiba. The man was intimidating to say the least. He reeked of blood and death, and his golden spear that he had just wrenched loose from a man's skull had been painted red. Mashiba turned his attention towards Enma and then up at the ship. He stepped in and with heavy shove threw his spear at the main mast. Enma swiveled around and shouted something about it. The spear blew into the mast, sending a large spray of debris around the deck.

Sadly, Enma was admittedly distracted by the attack, and he didn't notice Mashiba had slinked by him, fairly quickly at that. He frowned as he saw Mashiba was already on top of the ship, pulling his spear out of the mast. Enma charged upwards at Mashiba, bringing his spear around in an instant. The difference was astounding. Mashiba was stronger, his weapon was heavier. Mashiba's spear smashed into Enma's and blew both him and his weapon back. Mashiba did a quick lift checking his weapon's weight and took another step forward for Enma.

He lifted his spear up into the air and back down. A bone jutting from Enma's cheekbone, quickly redirected the heavy spear to the side, saving Enma from what was possibly a killing blow. Enma tried to take advantage of this moment, he lashed out with his own spear. Mashiba brought the brunt of his spear to the side and into Enma's head, knocking him over again.

Enma was too weak from his last fight with Docket and the endless wave of Marines. If he could just truly summon his full strength, he wouldn't be losing like this. Enma tried to get back up to his feet, but just as he did Mashiba's face was thrown sideways from a heavy punch. It was Hiro-Shu. The old iron golem had managed to climb out of bed and out onto the battlefield.

Mashiba smiled an insidious smile as he looked at his new opponent, but an old target. He began to twirl his large spear like it was nothing. The spear was gold which meant in terms of weight, it was pretty high, but Mashiba was throwing it, twirling it, and attacking with it like it weighed absolutely nothing. "I'm not done with you," said Mashiba as he took another step forward, he stopped twirling his spear as he approached Hiro-Shu. "A fight is over when one of the fighters stops breathing for good. And the last time we fought…it was going to be you." Mashiba jabbed his spear upwards at Hiro-Shu's neck, but stopped the instant before it connected, leaving it hovering there as a threat.

Hiro-Shu didn't return Mashiba's attack or even smile back at his old adversary. He simply brought his hand up and pushed the spear away from his neck. Hiro-Shu stepped away, putting a little more distance behind them like it was back in the arena. Mashiba's cruel smile disappeared as he did the same. Once they were a good distance apart both of them took their fighting stance.

Hiro-Shu brought both of his arms up and together forming a tight guard with his iron arms. His iron body already made it nearly impossible for someone to break through, but with his arms forming a tight shield in front of his body it would be nearly impossible for a fatal blow to break through. Of course, this was only if Hiro-Shu was fighting at his best. It was already obvious to both Mashiba and Enma that the damage from their previous fight was still hanging onto Hiro-Shu. He was still injured and at death's door. It would only require a light push from Mashiba.

Mashiba took on a much more offensive stance. His spear was drawn back all the way down at his waist, given the chance he would force it forward with all of his might. The two of them has clashed once before, so their stances were probably educated assumptions based on that. Hiro-Shu preparing to counter Mashiba's overwhelming offense, while Mashiba trying to break through Hiro-Shu's impressive defense.

Mashiba started things off. His spear was thrust through the air at the same time he took a step forward, its reach seemed to extend closer to Hiro-Shu then he thought was possible. He had to actual side-step in order to avoid getting his eye removed in an instant. His next attack was even faster, now that they were in range Mashiba quickly withdrew his spear and lashed out once again. A heavy swat from Hiro-Shu forced the spear around and allowed him to charge forward.

Mashiba spun to the side, quickly regaining his grip on his spear and at the same time distancing himself from the charging golem. Once he had the distance in his favor he attacked again. His spear shooting forward ferociously. Hiro-Shu barely managed to get past the spear's tip, he felt it clang against his iron armor, but that was barely a scrape and not even worthy of his attention for now. He charged in again. His heavy feet, smashing into the ground with each step until once more he was face-to-face with the demon.

Mashiba, realized that this meant he was in trouble. Close distance was Hiro-Shu's forte, not his. He quickly tried to speed away, but Hiro-Shu's massive trunk of an arm came swinging in. Hiro-Shu quickly stepped in and put in a massive rotation that increased both his speed and power. Mashiba grunted as he felt the iron singe the ends of his hair. He barely dodged it, but since he did he was rewarded with the opportunity to take his distance again. Pivoting to the side and jumping back, definitely separated them, but…Hiro-Shu quickly turned his momentum from his rotating punch to a forward charge. The distance was once more closed in an instant. Hiro-Shu was transforming his abnormally heavy weight into a momentous charge.

Mashiba was still trying to regain his footing as Hiro-Shu pressed forward. He wasn't even bothering to regain his proper footing. He threw his own punch out mid-charge, a reckless act from someone who was normally calm. Mashiba brought his spear forward and used the side of it to block the punch, but even with the impact being neutralized. Hiro-Shu's entire weight was behind this punch due to his charge. It blew Mashiba back regardless of his guard.

Mashiba dropped his guard and took aim at Hiro-Shu with his spear. He thrust his spear forward, aiming for Hiro-Shu's head once more. Due to Hiro-Shu's forward momentum, he couldn't back up to dodge it, so he had to sway to the side. He twisted his entire body around and once more he used his weight rather than speed to change his direction and avoid the thrust.

Enma was amazed by this. He had seen and sparred with Hiro-Shu quite often, but he never once tried this technique out against him. A technique that transfers his weight into speed…it was a fascinating idea and the fact that Hiro-Shu was pulling it off only confirmed the notion Enma had thought since the beginning. The Infinity Pirates was the right place to be.

Mikoto's rapid-fire technique took his strength, his speed, and turned it into pure power. Hiro-Shu's technique took his weight and replaced his weakness, his speed. They both managed evolve into new and more ferocious beasts through training and techniques. Enma didn't have anything like that, maybe that was why he felt compelled to try and strengthen his chances with other methods. However, Enma was starting to doubt that he had closed the gap at all. Hiro-Shu's strength seemed even further away than before…Enma took one step forward, Hiro-Shu took two…Enma had to wonder how many steps forward Mikoto had taken in that time.

Despite the fact that the fight was still going, it was becoming strikingly obvious who was winning out. Mashiba couldn't take his distance with his speed now. Hiro-Shu just kept charging forward, barreling in towards him again and again. Every time he did, he also threw a punch. A punch with his entire weight behind it…that was not something a normal human could take.

Mashiba jumped back to create more distance again, but something was different about this one. His grip was tight against his spear, his feet ready for impact as if he was going to attack the instant he landed. He was going for broke now. With the tables turned he was going for the same thing Hiro-Shu was betting on at the end of their last fight. A counter.

Hiro-Shu must've known this, but he didn't have a choice. He either goes headfirst into Mashiba's trap or he lets Mashiba keep the distance and take perfect advantage of this with his longer reach. Neither one was a good plan, but Hiro-Shu made up his mind. He barreled forward, using his weight as momentum once more. But that extra momentum would just be thrown back at him due to Mashiba's counter. All of the damage from their last fight was still remaining on Hiro-Shu, the charge only increased his momentum, increased his fighting power…increased the damage that Mashiba's counter would return.

Mashiba spun in even deeper. He was putting his entire strength into his punch. His face was still singed from their last fight. He remembered the counter that Hiro-Shu had almost inflicted on him during their last match. This would be him returning the favor. He would show Hiro-Shu that he could do what the golem couldn't. He would show him that the Demon Mashiba was the better out of the two.

Hiro-Shu prepared his punch. It was a wide swing, using all the extra momentum to deal the most damage possible. Unlike Hiro-Shu, Mashiba had no damage from their last fight, so Hiro-Shu had to inflict it all with this one punch. Hiro-Shu could do it. He had the strength to do it, the only thing that mattered was if he could get past Mashiba's counter.

Hiro-Shu swung. His fist cut through the air and for Mashiba's face. Mashiba reacted to it, he stepped in and thrust his own spear. The length in the spear as well Mashiba's speed hadn't slowed…he was still faster than Hiro-Shu. His counter would hit!

Or it would've hit, had Hiro-Shu's entire body shuddered to the side. He had used his extreme weight to throw himself off-balance and out of the way! Mashiba's spear pierced nothing but air. Hiro-Shu then shuddered his body back, changing his weight's direction, changing his momentum, and putting his fist back on track.

And his punch landed perfectly.

**War Torn Family**

Still being Beta-Read by Labyrinth-Designer

Dramatic music! Hiro-Shu unleashes a new technique undoubtedly something he had been practicing on with Mikoto (he was the one who was sparring Mikoto, when Mikoto developed Rapid-Fire. And now the fight between him and Mashiba with one punch straight to his kisser. Of course, Hiro-Shu's fight probably isn't the most exciting fight...especially since now only Karasu and Trevor, the two big monsters, are left.


	142. Arena 142 War-Torn Family

**War-Torn Family**

Enma moved Hiro-Shu back into his bed in the infirmary. Hiro-Shu was still severally damaged. His entire body was injured. Enma frowned. He had inspected Hiro-Shu rather quickly, fearing that the damage to his fist from the repetitive punches was probably long lasting and may never heal, but he found a much worse factor. Hiro-Shu's new technique of twisting his body and using his weight to create momentum had one serious flaw. It applied massive stress to his legs and waist. The muscles clinched and twisted whenever he did, but it did so with his entire weight bearing down on it.

Despite the effort Hiro-Shu put into developing it along with the power it provided him. Enma had to advise that Hiro-Shu never used this technique again. It was saddening to say the least, but as the crew doctor he had to do it. He had to prevent him from making such a fatal mistake as to win a fight by destroying his legs and future.

Enma muttered something as he left Hiro-Shu to rest. The fact remained. Hiro-Shu was heavily damaged, but in reality Enma wasn't in that great of a shape either. And the ship was in their hands along with Rosa who wasn't quite capable of fighting yet. Her fight with Zesiro left her in pretty bad shape, so it was the three injured men holding back a near infinite wave of Marines while they waited for reinforcements to arrive.

Enma sighed as he wondered what was taking them so long. The Buster Call was rampaging at full strength, but they couldn't leave. If they waited too much longer, Enma knew it would become impossible. As it stood right now they had probably only a twenty-eighty chance of escape. It was depressing thinking about it like that. Every minute that passed made that window of opportunity shrink even more.

They had just barely made it into the Grand Line and now this. The New World still stretched ahead of them. Enma slammed his fist onto the wall in anger. They were close…they were so close he could smell those old books in the legendary library. His goal was just over the horizon, along with Mikoto's and everyone else's they were all there. He just had to keep his head straight and not back down now. He'd just have to prepare the ship for departure and hope they'd hurry yp.

(-with Ridley-)

Ridley was quietly shuffling through the halls. He had a small box that stuffed with a few large bills. He considered it lucky that he had gotten this much. He had quickly arrived to the staff entrance and exit; it was exactly where he had remembered it. He smiled as he slumped into the small staircase. Almost the same instant he put his foot on the step, he threw himself backwards.

The Buster Call was still going on, but that wasn't why he threw himself back. No, it was because he heard the words, "hello son."

Ridley twisted his head around and looked up, further up the stairs. Karasu was smiling smugly above his head. Ridley didn't pause for a second, he flipped his guitar out and strummed onto it sending a painful wave of pure noise echoing up the stairs. The noise bounced off of the walls, building up to the point it was a maddening boom where Karasu was…was being the operative word.

Karasu had disappeared and was almost immediately behind Ridley. Ridley was directing the noise upwards, so directly around him the noise was minimal. Karasu struck out, a swiping chop with his only arm. Ridley ducked beneath while spinning around, swinging his guitar around and into Karasu's gut. Karasu screamed, not in pain, but more as a battle cry. Almost in an instance he rotated around, sending his entire body around in a flash with his entire weight behind it.

Ridley dodged it by a hair, he felt Karasu's massive arm slice through his Mohawk. Ridley stepped in, aiming to take advantage of when Karasu's wide punch would leave him the most vulnerable, but to Ridley's surprise as soon as Karasu's massive punch ended, another one began. A powerful straight blew through the air and for Ridley's face. Ridley ducked beneath it, desperate to avoid the insane punch. He couldn't believe it. The monster's strength was exactly like Ridley had remembered it, but he almost instantly realized something else had happened. The crispness of his punches were gone, his fighting style had devolved. It wasn't the fighting style of someone who put years of their life into practice, studying several different forms of martial arts.

At first Ridley was amazed at the sudden transformation that his father had shown him, but then it was replaced by sheer fear. The monster's strength had not diminished at all, now he was just putting his entire strength behind each punch. There wasn't any style or practice behind it, and it was obvious when and how he was going to fire a punch, but just watching that punch breeze by you, inches away from your face…that ripped apart your soul, your spirit was destroyed as you imagined that punch blowing your head and your shoulders apart.

Ridley backed off, trying to calmly analyze the monster that his father had become, but Karasu's maddening rush quickly destroyed that plan. Karasu moved several feet at a time until he was upon Ridley, swinging his wide punch through the air once more. Ridley slid down to the ground and swung his guitar vertically aiming for Karasu's chin. Karasu brought his shoulder in smashing it into the guitar and changing its direction. Karasu paused and quickly fired full and fast punches down upon Ridley.

The musician quickly scrambled away, going through Karasu's leg just in a desperate attempt to escape. The monster was going faster and faster while keeping his power up. Ridley didn't have a good idea on how to take him down either. After all, Karasu's power, speed, and defense were all light-years ahead of his. Ridley took a deep breath as he looked on at Karasu trying to find something that could be used as a weakness.

Of course, the most immediate answer was Karasu's missing arm. It left one side wide open and should be perfect for Ridley to rush in and attack, but…in order to get in that close Ridley would have to break through Karasu's murderous punches. Even if Ridley was fast enough to dive right in and avoid those punches, was he brave enough? As if to test Ridley Karasu fired a quick hook into the thin air. The sound of his fist cleaving through the air was enough to make Ridley back down.

Ridley realized right then that he couldn't…he wanted to tell himself that he could, but he couldn't. He was in no way shape or form ready to fight Karasu. "Hey, dad," said Ridley finally returning his father's greeting. Karasu's face went from anger to confusion and then finally to laughter. He couldn't believe that his son would even bother giving him the time of day.

"Still got that present I gave you?" asked Karasu eyeing Ridley's stomach.

Ridley knew what he was talking about that rotten poison that bastard put in him. "I tried re-gifting it, but it was such a crappy present nobody would take it off my hands." Another quick, but powerful full straight came shooting out from Karasu. Ridley tumbled backwards, in a horrible attempt to escape from Karasu's attacks. Karasu stepped forward again and this time he fired his powerful punch straight down for Ridley's head. Ridley rolled to the side, avoiding yet another sure-fire kill blow. However, Karasu's punch sent a flurry of dust and small rocks into the air, some of which cut into Ridley's cheek as he tried to get away.

"Come on, son!" laughed Karasu as he stepped forward for Ridley, "I taught you better than that, didn't I? The weak get crushed in this world! The instant you become weak, you become trash! So, come at me with everything you've got!" Karasu leaned forward as he charged at Ridley once again.

Ridley paused as he thought about Karasu's words. That was the world he was raised in…the weak getting slaughtered. Ridley wasn't about to deny it, but there was no way he would accept that he was weak, especially not in front of his ultimate enemy. Ridley dove down like Karasu and charged forward, his guitar arcing through the air like an ax aiming to separate Karasu's head from his shoulders.

Karasu blocked the swing using his shoulder. His thick wall of unrivaled muscles, protecting his neck from the fearsome and desperate attack. Karasu then leaned in and fired another full swing for Ridley's head. A demonic smile flashed across Karasu's face as he was just about to pummel his own son's head in. At the moment of impact Ridley's entire body jerked in one direction, being propelled in one direction far way from Karasu.

Karasu paused as he looked down at his fist. Something was wrong with his last hit; he looked up and saw Ridley standing back up. Ridley was definitely in bad shape, but he wasn't dead through some miracle. Ridley took his guitar back around and rather than swinging it, he began playing it quietly at the same time he was tapping his foot to the rhythm.

Ridley realized it the instant their attacks clashed. Head-to-head…he would lose. Karasu was much stronger than him, his wall of muscles not only supplemented his attacks, but also gave him a defense that no one strong blow from Ridley could pierce. He would think of how to land blows on Karasu after he figured out how to avoid them.

Karasu barreled forward like an unchained bull. Ridley rushed out of the way, once he cleared Karasu's direct path he swayed backwards to avoid another wide swing from Karasu. Karasu's punched whipped the wind around and Ridley felt the pure rare power just emanating from it. Ridley's heart was pounding against his chest as he looked on. Karasu quickly caught himself and turned around, returning his attention to his own son, who was trying to pummel into oblivion. Ridley took a step back and was amazed that he actually found himself with his back against the wall. He had been dodging all of Karasu's attacks, but if his escape route was cut off then it was possible that he was bigger trouble than he thought.

Karasu's experience was showing. Ridley hadn't been in nearly enough fights with nearly enough opponent's to fully grasp the situation, Karasu who was pushing 40 spent all of those years fighting for his life. His experience was showing, even his misses were deadly. The first rushes told him all about Ridley's dodging habits and from there, he could calmly maneuver Ridley into the corner. However, despite Karasu's immense power, experience, and pressure, Ridley hadn't given in yet.

As a matter of fact…if anything this only fueled his ambition. Before he was fighting against a monster, whose only concern was sheer power, but now Ridley knew the truth. He was truly fighting against his father. Ridley didn't care about beating monsters or beasts, he didn't care about the title of strongest. He wanted to beat his father. He wanted to show off that he had surpassed his father in every way, shape, and form. And now that his father was in front of going at full, Ridley had to respond properly.

Ridley stepped forward. He continued the simple melody on his guitar, if anything it was like he was inviting Karasu to come in and clobber him. Of course, Karasu wasn't about to turn an invitation down from his only son. He charged in once more, taking several steps at once and burying himself into Ridley's space.

"**100 Decibels!"** shouted Ridley as he slammed onto his guitar sending a massive sound wave forward. Karasu's eyes went wide as the loud noise collided with his eardrums. Karasu didn't back down, though, he kept his charge going. Even if Ridley's ambition had been renewed and he was going to fight all out against Karasu and his punches, it didn't mean that Karasu didn't have his own reason for not backing down. Karasu's pride refused to let him lose again, especially not to his son.

Karasu's right hand flew forward with immense strength. The fist embedded itself in the concrete wall behind Ridley. He had barely been able to dodge, he was holding on by a thread. He was trying hard, and now there was an opening. Karasu only had one arm and that arm was hyper-extended straight into the wall. Ridley stepped, swinging his guitar upwards aiming for Karasu's chin.

After that the world went black for Ridley.

**A Sweet Death?**

Death? That's not possible in this story, is it? Of course, it is! And guess what it is going to happen!

Other than that expect an additional bonus update Thursday!


	143. Arena 143 A Sweet Death!

**A Sweet Death?**

Originally, Enma had sighed a breath of relief as both Maria and Zesiro came back to the ship, but their physical states quickly made him double-check. Neither Zesiro nor Maria really looked like the winners of their each individual fights. Zesiro was breathing heavily and undoubtedly he wouldn't have been capable of coming back to the ship if it wasn't for Nito and Ichi who were both supporting him. Maria actually managed to be in a much worse shape. Her arms were hanging lifelessly on her side as if the power had been drained from them. She was dragging her left leg behind it and it was obvious why. The machine itself seemed to be horribly pieced together. The wires had broken free from the machine and were cut up, sticking out of the machine. There were chips, scrapes, and dings all over her. It was obvious that they had both wasted the last of their energy simply climbing up the steps to this level.

Rosa remained silent as she watched the group climb onboard. No doubt that Enma and even her tiger, Lily sensed the ominous warning that hung in the air. It was starting to become obvious that not everyone would be making it out of here alive. Enma looked over towards the infirmary doors where without a doubt Hiro-Shu was having fits. His body was bruised and the muscles around his waist were undoubtedly torn from the high-speed changes in direction. Sage was suicidal enough as if…and he hadn't heard a thing from Ridley or Mikoto.

Ridley had been separated from Maria along with Mikoto and Melanie. Melanie went off to Lucifer-knows-where and Mikoto trekked off to beat up Trevor. Enma had no idea which one was in for more trouble. Melanie facing off against troves of unknown enemies, who were gathered here for one reason 'to fight' and were now all in a panic over the Buster Call. Or Mikoto who was going after the homicidal king of terror, the man who constructed this altar to all things bloody and demonic, Trevor!

Then again, thought Enma as another spastic cannonfire from Rosa went off. It may be them who were in for the most trouble. They were on the seas waiting for their captain, who Enma had just admitted may never arrive, while being shot at by a bunch of psychotic self-righteous maniacs. He looked out over the seas and sighed, he was being a fool. In times like this it wasn't necessary brains or brawn that survived in the end. It was grits! And when it came down to that no matter how many cannons the Marines had they…would win…

Enma looked out at the Marine ships once more. The cannon fire that they loved so much had ceased. Just moments ago it had been chaos, it had been so loud he could hardly think straight, but now it seemed like everything had quieted down. The ocean had come to deep lull…asides from Rosa's cannon fire and the screams of whatever pirates remained.

Enma paused and took a deep breath. He was perturbed about this turn of events. It seemed odd, that they would let up now. They were on the verge of winning the battle. The pirate forces were definitely being thinned down by them. Why would they stop? Were they accelerating things? Was this just the calm before the storm? But why would they do that? They were winning without stepping things up a notch! The acceleration seemed pointless. Why would the Marines indulge in a useless action?

(-With Ridley-)

Ridley fumbled around for a few seconds in pitch-blackness. He could barely see now, there was bits a pieces of light that broke to the fog, but for the most part he was blinded by Karasu's last hit. He walked around for little while longer in his fog. The only thing that helped him remember that he actual in the middle of a fight was Karasu's fist flying at him again.

Ridley dove to the ground and watched the fist fly over him. Ridley was still in bad shape, he couldn't see anything anymore. His head was swirling due to the heavy pain in his head. His fingers crept up to his head and he ran it through his Mohawk. He felt a steady bump in the midst of it. Ridley tried to put what happened together. His father's only arm was in the wall next to him, so what could've hit him? He looked up as his vision slowly came back. He saw what must've caused the damage. Karasu's temple has a few drops of blood, creeping down it. It was damn head butt that nearly caused Ridley to black out.

He couldn't believe he had actually thought that just because Karasu only had one arm meant that Karasu only had one means of attack. It was a ridiculous notion that ignored Karasu's shoulder, legs, and apparently head. Then again it was possible that that was a scheme of Karasu. It explained why he only used rapid-fire punches rather than mixing in kicks. He made Ridley only focus on that arm and ignore the other possibly lethal attacks Karasu possessed. The dizzying head butt was possibly Karasu's ultimate trump card. No, chances are Karasu still had a weapon hidden.

Ridley stepped forward uneasily. His damage hadn't disappeared, he couldn't stand now. The damage from the head butt crashed throughout his entire body including into his legs. Crap…without his ability to dodge and run…he couldn't avoid Karasu's killer punches. Ridley swung around just in time to see Karasu's punch flying towards him again. Ridley fell down and randomly flailed out and grabbed onto the staircase next to him. Since he couldn't run away, he had to find out somewhere to dodge it. His only option was to dive forward and try his best to avoid the crazy punch.

Ridley needed to by a little more time. Karasu's next punch would probably finish him off as it stood right now. He needed to buy enough time to escape from Karasu and recover. But how! It's not like they were in the arena, where Ridley could separate them and take his distance. They were in a small, contained, almost claustrophobic room. There was only place for him to run to.

"Come on!" shouted Karasu stepping forward. "You're not even capable of standing up now. You are flailing around like some pathetic fish. You are my son, stand up and take your defeat like a man." Ridley swung out, kicking Karasu's legs, catching slightly off-balance due to the fact that Karasu was walking forward. Karasu was thrust forward due to the sudden lost of balance. Ridley took this all important break in the fight to get away. He tried his best to put distance in between them, running up the stairs to avoid him.

Karasu muttered something as he got back up on his feet. He charged up the stairs after Ridley. He couldn't believe the little brat would do something as stupid as that. He just ticked him off, what was he hoping to find higher up? The outside world would still be just as kind to him as this little condensed area. Even if he got extra space, Karasu would still smash his little head in. He was fast enough to catch up to him, regardless of where he ran!

"**Apollo's Allegro!" **shouted Ridley strumming against his guitar. The sound hit the walls, bouncing off and echoing, filling the small staircase with the loud and irritating noise. Karasu powered through it continuing to chase Ridley up the steps. Ridley then turned around and leapt over the railing, jumping down to the railing below them and then again and again. Karasu stood there, slightly slack jawed at this. Surprised the coward had resorted to running away again and was actually brave enough to jump down the railings like that. Then he realized something even stupider…he was standing there letting his victim get away.

Karasu roared as leapt down, moving down the railings in a similar fashion. He heard Ridley escape through the door and knew immediately that Ridley had stepped out. He was in an uproar by now at Ridley's cowardice and even a little bit at his own stupidity. He moved down, escaping through and busting down the door. He charged through and right into a swinging guitar. The guitar blew Karasu back. The heavy guitar threw him back, throwing him as far back as possible.

Karasu stumbled to get his balance back. Ridley ducked down and charged in closer. Another swing with all of his power behind it came through. Karasu brought his two arms up to block it, he felt the solid guitar shudder into his body and soften up his muscles. Ridley moved back and quickly strummed again on his guitar sending another vicious sound wave forward and into Karasu's ear.

Karasu brought his massive body forward aiming to take off Ridley's head with another full-powered punch. Ridley ducked down, dodging beneath Karasu's thick arm. Ridley buried himself as close as could to Karasu's neck before…before getting hit in the chest by a knee lift. Ridley's body was blown back, that was the second hit he had received, ordinarily he would consider himself lucky to go this far while only receiving two hits, but he was too dizzy to think of anything. Even while missing an arm Karasu's strength in both his kicks and punches didn't falter. There was no hesitation behind his blows. "How the hell did he lose an arm?"

Ridley realized that he had accidentally said that aloud. His mind was so foggy, he couldn't even keep his thoughts to himself. And the impact it had on Karasu was obvious. The monstrous animal seemed more annoyed than ever. Karasu rushed at Ridley. Ridley tried to put up a guard, but it was blown away by the first of Karasu's heavy punches. The second punch rang true, smashing into Ridley's gut. The third also hit its mark, just above Ridley's liver. The fourth, fifth, and sixth punches all came in like a blur. The punches kept coming, however, Ridley was left unaware.

A stray elbow on Karasu's pullback had knocked into Ridley's chin, knocking him unconscious, and the nearly continuous blows had prevented Ridley from coming back to. He wasn't even fully aware of the damage he was receiving. His body was receiving pounding after pounding, he was steadily being pushed back and into the wall. Karasu's fists flew with increasing velocity and ferocity. Each punch run true to either a new place on Ridley's body, bringing another newly experienced wave of pain washing over him or even worse it would pummel into an already beaten location, kneading Ridley's body until it was almost a gelatin-like substance.

When Karasu's barrage finally let up Ridley was left standing, slumped against the wall. His only support was the wall behind him, his legs had given out on him and ready to let him drop on a moment's notice and they did. It happened in what seemed like slow motion. His entire body slumped forward for a second as if taking another step forward to meet and hash it out with Karasu for another few minutes. However, he couldn't stay standing. His legs gave out, causing him to collapse. His knees hit the hard cement first, then his chest dropped like a sack of bricks, and finally his head hit, bounced back up for a brief second, before coming to rest on the cold floor.

Karasu paused for a second eyeing up his latest victim. His earlier head butt to Ridley's head, seemed to open back up as there was a brief pooling of red liquid around Ridley's skull, dirtying his prideful Mohawk and turning it an ugly brownish tone. Karasu frowned as he looked over his defeated ex-son, another pathetic remaining shard of his former life.

Karasu knew already he was done. After all he has done, this last act didn't even taste bitter. As a matter of fact the death of his only son was the sweetest thing he has tasted in awhile.

**We're In Hell**

Bonus chapter as promised. Here it is, drool in the light of my false glory.

Like I said death is going to happen, live with it. And besides if you recall all the way back in one of the earlier chapters I did mention something about needing musicians despite having Ridley join the crew. Maybe this was all meant to be...or maybe this is belated April  
Fool's day joke.


	144. Arena 144 We're In Hell

**We're In Hell**

Mikoto blew through another stray Marine, he wasn't slowing down at all. The Marines kept pouring in, but they were no match for Mikoto. He zipped by them at high speed, landing a punch or two while he was at it and moved on to his next target. He kept it up, weaving through the mass of pirates that were still trying to escape taking one or two of them down while he was at it.

Most of the pirates scoffed at Mikoto as he blew by, calling him 'suicidal' or an 'idiot'. But in Mikoto's eyes it was the other way around. He saw it as embarrassing that they were clamoring around, trying to escape. It was a battle running away wouldn't solve it. He knew for a fact that Trevor would see it the same way. They both had the same idea here. That it was not the Buster Call they had to watch out for, but losing their pirate pride when they ran away from it. It was quite possibly a delusional fact at this point as everybody thought of this as 'life' or 'death' not 'pride or coward'.

However, it was with that delusional concept that Mikoto knew way Trevor would be waiting. Trevor wouldn't run. He wasn't graciously accepting death, he was gloating. He was declaring to the world that he hadn't lost a step. Mikoto knew that without a doubt Trevor would be waiting in the URA's arena and nowhere else. He wouldn't back down. And that suited Mikoto just fine, right now he wanted nothing more than to shove that pride right back at Trevor.

He stopped as he came to the clearing. The majority of the pirates had managed to shove themselves past him. He was lucky that he made out this lucky, he broke through the mass and now he was free of them. He took a deep breath. His legs were shaking from all the running he was doing recently. It was tiring, but that didn't matter now. He was almost there. He would be in the arena in a matter of seconds. He would get there and take down his first Shichibukai!

(-with Ridley-)

Ridley was still lying on the ground. The warm blood pooling around his head was waking him up. His eyes strained to open. When his eyes finally did open up, he was met with the startling sight of the red liquid all around him. Ridley's stringy arms slid under his body as he tried to prop himself up. He lifted his heavy body up and watched as his bloodied forehead continued to drop down his face forming a bright red curtain in front of his left eye.

Ridley brought his body up and was almost immediately brought back down. His legs were shaking beneath his body and his entire body felt like it had lead chains wrapped around it. He caught himself before he fell and grabbed a hold of the wall. He propped himself up, he slid down to the railing and he used it to keep himself up since his own feet seemed incapable of that act. All the while Karasu stood in his corner of the room, watching this act. He had the smile of a Cheshire cat.

The reason for his smile was unknown. Was he smiling with admiration for his opponent's will to live? Or was it a more evil intention, the fact that Karasu would be able to pound on his opponent for another few minutes before he gave up? Then again maybe there was a slight flicker of fatherly love in Karasu's body that was warmed up when he saw his own son was still alive. It probably wasn't the last one. Karasu had a much stronger reason to be grateful that his living punching bag was still alive rather than that his only son was still awake and going.

Ridley pushed himself off of the walls and towards his opponent, he stumbled forward briefly. He brought his right first out weakly and punched. It was a slow punch, one deprived of any and all forms of strength. Karasu's smile grew wider. He brought his arm up and between them, he pushed Ridley off of him. The poor kid didn't even have enough strength to bring him down. His ability and will to stand was impressive, but it was also stupid. Karasu chuckled as he turned around and began to head back up the stairs. He stopped as he felt another fist tap his side.

"What?" asked Karasu as he turned around and saw Ridley throwing another desperate punch into his side. Karasu rolled his eyes as he stepped forward and gently tapped Ridley's skull, sending him back down to the ground. Ridley landed on his butt, but immediately started to stand again.

"Mi-Mikoto is go-going to fight…Trevor," muttered Ridley as he stood back up. He stepped forward again and landed another punch on Karasu's jaw. Karasu's head was actually pushed to the side. So he still had a little power left in him, but not enough to defeat him. "And I-I am Mikoto's first mate…I wi-will take you…down."

Karasu shook his head and swatted Ridley down. "I'm sure Mikoto appreciates your strength and will in continuing to fight, but that's not going to let you beat me. I've won…I've won with an arm missing! Admit it! You are no pirate! You are no brave swashbuckler of the sea! Give up! Go back to the damn East Blue you ran away to."

Ridley struggled to the side, he rolled onto his back and next to his guitar. Ridley's hands crept forward and onto his guitar. His fingers crawled around on the guitar. They found the strings. Karasu smirked, but brought his foot down on top of Ridley's fingers, smashing them into his guitar. "Heh ha ha ha ha!" laughed Karasu, "nice try. I admit it was a nice set-up! Have me bash you around until you were close enough to your guitar to play a few notes. A single strum on your guitar could prove fatal I suppose, but it looks like I…"

"Walked right into my trap," said Ridley. He motioned upwards with what little energy he had left in his body. Karasu's head jerked upwards. On the bottom-side of the stairs was a Tone Dial along with a blinking red light. The red light suddenly became permanent. The sound blasted downwards, growing louder as it went. Finally it was as if Karasu was trapped in a hurricane of sound. The sound was nothing specific, it was just growing feedback that Ridley had left in it. But nonetheless it appeared to have an effect of Karasu. With only one arm, he couldn't even cover his ears.

Karasu stumbled backwards in a vain effort to avoid the noise. He stumbled around trying to break free, almost immediately he met with Ridley wrapping his arms around him. "What are you-?" began Karasu but he quickly felt another object butt up against his unguarded ear. He could barely see it with his peripheral vision, but it was another Tone Dial.

Ridley activated the Tone Dial. Almost immediately there was a blaring noise in Karasu's ear. Karasu pushed Ridley off of him with all of his strength. The noise was still circling around in him; it hurt him like hell to listen to the noise. He couldn't believe he walked into such a simple trap. His ears were in a horrendous pain. He was moving sluggishly. He was stumbling about, he had heard of people's balance being disrupted by damage to the inner ear, but this was the first time he had ever personally experienced it. He was still foggy when once more he felt Ridley's arms wrap around him and the Tone Dial nudged its way into his peripheral vision again.

Karasu couldn't push Ridley off of him in time. The blaring noise came pounding in his ears once more. Karasu shoved Ridley off of him and walked a few steps forward, trying to get away from the noise. He walked forward and crashed into the nearby wall, his sense of balance still gone. He tried to push himself off of it, but once more Ridley had caught up to him. The sound blared in his ear again, forcing Karasu back. He whipped one arm around and elbowed Ridley in his gut, trying to knock him loose and off of his back.

However, his lost sense of balance was once more his undoing, almost the instant he brought his elbow back he fell from the momentum of his turn, sending both him and Ridley crashing to the floor. Karasu woke up in that instant, he had fallen unconscious for a brief second due to the noise. He couldn't focus, he was fading away into unconscious. He couldn't believe it. He struggled to bring himself back up onto his feet, but with Ridley on his back and his sense of balance gone, he couldn't. His one arm pinned beneath his own bulk and the ground. He rolled over and felt Ridley release him.

Karasu looked straight up at the stair case in front of him. Back at the damn Tone Dial Ridley had hid up there and wondered when he had put this plan together. He two Tone Dials ready with loud noises stored up in them. He had the forethought to place one on the bottom of the stairs…probably when Karasu was chasing him. Ridley had jumped over the rails and was ahead of him by a few flights for awhile. He had enough time then, but even after that Ridley had bluffed his way through.

He survived his barrage of punches, kicks, and head butts by a thread. He had Karasu knock him around until he was near his guitar, which Karasu had originally thought was Ridey's whole plan, but that was just a bluff as well. He wanted Karasu to be there and acting like an idiot Karasu positioned himself perfectly underneath that Tone Dial. Multiple clinches and a Tone Dial right next to his head followed and now here he was staring up at the ceiling. His legs felt like jelly, but he could still stand he just needed a few more seconds. Ridley was worse off.

Finally, Karasu felt his legs returning to their former glory and began to sit up only to be met with a guitar straight to his forehead. Karasu's entire body jerked into the air with the momentum behind the guitar being forced through his head and into the cement below him. Ridley stood up straight and dragged his guitar back to his side. Ridley breathed heavily as he looked down at Karasu's beaten body.

"I…won," Ridley muttered out as he turned around and tried to walk another few steps towards the stairs. He stumbled forward and quickly latched out, grabbing a hold of the railing and pulling himself forward. Ridley's glazed over eyes looked down at the stairs and he couldn't believe how comfortable they looked. They looked like the perfect place for a nap…Ridley's entire body lurched forward, landing on the stairs. He was out like a light in the middle of the ongoing war around him.

(-in the harbor-)

"Are we ready men?" asked a Marine Vice Admiral as he paraded about on the ship. He was extremely hairy, his mustache and beard covered up almost all of his face. "We need to be ready to attack the arena when they give the signal. Our cannons are at all full-power. When our men finished cleaning up and exiting the island, we'll fire."

A small Den-Den Mushi turned on. "Vice Admiral Sasquatch…I mean, Sazkach…our radars have picked up a human traveling at high-speeds to this location. My commander states that we are going to start the assault because of this." Sazkach slowly nodded and let out a deep sigh.

"Well, we better act fast," said Sazkach as he walked by. "If he gets here before we leave our causalities will sky-rocket!" He moved over to the cannons and gave the signal. A single red flare flew up into the air. Almost immediately there was a sudden outburst of cannon-fire. After that there was a loud whooping sound as another weapon fired, a simple catapult weapon armed with a barrel.

The barrel smashed into the ground, exploding releasing a massive burst of flames, lighting up the island. Another one from another ship flew out, crashed into the island and exploded. One after another, the barrels flew out of their respective ships found their way onto the island and exploded. The island kept growing new blemishes of beautiful red flames.

**The URA's Strongest Champion**

Wow, guys, just wow. I'll admit death is in the story, but now just yet. I remember back when I 'killed off' Sage during the earlier chapters I got so many complaints of 'you can't kill Sage! Why Sage?' or earlier this arc with Hiro-Shu's near-death experience when I got 'Not Hiro-Shu. He's a good guy'...but now I 'kill off' Ridley and everybody is...perfectly okay with it? Geeze, now we know why he drinks so much alcohol.

Anyways, yeah, he's not dead. Not yet. The URA Arc is heating up, Ridley's near-death experience leaves us with only one fight left, Mikoto versus Trevor. Animal versus animal! Who will win?

Also expect a change in avatar coming from me soon!


	145. Arena 145 The URA's Strongest Champion

**The URA's Strongest Champion**

Enma watched in horror. The island was a disaster zone. While cannon balls did damage, blew holes in ships and transformed walls into rubble fire did that and more. It grew while destroying more and more of the island, plus the Marine ships were currently anchored off the shore were the only ships that were safe. The other ships, their ship, was anchored to the dock where the flames could run down and grip it, taking the ship down when it needed to.

"We need to move the ship!" shouted Enma, turning around…his crew was mostly immobile. Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, and Maria were all down beneath them in the infirmary. This meant that it was him and Rosa in charge and based off of Rosa's firing skills…he didn't want her steering the ship. Enma rushed to the helm and took control. He got the ship going and backing away from the pier. A rouge flame jumped from the already burning dock and towards the ship.

"**Fishman Jiujutsu! Crashing Wave!" **shouted Nito throwing a large pool of water upwards and into the incoming fire. Some of the water splattered forth and onto the docks, instantly quenching the rest of the incoming flames. Nito landed back on deck. "Don't worry about anything! You've got the three Fishman brothers here to back you up!"

Enma nodded as he focused himself on just getting the ship out of the way, he had no idea how to steer the ship. He felt the back rudder butt up against the pier. On open waters it wasn't so bad, but here it was ten-times harder. There were objects all around him, debris floating in the ocean, escaping from this island would be nearly impossible for him. He had no idea how to back the ship up, the current of the water crashing into the island almost had a whirlpool like effect, anchoring the ship in place. The pier seemed to be behind him and prevented him from escaping. Was he already trapped? Did they already lose the chance of escape?

Then something changed. Rather than the ship going back or forward or even to the sides…it went up! The ship was freed from its earthly bonds and was instead taken to the skies. It wasn't a lie that Enma didn't know much about navigating a ship, but he did know they needed water. He rushed to the side of the watercraft and looked down. It was Sanada! The third Fishman brother! Enma looked up at Nito, who simply flashed him a thumbs-up. The three of them may have seemed like fools when they first met, but they were definitely trustworthy and reliable. Enma returned the thumbs-up and looked back over to check on the island.

It was still in case, but thanks to Sanada walking them away from the mainland it was chaos that they were separated from. Enma smiled as he quickly examined the island from the safe distance. He recalled all the times the other Buster Call had been initiated, never before had there been a Wontan there to help pirates escape! Never before had a Shichibukai been stationed on the island! And never before had the Marines had to deal with the likes of the Infinity Pirates! For the first time since stepping on this island Enma actually felt like everything was coming up good for them! He felt lucky!

True, Mikoto and Ridley were still missing, but on the positive side they had a surefire way past the frontlines. Sanada's bulk made it possible for him to throw or just pull them through the Marines' guard. They had the majority of the crew gathered and it was winding down. Even if the Marines decided to destroy the island at this point, chances are Mikoto and Ridley were safe underground.

This was the last desperate act of the World Government. It was true that the Buster Call was the most fearsome technique the Marines had, it was devastating, fast, and destructive. However, it wasn't used often because it was expensive and seen as unethical. The Marines were already backed into a corner if they were going to use this, so they were just coming to the end of their rope. A come-back was possible!

Then Enma saw something that filled him with a mix of hope and dread. A sight that he had never seen before and something that he doubted he would ever see again. A Marine warship had been easily split in two. The two separate husks of a past terror had been tossed into the air with extreme speed. Through the wreckage Enma saw a single man standing amongst the rubble, he had just touched down on the island. And almost immediately Enma recognized him as a man more dangerous than Trevor ever was.

It was one of the strongest swordsmen alive.

"Hey! Bone doctor!" shouted a man, causing Enma to avert his eyes from the swordsman and down to the land. It was Simon…and he was carrying Ridley. Enma turned over and motioned for Ichi to go down and retrieve Ridley. Ichi ran off and over to Simon. "Tell that captain of yers he owes me a favor fer this! I could've just left 'im there! But that's not the way we Dwarfs work! We are a proud race, yes, we are!"

Suddenly, Simon was thrown backwards; a large gnash was torn into his side, just as he handed Ridley off to Ichi. And who else could have done it except for the strongest swordsman who was fast approaching them. Except for…there was something off about the man.

He was about 5' 8" making him not especially tall. He was dressed in a green suit and had stark white hair that was slicked back, parting once to form two separate spikes. He had sharp piercing green eyes the kind that reminded Enma of one the last greatest swordsmen…Dracule Mihawk. This man's eyes were startling similar. And they were currently locked down on Ridley, Simon, and Ichi. In his right hand was an old white mug. And that was what made Enma realize what was wrong…it was his sword!

Despite what seemed to have been a sword slash that both cracked the Marine Ship in two as well as take Simon down…his sword was sheathed at his side. In other words, he managed to split a ship and take down Simon with his bare hands!? Even Dracule Mihawk and his successor, Roronoa Zoro, had never been reported of doing anything of that extreme.

The man was soon face-to-face with the two of them. Ichi was without a doubt, trying run away, but his feet seemed be stuck in mud. He couldn't run if he wanted to, not when faced with those piercing eyes. "I'm sorry about that. I'm always cranky before my ninth cup of coffee." The man lifted the white mug up to his face and took a swig, "And this is only my thirteenth." Simon looked up at him with a bewildered expression. He was questioning the man's sanity at the moment…if this was his thirteenth, shouldn't he be calm by now?

"I have no interest in people who are of no interest to me," said the man as he straightened his back and looked towards the URA. Once more Simon looked questioningly at the man. He made very little sense, but Simon knew better than to question this man. "I'm just here to defend my old abode." Simon was at first taken back by this, but then he remembered. There were rumors that were almost undeniably true that one of the greatest swordsmen in the world right now started his career killing in the URA.

As it currently stood there are seven Shichibukais, four Yonkou, and three Admirals. Ordinarily there would be just one Greatest Swordsmen in the world, but due to a slight problem it was impossible to determine who was better. They were like rock-paper-scissors, whenever one beat another one, the third would swoop in and beat him in return. It's been that way for years; neither side has weakened or grew stronger over the years. It appeared that a near-permanent standstill would last until one of them died of natural causes…or until a new swordsman grew strong enough to break the cycle.

If he was here to protect the URA, does that mean he was here to protect Trevor as well?

(-with Trevor-)

Trevor laughed loudly as he watched the whole scene unfold through a Den-Den Mushi. "That serves those Marines right! Did they really think I'd do something so risky? I factored him into the equation all along! The one month out of the year he comes back to the Grand Line! I planned everything out! He'll reek all of the havoc and I'll sit down and enjoy watching it!"

Trevor looked around at the big empty room. He hadn't realized he was all alone. Duncan, Makada, and everyone else was out at war and now he was here, waiting still. He double-checked the time, while he would've loved to reacquaint himself with his former friend if he stayed around any longer, he would be in trouble too. The Marines seemed to be holding back, they probably have another trap hidden away. Trevor definitely didn't want to stay around here to witness that.

Trevor got up, about to leave when the doors flew open and Mikoto in turn flew in. Quite literally he flew in and at Trevor, showing his usual lack of restraint. He was in his coyote form and he was speeding towards Trevor. Trevor turned around, ripping his throne from the floor and tossing it at Mikoto. Mikoto fired a quick condensed version of his Rapid-Fire punch, only five punches this time to keep the strain down, but he easily blew the chair to pieces with it.

Mikoto landed and looked up at Trevor. Trevor smiled, "I'm impressed…by your stupidity. Most men would've taken this chance to escape, but you…you decided to actually fight with me. You're welcome to bring it on, but I'm afraid I will crush you and your spirit in a second." Trevor paused as he caught sight of the scene unfolding outside again. He turned off the Den-Den Mushi and moved forward towards Mikoto.

Almost immediately without even giving time to think, Mikoto vanished. Almost in that same exact second, a heavy rush of wind came flying past Trevor, Trevor barely managed to get his arms up and guard from the solid blow that left a heavy impact into his arms. Trevor shrugged it off and immediately turned around to face the insane pirate, "come on now!" said Trevor welcoming Mikoto with open arms, "how about we have a nice little chat before we boil things down again like…" Trevor once more clasped his arms together just as the wind blew by him and a heavy punch collided with his guard.

Trevor was forced back. Something was definitely different about this kid since their last bout. Trevor didn't mind it though, he still thought of Mikoto as the perfect prey, the perfect gazelle to his tiger. It was a thought that got his bloodlust going into top-gear. He turned around to face Mikoto, just in time to watch him disappear, forcing Trevor to once again raise his guard. Twin hits pounded into Trevor's solid arms, almost forcing him back again.

The kid was going a lot faster than before. Before Mikoto's speed wasn't nearly this complete, the only way for him to get close enough to land a successful blow was with that after-image technique, but this time…it was something else entirely. It was pure, unbridled speed. Trevor realized that Mikoto must've been holding back in their previous fight, probably hoping to hold back on this final trump card, but now Mikoto was in top gear to begin with.

He had stepped up, Trevor could tell that this fight wouldn't be the same as their last…well, the ending would with Trevor standing above him ready to rip out his skull for his collection. Trevor turned around, anxious to meet with his supposed best prey. However, almost immediately his Colors of Observation Haki kicked in, telling him to guard. Trevor raised his arms, reinforcing them with Haki, and was immediately met with a barrage of punches.

Trevor was forced back, helpless to defend himself. His Haki couldn't even keep up with Mikoto's movements. Mikoto's speed had gone up again, he was literally running circles around Trevor firing punches as quickly as he could. Each punch pummeled into his guard, they weren't all that heavy though, the emphasis was on speed not power, and as a result Trevor didn't mind them at all. The pain wasn't significant. If Trevor had to classify them as something, he'd say they were paper-cuts. Barely capable of digging into his guard, but regardless if it kept up it was possible that even those small cuts could take him down.

Trevor panicked for a brief moment, striking out into the air. His arms were growing sore from the continuous beating. He had to force Mikoto away for a second, but he couldn't hit him. The instant his arm cleaved the air was the same instant Mikoto backed away. The next instant was when Mikoto sped in and continued his beating. The punches dug into Trevor's guard once more.

**A Prey and Predator Clash!**

Mikoto's and Trevor's fights begin and it appears that the fight is already tilting in favor of Mikoto, his speed really is his greatest asset. However, the chapter title is not about them it is about this new man who decided to intrude in on the Buster Call. If you recall in one of the earlier chapter like Chapter 8 or nine, I think. I mentioned one of the World's Greatest Swordsmen started his career, so now it appears he's here to defend it. Another horrible piece has been added to the mix.


	146. Arena 146 A Predator and Prey Clash

**A Prey and Predator Clash!**

Trevor struck out once more, forcing Mikoto to take his distance again. Mikoto rushed in again and Trevor timed a second swing perfectly, cleaving the air in front of Mikoto, but Mikoto's own speed allowed him to react quickly. He leaned back and got underneath Trevor's swinging arm, he fired another punch, this time drilling it into Trevor's side. Trevor's Haki once more protected his body, making Trevor capable of surviving the hit with virtually no damage. Trevor brought his arms back down and curled back into a ball to withstand the next attack and the one after that, then the barrage that followed the next. His Color of Armaments Haki wrapped around his arm and body, protecting him completely from the barrage of punches Mikoto was throwing at him.

Mikoto's punches continued to dig into Trevor's guard as he danced around the Shichibukai. Trevor smiled behind his guard as he felt another weak mosquito bite of a punch hit his arm, "come on, you can hit me harder than that!" screeched Trevor as he stepped forward through the torrent. It didn't stop Mikoto's punches, if anything it renewed the will and determination behind his punches. Mikoto poured on the gas, speeding himself up once more and increasing the numbers of the punches.

Trevor made another sidestep, temporarily revealing his side to Mikoto inviting another punch in and at his gut. Trevor held it in, even without embedding his Haki into his gut to fortify it the punch was nothing. He held on, moving forward again. Once more, just for effect than actually hoping to touch Mikoto, Trevor swung widely. His hand sliced through the air. Mikoto ducked beneath the swing and buried himself into Trevor's body, Mikoto swung upwards forming an upper cut, "**Wolf Cutter!" **Mikoto's sharp coyote claws cleaved upwards for Trevor's chin.

Trevor spun in, butting his shoulder up against Mikoto's arcing arm and knocked it aside, temporarily halting the assault. Trevor moved forward again, forcing his body into Mikoto's and stopping his legs momentarily from racing around Trevor. Trevor stepped in and thrust forward aiming for Mikoto's head. Mikoto's entire body swayed to the left and then down, moving beneath Trevor's wide swiping arm. "**Inu Impact!" **Mikoto put his hands together and thrust his palms forward.

The twin thrusting palms came crashing in and at Trevor's knee. Once more Trevor forced his Colors of Armament into his knee to protect it. "**Coyote-Wheel!" **Mikoto slid his arms down from Trevor's knee and onto his foot, lifting his entire body into the air, he performed a cartwheel slashing out with the claws on his foot. Trevor parried both slashes, but Mikoto continued the movement from slashing his feet, he brought them down and onto the ground and simultaneous bringing his hands back up, "**Piercing Fangs!" **Mikoto's claws came snapping downwards at Trevor's shoulders.

Trevor dug his feet into the ground and brought his entire body rotating to the side, thrusting his arm inwards for Mikoto's gut. Trevor was aiming for a simultaneous hit, Mikoto's claws may pierce his skin, but Trevor's thrust would gouge out his innards. Mikoto didn't back off, instead he dug in deeper, moving his body forward, basically leaning in towards Trevor. Trevor's arm skidded through and into Mikoto's back, peeling the skin off of Mikoto's skin, but only peeling the skin. Mikoto's claws continued down and into Trevor's shoulder.

Trevor held fast, his Haki managed to stop the thrust until he buried his hand into his shoulder blade. Mikoto swung his body up and into the air, he brought his feet in between them, but he kept his claws embedded into Trevor's shoulder. He kicked them both out, slamming the balls of his feet into Trevor's chest and forcing them to separate while ripping his claws free from Trevor's body. Trevor stumbled backwards for a second, but for some reason he was still smiling. Mikoto figured the best way to wipe that smile off of his face was to show him how slow he was and the best way to do that was to show Trevor how fast he was.

Mikoto's body disappeared into a blur and dashed forward. Soon enough Trevor was entrapped in a massive Mikoto hurricane. Mikoto was running quickly around Trevor, blocking off all paths of escape and simultaneously, Mikoto's fists began to fly inwards. The punches flew in at the same high pace. They were becoming blurs that burned into Trevor's arms. Trevor still kept up his guard, biding his time and trying to find an opening in Mikoto's maddening spin.

Trevor leaned forward again. Once more, he brought his entire body forward and into Mikoto's body, forcibly stopping Mikoto's movements. Trevor swung around again and brought his Haki imbued hand up and for Mikoto's throat. Mikoto dodged it and once more disappeared into a blur, continuing to race around Trevor. Trevor's smile still hadn't disappeared.

Trevor moved forward and almost immediately he stepped in, smashing his shoulder into Mikoto's body. Mikoto finally understood that Trevor had put a hitch in his plan, Trevor could actually forcibly stop his movements by throwing his body into his path at the right moment and Trevor could put that moment together thanks to his years of experience and Haki. Mikoto backed off, taking distance. Close-range was no longer good if Trevor broke apart that layer of his strategy, but…Mikoto flexed his arms. Mikoto bought enough time. He had to use a Rapid-Fire to get past the throne Trevor threw, but now the time was up and he can dig in and knock him out with another one.

Mikoto swung in, dashing forward, he didn't slow down at all since the beginning of the fight. He moved in, he took several steps in and moved in. **"Rapid-Fire x 25!" **Mikoto brought his arm forward, rapidly pumping it forward and back. Trevor swung his arm around and upwards, bumping it into Mikoto's arm from below and stepping in at the same time. A perfect block to Mikoto's powerful punch, but what was really perfect was what came next.

A perfect counter.

Trevor's hand flew in like lightning. The thrust moved in, corkscrewing about at high speeds. Mikoto's own wild instinct, generously bestowed to him by his Devil Fruit power, along with the speed allowed him to lessen the thrust. It should've been a fatal blow, slicing through Mikoto's neck, but he barely managed to lessen and kept his head, his shoulder got torn into.

Mikoto moved to the side and broke free from the tight grip with Trevor. He was unsteady on his feet, the large wounds were obviously affecting him. Mikoto sped up, taking his distance. Luckily, due to the fact that his Rapid-Fire missed it hit air and there was no recoil and his arm wasn't damaged, so he could fire it again right away. However, after witnessing what had happened last time he needed to take his time and use it sparingly. He may not get a chance to use it again.

Once Mikoto had his distance he made several quick dashes forward, using the short dashes as feints, but they obviously had no effect on Trevor. His Haki gave him an overwhelming advantage, anything short of an actual attack wouldn't get a rise out of him, right now only thing Mikoto was doing was wasting his time, wasting time he didn't have. The Buster Call was going on right now; these failed attempts at feints were worthless. The only thing to do now was duke it out. Mikoto planted his feet firmly on the ground and leaned forward.

Trevor smiled and took an offensive stance, with his right hand extended towards Mikoto acting like an early guard and his left hand hovering by his side ready to strike at a moment's notice. By now it was well accepted news that neither of them had an overabundance of time. It would be exchange, neither one of them could hold back any more. It would be straight up exchange of blows until one of them…or both of them fell.

Mikoto shuffled forward, slowly. While they may not have the time to do a staring contest, Mikoto also didn't have the ability to survive having his head chopped off by another one of Trevor's swings. He took his time at trying to find an opening. Trevor didn't even bother moving, he kept his eyes on Mikoto at all time. The slightest distraction would prove troublesome. Mikoto could fire a myriad of punches in a second and Trevor's goal was to prevent such an outrage from occurring.

His eyes remained expertly trained on Mikoto. He wasn't willing to subject himself to the torment of the hurricane of punches again. The instant he detected the slightest hint of an attack emanating from Mikoto's body, he would attack as well. Trevor moved forward the slightest bit, attempting to coax an attack out of Mikoto.

It worked. Mikoto dashed forward, accelerating once more to top speeds in an instant. He brought his fist out and landed a heavy blow using that momentum. Trevor lashed out in the same instant, forcing Mikoto to swerve to the side, but he refused to stop. Mikoto ducked beneath the swiping arm and move in closer to Trevor's unguarded body. Trevor lifted his knee at the last possible moment, creating a strong upwards thrust with his leg, once more Haki swirled around it. Mikoto had no defense against this attack, he couldn't suddenly stop or change direction due to the speed he was going at he had to take the hit and bare it.

Trevor's knee lift surged into Mikoto's gut, lifting the hybrid off of the ground and into the air. Trevor watched as his opponent flew by his head, the long canines of the half-dog were clenched tightly, refusing to let out the scream, which was without a doubt permeating in the pit of his stomach. Trevor reached back, refusing to give Mikoto any breathing room and then shot his hand forward while Mikoto was still stranded in the air. The Haki that Trevor was pumping into his arm was evident as the blade-like appendage drew near Mikoto's face.

Mikoto lashed out, grabbing a hold of Trevor's arm and using it as a support. With strictly his upper-body strength, Mikoto brought his entire body around and even further into the air to avoid the thrust. However, the only thing Mikoto really did was go deeper into trouble. Now Mikoto was in the air with no way to dodge Trevor's next strike…and there would be a next strike.

Trevor saw this opportunity, of course he would, though, he was no idiot. He snuck down and charged forward, estimating Mikoto's landing point, he would end it the instant before Mikoto touched ground, the same instant his downward velocity was the greatest. He wanted on the ground where he knew Mikoto would land. He was like a tiger, waiting for the poor antelope to move in a little closer…so he could sever its neck in one stroke.

Mikoto grew closer as he began to fall and the moment to sever the neck approached. Trevor lashed out, bringing his arm thrusting upwards. Even Mikoto's strongest guard wouldn't protect him from this. Mikoto wasn't about to go down without a fight, he pulled his arm back, "**Rapid Fire x 10!"** Mikoto's left arm began pumping viciously as Mikoto grew closer to Trevor's blow, which was intended to do nothing more than kill.

The two attacks collided. Mikoto's punches hit Trevor's spear-like strike again and again, the Haki Trevor had coated in it was breaking away and just as well each punch was slowly knocking Trevor's hand out of the way. Finally, the last punch rang through, throwing Trevor's arm out of the way and completely breaking the Haki that covered it. Both fighters tried to take advantage in the momentary lapse in action by throwing another attack in using their other arm.

But if there was one thing that both fighters knew by now it was that Mikoto was faster his punch would hit first. It fired itself and embedding all five of his fingers into Trevor's face, throwing him back. Mikoto landed semi-safely, but the moment his feet touched the ground Trevor was already swinging back at him, forcing Mikoto to step back again.

It may have been the awkward landing or maybe Mikoto was growing weary, but either way Mikoto's precise dodging skill had been thrown off and Trevor's thrust sliced through his nose, barely, but enough to cause blood to spurt out of it and make Mikoto think twice about rushing in again. Mikoto stayed back eyeing up Trevor who despite just taking a punch to the face was in obviously better condition than him.

His shoulder, nose, and gut were all heavily injured by now from Trevor's ferocious and seemingly never-ending attack, but aside from those battle wounds Mikoto had other damage building up now. His left arm sagged helpless at his side, the Rapid-Fire had worn it out and his legs felt like they had been encased in cement shoes. His best weapons had been temporarily removed from his arsenal.

**The Making of a Monster**

This can't be right...today's not Tuesday...Saga's not supposed to be updated today, is it? Well, my schedule is about to get royally screw up with. I can't tell you when is the next time I'll be able to update until I get back on a new schedule (it may be the same as the old one, it may be different). However, if its too late I'll do a couple of bonus updates to make it up. Like I said though, I don't know when that'll be.

Mikoto can't just stay lucky can he? He was doing well, but now after all that running and punching and getting cut it appears he's at the end of his rope. He's out luck, but he'll still fight on. The fight shall continue even after this! Everybody put on your pom-poms and start your loudest cheer! Go Mikoto go!


	147. Arena 147 The Making of a Monster

**The Making of a Monster!**

Trevor rushed in, possibly sensing the weakness in his prey. He moved in and fired several fast jabs each one cut into the wind with his Haki empowering each blow bringing them to the next level. They were crisp and without a doubt would've been considered deadly without the Haki, but nonetheless Trevor's one-track mind was focused on killing. "Dead are the merry men, dead are the merry boys…" Trevor's entire self had been enveloped in his killing mantra, any sign of a human vanishing in an instant. Trevor's sanity was definitely questionable at best, especially during this moment.

But Mikoto wasn't one to judge. He had no room to for one. His right hand as well as the tiniest motions he was managing with his feet barely made it possible to dodge and parry Trevor's salvo of thrusts and even then Mikoto was still feeling the Haki breeze by him with every blow, each one almost causing an involuntary flinch out of him. They were all killing blows….one mistake and there would be no chance for a second.

Suddenly, Mikoto saw it. The slightest glimmer of hope. Trevor's side had been left wide open, Trevor's entire self had disappeared, fueling the notion of him killing. But when the entire self is devoted to killing, none of it was left for defense. Mikoto had an opening, the slightest opening, it was hidden behind a thick curtain of possible and likely death, but it was there…and Mikoto would definitely take the opening the first chance he got.

Mikoto ducked down and sped his weaving up. He had already decided that he'll take that chance and if he was going to take it, he'd take it with his biggest weapon. Rapid-Fire. His left arm was still useless from its left use, but his right arm still had enough power in it to send all twenty-five hits hammering into Trevor's body and that's all Mikoto wanted it to do.

Mikoto ducked down, sinking into the ground and crouching, he went beneath the blows that were grazing both his head. Each time Mikoto weaved past one, he could visualize the mark it would leave if it hit. He could visualize it taking his head off, but regardless of his mental imagery he stuck to his guns! He delved into Trevor's side. He could hear Trevor's ghostly chant coming from above him, "More lambs have come to the slaughter, more men have come to their graves, more idiots have drowned underwater, more masters have killed their slaves!" Mikoto ignored it, ignoring the singing, ignored the deadly thrusts, and he could see it. It was paying off! He was there! He was at Trevor's side with a clear shot!

Mikoto turned himself around, using his legs to turn himself as fast as possible and transfer that speed into his fist, picking up the momentum his fist began pumping forward as if it itself was anxious to bring about the end of this fight. His punch neared, time seemed to slow down for Mikoto. His adrenaline was pumping as he watched his punch sloooooowwwwwwwwllllllllllyyyyyyyyy close in. He noticed he was holding his breath as tightly as he could, he felt like he would pass out from that alone! Finally it hit!

His punch buried itself into Trevor's body. He felt it squish beneath his fingers! It wasn't enforced! Trevor had been so swept up into the body, he didn't reinforce his body with Haki! All of his Haki was on his hands! Mikoto's punch would go in unencumbered! The punches sped up; each one buried itself into Trevor's body. They were so fast, they blurred together anyone watching wouldn't be able to tell you how many punches Mikoto buried into Trevor's body. Even Trevor probably couldn't tell you when the last punch rang in Trevor's entire body was bent in half. "**Rapid-Fire x 25!"**

Mikoto smiled letting out the large breath he had been holding in as he watched Trevor' body contort itself from the force. He had taken down his first Shichibukai! Mikoto smiled…suddenly Mikoto saw a thick red curtain cover his left, a wincing pain succumbed him, throwing him back as he tried to balance himself back out. "Wha…" said Mikoto as he finally managed to place both feet firmly on the ground. However, even that didn't prepare him for what was next. Another swipe cut through the air and into Mikoto's already injured shoulder, knocking him down. "..at?" finished Mikoto as he looked at the ground, which was pressed up against his face.

"Bloody bodies scattered on the ground…bloody souls sink down, down, down…soon blood will cover this little town…" continued Trevor as he was slowly swaying back and forth to the rhythm. His body had a large swell on its size from Mikoto's punch. It was possible that Mikoto's punch broke his ribs and possibly more, but that didn't seem to faze Trevor who still seemed completely sucked away into his own fantasy world.

(-Years ago-)

A young Trevor stirred. He wasn't quite asleep, no, a better term would be out-cold. His entire body shuddered as he lifted his body up to a sitting position. He was starving…he was supposed to be in the East Blue, but some idiotic current swept him away and into the Grand Line. His compass was ruined…he had no idea how to get out. He was stuck in a horrible world…a week or two at sea had turned into a month. His rations had run out. He was sluggish…he was half dead. He dragged himself over to the side of his small boat and looked down off of the ship. Jumping ship sounded like a great idea.

He looked out and cursed. Cursed like he had never done before. He was upset and irrational. He hated this. He hated this whole damn planet. The world was covered in useless, blue water. He summoned up the little strength he had and swatted at the water. He was tired, exhausted…done for. A little shut eye would do him some good.

He blinked and woke up in the middle of a town. A rural place that behind the times. Trevor stumbled to his feet and decided in that instant he was saved. He was smiled as he slumped back down to his bed and looked over at the door. He saw half of a young boy there, the wall was hiding the rest of him. "Hey!" shouted Trevor as he got back up on his feet and stumbled forward. The little boy disappeared behind the wall and Trevor heard his footsteps grow further away, however, Trevor came crashing to the ground, his legs still haven't fully adjusted.

An old woman came in. She was dressed in some tiger's fur. She had a long stick with a skull perched on top of it. She smiled as she came over to Trevor, picking him up and hauling him over to his bed. "Shhh…you no walk. You rest." The old biddy's voice was almost hypnotic in both tone and rhythm. Trevor nodded as he sat back down in bed, giving up on resisting. He spun around and rested comfortably in the bed. She pulled over a nice glass of water and handed it off to Trevor.

Trevor graciously accepted the water. And life was good again. The people treated Trevor nicely. They did nothing, but good things to Trevor. They accepted him in as one of their own. Trevor was living the high-life and there was no end in sight. No blasted Marines to ruin his day. The people were weird and few of them spoke his language, but Trevor didn't mind it. The world was at peace in this little village.

One day Trevor was with one of the boys his age. A good man, a strong warrior at that. He loved hearing of the sea outside of the island. It was marvelous to have someone who wanted to hear what he said…even if it did involve a lot of gesturing. Today they were in one of the altars. The people were very religious. Trevor was generally forced to stay away from the temples. The altars were off-limits to outsiders for some reason. This was the first time Trevor was actually allowed in. He stepped in and looked around. The boy was gone, but Trevor didn't care. He kept walking through the place was amazing.

Suddenly Trevor found a large pound in the center of the temple. He froze as he looked down. A large beast was apparently resting in there. Trevor crouched down, he thought for a second that it was dead, but he made out the smallest of motions, the monster was alive and well. Suddenly a voice shouted out, "Great God Ishzel we bring you your latest offering! Please enjoy yourself as you dine!" Trevor's head twisted around as the large stone doors that were his only exit slammed shut. The massive beast's eye shuddered open as the monster woke up.

Trevor backed up as the monster crawled out of the pool. It was massive. It had large flippers for arms and multiple rows of teeth on both the top and bottom of its mouth. It roared loudly as it moved forward, growing closer to Trevor.

The villagers were smiling on the outside of the temple. People come to this island all the time ever since the great pirate boom! And now here they were whenever they came they became food for Ishzel! They were grateful it was never one of theirs that wound up being sacrificed to him. He was a nice young man, but their god demanded a sacrifice whenever they got the chance. They took advantage of the foolish man. They smiled at their genius idea. They were about to move on when the sound of something slicing through the air sounded loudly. They froze as the great stone doors slid apart and onto the ground.

Trevor stepped out, his hands coated in blood. The villagers could see past him and at their great god…who was dead, his head had been sliced off cleanly. "Pathetic," said Trevor as he looked down at his feet which were now covered in a crusted blood. "I should've assumed something was amiss. Nobody could have such undying love for someone they barely knew…you were going to sacrifice me to that thing since day one. But I guess since you guys are so big on sacrifices…you would be happy to be one!"

Trevor sat on the very top of a bloody mass of human bodies. A creepy smile, slowly spreading across his face. He would remember this day forever. He bent down and slowly began to take the heads off of the bodies. He liked the skull on the old woman's staff…maybe he'll start collecting them as well.

(-on the outside of the URA-)

"He's here now," said Vice Admiral Sazkach, looking on at the sea. "We'll finally be able to finish them all off." He walked over to the cannons and fired another flare into the air. "Originally our plan was to take down Trevor as well as the rest of the ugly pirates here, but then we decided we'll just take him down as well!" He walked over to the railing and smiled as he looked over at the burning island.

Sazkach moved over to the side of the ship and looked out. He spotted two of their own moving towards the ship. He double-check his watch. Technically once 'Air Sword' had arrived, they were supposed to seal off their ships and allow no late arrivals on their ships. However, Sazkach was always a softy. He lowered the ropes to them and allowed them to climb on board.

The two soon clamored back on board and collapsed onto the ship. He recognized the young woman as a Valerie Steele. He heard good things about her aside from a minor bump in the road back in the East Blue and here she was collapsed on the ship. He partner was still good though. He was dressed in a black robe and had on a mask, which was half-off of his face. It had probably just been bumped aside, he took the next few seconds to straighten it back up. "I've gotta get going."

**The Finishing Touch...**

**The End Between the Reaper and Coyote!**

Yup...one chapter left between Trevor's and Mikoto's fight. It'll all come down next week a crashing end between the two pirates. However, don't think that just because their fight is ending the arc is out of its special juicy goodness, it hasn't even hit the most shocking revelation yet! Wanna know what it is? What!? You don't? You wanna be good boys and girls and read about it when it appears!? I'm shocked!

Also, guys can you all do me a huge favor...look at how many reviews I got. That's right just go up and look at it. The precious number...1000! I'm...I'm famous! I've completed it! I've done the deed! Even before hitting Chapter 150! I got something special I'm working on for this momentous occasion, but its not done yet...I hope to have it completed by Chapter 150 (I should as long as I don't get hammered with anything to really do that requires my complete and total attention, so I'll show it off then).


	148. Arena 148 The Finishing Touch

**The Finishing Touch...**

**The End Between the Reaper and Coyote!**

* * *

The man in the mask smiled as he delved down into the bottom of the ship. It was a horrid day in his opinion, it only reinforced his opinion of the World Government. Having such a devastating ability at their arsenal…and not using it all the time. Pirates were running this world into the ground and the Marines did very little to stop them. They had this method, this unbelievably effective method that could purge islands of the horrible pirate blood from the world and they were wasting it.

He looked around him. He was fairly confident that once more he had been engulfed by darkness…the way he liked it. He took his mask off and continued his descent into the darkness. His entire body was hidden in the darkness and whenever his body did come into view a large shapeless cloak covered it, his identity was a secret he didn't want these Marines to know. His pure yellow eyes glinted in the darkness as he continued with his descent.

He found a small Den-Den Mushi hidden away where it shouldn't be. He dialed the only number he knew. A light voice came over the machine it was fuzzy and obviously not used to using Den-Den Mushi's. "_Hel_lo Hel_llm_ire Ga_n, rig_ht? H_ow i_s the_ mi_ssi_on_ g_oing_?"

The man with the yellow eyes sat down in the shadow as he took a deep breath. "I've done it, didn't I? I've infiltrated the Marines, watched them use a Buster Call…my plans have taken large steps. We'll soon be able to use their own technology against them. We got the information thanks to me, now we just need the rest to get the money."

"_The Re_vo_luti_onari_es t_han_k yo_u," finished the Den-Den Mushi as it began to turn off. _"Des_tro_y al_l _evi_den_ce."_ Gan nodded, picked the small Den-Den Mushi up and tucked it under his cloak. He'd get to the main engine room and toss it in the fire. After that, maybe he'll go to the deck and join the rest of the Marines in watching this magnificent bonfire.

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto dodged backwards still trying to recover from Trevor's recent surprise attack. He couldn't catch his breath, Trevor should've been taken down. Twenty-five hits from Mikoto, they were all together as they fed on Trevor's flesh, but Trevor didn't seem to mind. Whether it was his own physicality that supplied him with the strength to withstand the punches or if it was just his state of mind was completely blocking out the pain, either was a viable choice. However, Mikoto still had a chance at taking him down. He'd just have to overwhelm him. Hit him enough and either his strength would finally give out or the pain would break down the mental wall that was his insanity.

Mikoto leaned and dashed towards Trevor. He sent his entire body at the Shichibukai. He brought his entire body around and tried to land a quick kick on Trevor's body, only to be met with the glaring thrust of Trevor's hand. Mikoto dodged away in a split second, he felt his hair grow singed from the speed of Trevor's thrust. Mikoto tried to regain his nerves, but Trevor rushed at him. A forward thrust followed by a swipe with his other hand, a step-in and a massive uppercut for Mikoto's chin. A high-speed chop with hand wrapped up the continuous combination.

Mikoto swayed to the side, then ducked to avoid the thrust into the swipe. He kept moving, by jumping back to avoid the uppercut and then he dashed backwards once again to avoid the next attack. Mikoto kept moving away. Trevor moved in with another thrust, this one Mikoto was barely able to dodge. His hand caught Mikoto's shirt ripping the question mark in half. Mikoto didn't care, he ducked down and moved in at high speed. He ducked beneath the swipe and moved in again. He had to end this quickly, the Buster Call was still going on. He rotated around, aiming for Trevor's swollen side with another kick. Trevor was forced back another step, but he refused to give in. He stepped in and brought his hand around swiping the air. Mikoto watched it as it came back in, once more it dug into the space just above Mikoto's eye causing another curtain of red to blanket his view.

Mikoto backed up. He couldn't see out of his left eye at all. It was completely covered in the heavy red liquid. He tried to calm down, but this was the first time he had seen so much blood. He couldn't see…he was fighting against a killer while he was blind! He tried to back away from the fight, knowing full well that it was going well for him. He was slowly letting his mind get the better of him…but for good reasons! He couldn't see, both of his arms were still drained from his Rapid Fire. He had been delivering nothing but kicks for the last few seconds, and even those seemed to be having diminished effectiveness. He moved forward, trying to ready his nerves once more, but a dangerous thrust from Trevor broke that plan.

Mikoto backed away, further than he should have. He moved back this much because he was scared. He took another deep breath and tried to move in again, but suddenly Trevor seemed bigger than he was. Mikoto realized he threw away his chance to run away. This man was more than he could handle. Mikoto should've left the instant…the instant…the instant he gave up on being king of the pirates.

That was the rule. If Mikoto decided to back away, if he decided to run away instead. He would be done. He would've forfeited the title forever. This was it. This was when he needed to stand his ground, step in and truly finish it. He would be King of the Pirates and in order to do that…Trevor needed to go down. He tightened the grip on his left and right hands. They weren't healed far from it. The Rapid Fire's side-effect was still coursing through his arms. He should take his distance and try to buy more time, but what Pirate King would do that? Mikoto wouldn't do that. He'd step in and have it out. Screw his arms…taking Trevor down comes first!

Mikoto moved in his resolved had hardened. He wouldn't be wasting anything now. He guaranteed that the next five minutes would be the end. He'd go at full without holding anything back. Mikoto zoomed in at top-speed, hoping to overwhelm him with this and this alone, but Trevor had already adjusted to it. He had already mastered keeping track of Mikoto's speed. He wouldn't let him get ahead of him. He kept pace, using his Haki and his own decent speed he kept pace with Mikoto. Mikoto sped up, moving in…and being sliced into by Trevor's arm. A huge uppercut from Trevor broke out, slicing into Mikoto's head and throwing it back. Mikoto withstood it. He swayed back at the same time to reduce the damage! He wasn't done!

Mikoto closed in again, already entering his top gear. He sped around Trevor, moving two or three steps at a time. Trevor roared as he brought his hand around and sliced it straight across Mikoto's chest, drawing another wave of blood from him. Mikoto caught himself before he fell and took it up another notch. He sped forward and continued circling Trevor like a vulture, waiting for an opening. Trevor was still smiling as he kept pace. He brought his body forward, throwing out a swing that cut deep into Mikoto's shoulder. Mikoto didn't stop he kept running.

Trevor thrust out his hand for Mikoto's forehead and…it stayed true. The thrust didn't slow down…it didn't waver…it didn't miss. His thrust cut deep, burying itself straight through Mikoto's head and possibly ending the match. Trevor smiled as he looked over at his ultimate prey in its final moments. He won! He won again! He still had it! Karasu said that he was old…that he was slowing down! That was just one old man's fear! Trevor still had it! He won against the young kid! Nothing more mattered.

Then Mikoto disappeared. Trevor stared at it, the place where Mikoto was. He wasn't there, but that wasn't possible. A man with a hole in his head can't just move and no one can just disappear like that! No one! Trevor remained there, half-basking in his assumed victory and also half-confused at what happened to his prey. And then…then he remembered the last time this happened. When he was confident his thrust had killed Mikoto and ended the fight. It wasn't that Mikoto disappeared…it was that…he wasn't there in the first place.

After-Image!

Trevor glanced around him and then finally below him. He was met with Mikoto, and he knew instantly that this was the real one. Only the real one would have that insidious mocking smile plastered over his face. Mikoto brought his entire body around like a whip, striking upwards with his leg. Trevor's entire body was shuddered upwards and away from the ground and into the air. Mikoto continued whipping his body around until he was back on his own two feet. He braced himself, gripping his left wrist with his right hand.

"**Rapid-Fire x25!" **Mikoto brought his left hand forward, continuously pumping his fist once more. The pumps eventually evolved into punches that sped towards Trevor. Trevor managed to bring his guard up just in time in order to block these punches, but it was weakening with every pound that Mikoto brought into it. He couldn't keep it up much longer. Finally the punches combined at the end, they hammered into Trevor's guard. The final one broke it apart. Trevor's arms split up as he tried to steady himself from the salvo of punches. His opinion of Mikoto's punches being paper-cuts hadn't changed, they were still light, but enough of them…

Mikoto brought his other fist, his right fist in, "**Rapid-Fire x 25!" **With Trevor's guard broken, he couldn't bring his arms in close enough to block this time. Instead Mikoto's right fist shot in and hit Trevor once, twice, then again and again. His punches came in like fire. Each blow buried themselves deeper and deeper into Trevor's guard. He was completely blown back with the punches, his jaw was probably broken along with his ribs from Mikoto's earlier outlast, but Trevor wasn't done for yet. He stepped forward, his own powerful will coming through once more. He struck out widely with his own hand in a last ditch, desperate attempt to live on. It sliced viciously through the air. He wasn't done yet. Trevor stumbled forward again and kept swinging at Mikoto.

Mikoto tried to dodge each slice, but they slowly grew in closer. Mikoto whipped himself back around, turning himself completely around planting his foot and turning his body inwards towards Trevor and lifting his leg up into the air. He didn't have the time to wait for his arm to heal for another Rapid-Fire and his arm were firmly numb from the reckless act of his previous Rapid-Fires. However, he still had his legs. Mikoto brought his leg chopping inwards from a seemingly impossibly angle. The kick smashed into the side of Trevor's neck and there was a loud cracking sound as it came down.

Trevor's body was thrown to the side with the force. Mikoto couldn't pull his leg back, he didn't have his leg under control and the momentum carried him down and into the ground. Mikoto tumbled for awhile unable to balance himself. He slid across the ground with a heavy breathing. He barely managed to twist his head around to see Trevor. Who was flat on the floor, not even attempting to roll his head over at Mikoto.

Mikoto smiled as he dragged his body up. He tried desperately to lift his entire body to his feet and once he was on his own two feet, he tried desperately to stay standing. While he would love to wait around and bask in his temporary victory over Trevor, he had to get going. He stumbled forward another inch almost falling. It was left, right, and then repeat. He had to get off of this island soon.

**The Tragedy of the Fishman Brothers...**

In case you are wondering yes...yes I have mentioned Gan before. He appeared in an earlier chapter with the revolutionaries. His goal was world domination through lies, deceit, and manipulation basically.

Mikoto wins it! Mikoto has finally managed to blow through Trevor, but just barely he used up all of his tricks. I was wondering if anybody got the After-Image trick would end it seeing as how Mikoto didn't use it all too much during this fight despite it being the one blow he had that nearly wrapped the fight up last time. Also I mentioned a good plot twist for those of you who thought it was Gan or Mikoto winning...you're wrong...you are dead wrong! The most shocking reveals still haven't been revealed! Next two chapters promise plot twists that will force you to the edge of your seats! AND BEYOND!

Also, it appears Monday will be my uploading days from now on...


	149. Arena 149 The Tragedy of the Fishman

**The Tragedy of the Fishman Brothers**

Simon stared on at the insane scene unfolding before him. While it was almost definite that the man known as 'Air Sword' Burakku had no reason for protecting either Simon or Ridley, he still seemed to have a sort of resignation towards screwing the Marines up as much as possible. Burakku was by some strange ability slicing through the incoming Marines without his sword ever leaving his side. There would be a moment where it seemed like the tension was palpable while Burakku prepared his slash. The next second there would be a horrible drawn out scream as the Marines around them fell down to the ground with blood spraying all about them.

'Air Sword' Burakku was just demonic as the stories said he was. His coffee cup remained comfortably in his hand despite the fact that his sword was apparently slicing through dozens of men. However, for those with skilled eyes they'd notice the truth was much more horrifying than that. He strode forward through the field and looked over the battlefield. He took another tentative sip as he looked over at the closest Marine ship. There was a slight movement in his hand as the ship once more took a direct hit, slicing straight into the side of the ship nearly causing it to capsize.

Burakku froze for a second, twisting his entire body around to face the URA. He sensed something coming up from the bottom of the pit. Burakku smiled as he tightened his focus once more. The tension once more grew thick and Simon scrambled back again, nearly bumping into Ichi who was also frozen in fear. He definitely wasn't prepared for the Buster Call. Simon could tell by the look on his face that the fear was greatly weighing down on him, he didn't even to notice that Ridley was still on the ground, slowly coming to.

Burakku let his sword-less slash out once more. The air whipped around viciously, beginning at Burakku and ending at the door. All the flames in between Burakku and the door were blown away with apparently little effort on his part as he took another tentative sip from his coffee mug. He took another few steps toward the door. He waited, his attention becoming focused solely on the door. The Marines around him didn't concern him…more importantly Ichi and Ridley didn't matter to him. Ichi, breaking the spell that had held him frozen for the past few seconds, dove down, scooping Ridley up and rushing to the ship.

The door swung open and Mikoto stumbled out. He was still shaky on his feet, he cursed the fact that Trevor was such a tough pirate and the fact that he just traveled up about sixteen flights of stairs and now he had to traverse a war zone to get to his ship. Mikoto walked forward only about half aware of what was going on around him. He took a few steps forward and bumped into a mass of flesh. He paused for another few seconds as he tried to figure what he just crashed into. His eyes were half gazed over and his own red blood completely covered one of them. He directed his sight upwards and found Burakku smiling and looking down at him.

"Looks like someone is possibly a strong little punk. You must've drunk lots of coffee when you were young," said Burakku. "I thought Trevor was down there in the room. You see him?" Burakku made another step forward, wrapping his arm around Mikoto's shoulder and pulling him in tight like they were friends. Out of the corner of his eye he found another cannon ball fly towards him. The cannon ball was split in two before it hit the ground, the two halves smashed into the opposite side of Burakku.

"I beat him," said Mikoto as he struggled forward another inch. He pushed Burakku off of him, Burakku was standing there smiling as he looked at the little kid struggle forward. Burakku's hand, for the first time since he landed on the island, went to his sword's hilt. Like a flash he drew his sword and aimed it at Mikoto. "I'm leaving," Mikoto muttered as he took a brief second to look back at Burakku and his sword, he had no energy to fight with him. He was lucky he didn't crash into the ground.

Burakku smirked as he returned his sword to his sheath, lifted his hands into the air, signaling his own defeat to the kid's spirit and walked away. He was sure they'd meet again later down the road. He would just wait…besides as Burakku turned around and looked at the URA, which was still up in flames he realized something. He realized something when he had heard that Trevor had been defeated. This place was dead, probably had been for awhile. This may have been his home, the place where he designed and perfected his sword techniques, but it was only a shell of its former glory. Burakku drew his sword once more, stood still facing the URA. "You were my second favorite coffee joint." He ripped his sword through the air, sending a ripple of an air wave crashing towards the URA. The ripple hit it with immense force, splitting it into hundreds of pieces. Burakku smiled as he looked over at the Marine ships. "Congrats folks, mission accomplished. Drink yourselves a congratulatory cup of coffee."

Mikoto was still shambling off towards the ship when Ichi bent down and lifted him up as well Ridley. "One express ticket aboard Ichi to your ship!" Mikoto looked him oddly for a second. Mikoto had never met this Fishman before, the fact that he was offering him a ride to his ship was suspect at best, but Mikoto was too tired to fight with him. Ichi raced off towards the ship, his strong legs carried him there quickly.

"Sanada! Bridge!" commanded Nito. The ship was currently separated from the dock and since Mikoto was a Devil Fruit user already on the brink of death, he didn't think it would be very kind to nearly drown him. Sanada nodded and reached out over towards the dock, offering Ichi a lift.

There was a moment of complete silence as a cannon fired. Sanada's body went limp, his arms splashed into the sea sinking quickly. The rest of his body faltered for a second as he slowly fell down and smashed into another nearby dock, sending the wooden planks flying through the ground. The cannon ball hit him squarely in the chest, drilling its way through and coming out the other side. The ocean around him slowly become a tainted red. You could hear Nito and Ichi's conjoined scream for probably islands over.

Zesiro rushed to the side of the boat and into the water, ignoring his own strenuous injuries. He swam next to Sanada and managed to drag him to the shore. His eyes immediately fell upon the open, bleeding, and horrific wound. He paused for a few seconds, taking deep breaths as he scurried over the wounds, inspecting it again. He didn't know what he was expecting to find…it wasn't a flesh wound or a paper cut it was the entrance wound for a cannon ball. Zesiro could almost crawl through it. Zesiro looked up at Nito who was still on the dock, frozen stiff in horror.

Zesiro looked at Sanada, at a loss of what to do. Should he just leave Sanada here? For his body to be ravaged by the remainder of the Buster Call and whatever other god-knows-what experiments to be done to him? It was a sickening thought, but the alternative was to somehow he get him on the ship and hope the rickety old thing didn't sink with the entire crew aboard it. Zesiro took another second to look up at Nito and Ichi, whose eyes were plastered to their brother, refusing to budge. Zesiro closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and decided to take over the situation.

"Get moving, Ichi!" he barked, snapping Ichi out of his trance and making him continue with his jaunt to the ship, although his eyes still didn't waver much from Sanada's dead body. "Nito, give Ichi a hand!" Nito's feet seemed trapped in the mud for a few more seconds and Zesiro wondered if he had heard him, just as he was about to shout again Nito got his motor going and went to help out Ichi with Mikoto and Ridley. Zesiro nodded as he turned his head further up the ship and locked eyes with Enma. Without even saying a word Zesiro knew Enma would understand what he was asking. Could Sanada be saved?

Enma looked at the wound from his spot on the ship. Even from this distance he could make it out clearly. While maybe a giant had the proper abilities to fix them up, Enma couldn't. The hole was bigger than any others he ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Much, much bigger. Gunshot wounds weren't pleasurable to seal up, but now he was faced with something from a cannon? There was no way he could something that monumental up without proper equipment and probably a team of doctors. Enma sighed as he shook his head. Sanada wasn't going to make it.

Enma could analyze it plenty from this distance. He could make out the entry wound, it was horrible formed. The skin was torn in a myriad of directions, which meant it would take awhile for it to heal naturally. Of course, the place of entry was even more concerning, in the chest it probably would've pierced and broken a rib and then hit a vital organ as it exited. From where Enma was standing, though, he would say he was lucky. It looked like it didn't break any ribs and possibly only nicked the lung, but that still didn't mean he'd survive.

"He's going to die in pain, a pain much like a bad cup of coffee," said Burakku as he appeared next to Zesiro and looking down at the poor Wotan. He drew his sword and pointed it back at the URA, "I had to destroy my home in order to move on. It is up to you to kill your friend so he can move on. It is not a pleasant thought, but…it must be done. Or are you still foolishly clinging to the hope that he can brought back to life?"

Zesiro turned away from Burakku, who didn't seem too interested in fighting him. Zesiro looked back to where Enma used to be, but he left and headed back down into the ship. Zesiro muttered something beneath his breath before turning his attention back over to his dying friend. "If you are too afraid to drink the cup of coffee you made," offered Burakku turning, "I'll gladly guzzle it down for you." Burakku brought his sword swinging around and gently poked at Sanada's sword.

Zesiro rushed in blocking the sword, but paused as he looked down at Sanada. Despite having a sword gently prodding his flabby neck, he didn't respond, his eyes didn't even flutter themselves open. Zesiro looked over at the bay. More Marine ships were starting to flock to the island. They had no time to waste. If he was going to…if he was going to kill Sanada he needed to do it now.

Burakku pushed him aside and took his spot. "Go," he muttered, "those who can't stomach the bittersweet taste have no right to sail these seas. I'll handle this awful pot." Zesiro looked over Sanada once more and then dove into the water swimming to his ship. He got on the ship and took control of the ship. He propelled the ship from the dock, leaving behind this awful place. He chose not to remain here any longer. The ship exited from the bay sailing as quickly as it could in one direction.

Something stopped the ship a few seconds away from the dock. Zesiro twisted around to look behind him and almost immediately without any questions he knew what was holding him back. Lots of black tendrils had stretched out from the dock and onto the ship, stopping any forward movements and slowly starting to pull it back into the harbor.

"You hurt Trevor-sama!" screeched the man on the dock, Duncan. "I'll make you pay for that! No one hurts Trevor-sama! No one hurts Trevor-saammmaaaaa!"

**One Tragedy After Another**

I warned you. Not everything is getting off of this island alive. It sucks that it is poor Sanada who won't be making it...or is there someone else as well?

Duncan's anger...I'm really not sure how it came out, but I'm afraid it came out wrong...he is extreme loyal to Trevor and that is it, nothing else. I'm afraid it came out more like an insane love...in which case you guys are reading it wrong. If it didn't read like that before, but now it does...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pollute your minds.

Next up, important changes. The poll on my profile page will be taken down when I upload the next chapter, so if you still want your voice to be heard. Vote now. Secondly, one of the ongoing complaints of Saga is that the chapters tend to be a tad short. I'm going to try expanding them starting with chapter 151 by 1000 words (They are currently only 2000 words long) and see how it feels. If I don't like it or I get too many negative reviews concerning this I'll go back to 2000 word chapters.


	150. Arena 150 One Tragedy After Another

**One Tragedy After Another**

"TREVOR-SAMA! I'LL REVENGE YOUUUUUU!" screeched Duncan as he slowly began reeling the ship in. The force of the wind against the sails wasn't enough to keep it going against the pulling of a madman. The crew gathered atop the ship and viewed the last obstacle standing in-between them and freedom. Rosa twisted the cannon on over and took aim, but when she motioned for another cannon ball, Lily came up empty. They were out of cannon balls.

Mikoto was currently passed out on deck, apparently as soon as Ichi stepped foot on the deck he broke down over the death of Sanada and Nito joined him. Zesiro stepped for and tried to unsheathe his blade, but almost immediately the pain in his shoulder stopped him. He froze in his spot and looked over at the rest of the crew, all of which had similar injuries. Even Maria the person who took him down was looking so hot.

Here they were! Champions of the URA! Soon to be conquerors of the Buster Call! And they were being stopped by a madman with an unhealthy interest in a mass murderer. They needed one last bit of luck to break through this final obstacle. Hiro-Shu remained fixed at the helm, trying to break free of Duncan with the rudder. Rosa looked at the crew and nodded. They were the ones that needed to get out of here. She realized she had the utmost faith in the cocky little coyote becoming Pirate King. She decided that she was going to help him. She may have been a bounty hunter during her life, but she figured she was helping possibly the greatest story to get written.

There was a soft thud to the back of her head and sent her sprawling to the floor. Rosa's vision blurred for a brief second as she saw the culprit, it was a young girl…well, younger than she was dressed in tiger-print shirt and shorts. It's funny, but it kind of reminded Rosa of her younger sister, Lily. She smiled as she thought about that…Lily was back at home with the rest of her family. Wasn't she?

The young girl started moving forward with significant speed, slowly increasing. She bent down and her entire body transformed into a hulking tiger. The new tiger form of the girl sped forward and pushed the rest of the crew aside. It seemed to have paused for just a split second, its entire body lurking at the edge of the ship as it prepped for what came next. Suddenly the massive beast sprang forward like a missile, cutting through the air and on top of Duncan.

Duncan was in to drastic a state in both mind and body to transform into tar and negate the attack. He was propelled backwards, his tar vines that were attached to the ship snapped with a hideous noise echoing. The ship lurched forward, finally free of its black chains and sailed forward towards the horizon. Another barrel of gas exploded upon impact with the URA giving off one final explosion that the pirates could see.

(-Later-)

Rosa finally recovered from the thud to the back of her head. She was sitting straight up in the infirmary with the rest of the Infinity Pirates around her, even Sage who had finally come out from the spell of her Seasonal Affective Disorder and was extremely upset at missing all the actions…and being useless during it. Rosa guessed it just bugged her that she had to sit this one out while everyone else was literally fighting with their lives on the line…even Ridley.

Mikoto struggled to sit up in his bed, but was immediately pushed back down by Sage. There was an audible grunt of pain as Mikoto hit the bed. His entire body must be aching from the fight with Trevor. Sage could only say, "Enma told you, you need bed rest, so get bed rest!" This was probably the extent of what Sage could do to help the crew right now. Enma had his hands busy basically taking care of EVERYONE.

"We need to go back," said Rosa as she fidgeted in her seat, propping herself up. "We need to go back and get Lily!" The crew froze for a second as they noticed Rosa was stirring. "She's my sister, right?" She looked around at everyone. They had all been filled in by Enma while Rosa was knocked out, despite this they remained somber and solemn. "We need to go back! That was my sister back there! That was my sister! We can't just keep on sailing! She's back there!"

"It is over," said Zesiro, handing Ichi the newspaper. Ichi walked quietly over to Rosa and handed her the newspaper. "The island was under siege, remember? The Buster Call ended." Zesiro didn't feel like bringing up the part about that a Buster Call only ends when all inhabitants of an island have been killed. He was sure Rosa knew that already.

"They must've arrested her!" shouted Rosa, springing up from her bed and onto her feet. "She's in Impel Down now, right? She wasn't a pirate, they couldn't just kill her! She's alive, she's just locked away! We go to Impel!" Zesiro stopped talking and looked away. Buster Calls don't usually end in people being taken prisoner. Rosa still had a look of desperation on her face. No one else seemed to be jumping up to support her. "We'll storm Impel Down!" she declared pumping her arm into the air, hoping to energize them. She wanted her sister back. "We'll rescue her right?" The crew remained silent. No one wanted to say anything. Rosa was wrong, they knew that, she knew that…but pointing it out…was wrong. Lily was a victim of a Buster Call not a Marine stealing someone.

"There is another option," said Ridley stretching back in his bed. Sage had taken Ridley's guitar away from him, so he didn't interrupt everyone else's sleeping pattern. As a result, he was mindless slapping his own hands on the metal pole of his bed. "It is an old story from the time of the old pirate king. Jinbe had one string attached to become a Shichibukai. One thing the Marines had to accept before he took the position. They had to release his crew from Impel Down." He didn't particularly care to risk his life going to Impel Down. Moreover though he wanted some entertainment and this seemed like a decent distraction from both his lack of music and lack of alcohol.

"That…that's right!" shouted Rosa as she half-ran and half-limped over to Mikoto's bed. "They offered you a position! You could state that in your list of demands! The release of Scarlet Lily!" Mikoto looked dumb-founded. Despite the offer being extended to him and only to him…he had no idea it even existed. He thought he was still just some run-of- the-mill pirate. Rosa paused for a second. "Come on! For Lily! For my sister! We got to do something! You can't just turn your back on her! She saved us!"

"Hey!" shouted Mikoto, finally seeming to grasp the news of him being offered a position as Shichibukai, "what do you guys think my bounty is now?" He pumped his arms up and imagined that with the news of him taking down the one and only Trevor it must be like…500,000,000 by now. He smiled as he mindlessly thought of that good news. For the most part, he ignored Rosa's rambling. Of course, he wanted to help her. She helped them, they help her it was natural. The only problem was…he preferred the thought of his bounty rising than him risking his life.

"So we got two options," said Zesiro leaning back and surveying the scene once more. "We either risk our necks to save Lily from Impel Down. Or we sell our pride as pirates and negotiate Lily's freedom for Mikoto becoming a Shichibukai." Zesiro moaned as he laid back down, giving up. "Horrible options right after a horrible fight." He wasn't too particularly keen on becoming a Shichibukai, but it was Mikoto's crew, it was his decision. Honestly, though the thought was horrifying he couldn't help but get a rise of excitement from fighting their way through Impel Down. Just like Jinbe did, a hero to Fishman everywhere.

Enma shrugged. He didn't particularly care. One way or another they would become famous. Either they'd become a Shichibukai and pull some strings with their new status and dump it eventually or…or they'll just claw their way up to the top the other way. Honestly, though, he'd rather become a Shichibukai than a corpse. And that was what going to Impel Down meant. He looked over at Rosa, on top of that becoming a Shichibukai meant saving her sister quicker rather than later. He heard of the 'Five Stages of Dying'…the first one was denial which was what Rosa was going through right now. She needed to face it and the sooner, the better. Before she had them risk life and limb climbing down to the lowest levels of hell to save someone who might not even be alive.

"There is a third option," offered Ridley. He definitely didn't want to become a Shichibukai, he hated it enough that Mikoto was higher up than him, but becoming a Shichibukai meant that you had other Shichibukais higher than you, the Marines, it was all downhill from there. But! Going to Impel Down was another option he'd rather leave alone…forever if possible. Most pirates spend their entire lives avoiding that place. "We'll just ignore Lily and continue on our path." There was a screeching sound as Rosa brought her blade down and pointed it at Ridley's neck.

"There is no third option!" she declared. Ridley backed off, nearly falling out of his bed and wrapping his hand around his neck. He felt a light trickle of blood. Zesiro had to practically grab and pry Rosa away from Ridely, it is entirely possible she would've killed him for simply suggesting such a thing. Zesiro's thoughts were still on Sanada right now. So he felt for Rosa, but killing Ridley was not the answer.

Rosa's actions propelled the rest of the crew to thinking about the choices. Sage personally liked the idea of becoming a Shichibukai, it meant funding, so they wouldn't be broke. It meant more allies, so they wouldn't be attacked everywhere they go. However, she also didn't know anything about the restrictions imposed on Shichibukais. She never knew a Shichibukai to ask them, she knew they were pirates and that was it.

Maria was against it. As pirates aiming to become pirate kings, it seemed like a cheat. They wanted to be pirates, not government dogs. Besides this way it meant more pirates would be coming after them along with the Marines. And she would knock them all down! The news of pirates taking down Impel Down was great news, it would be a great booster to their reputations and everybody would be chasing after them. People would love to be known as the ones who took the pirates who took down Impel Down…only Maria would be taking them down instead.

Hiro-Shu was fine with the idea of being a Shichibukai, but he preferred it if they didn't. It seemed like an unnecessary risk since eventually when they betrayed the World Government and were no longer Shichibukai status, the Marines definitely wouldn't take that politely. However, weighing the options…he just sighed and kept his opinions to himself. It was Mikoto's decision, an impossible one at that.

"We're leaving," said Nito and Ichi walking in on this important conversation. The pirates turned their heads to watch the duo walk in and apologize for having to leave. "We're sorry, but…with Sanada's death we're starting to think that we're not really suited for the jobs of pirates." Nito said that with an unhappy smile. "We enjoyed being with you, but I'm afraid we would just be holding you guys up."

Zesiro paused for a second trying to process it. It took him a few moments, but he nodded silently. Just like this Shichibukai matter was Mikoto's decision, Zesiro had to accept that this was their decision. It was obvious that they had thought about it. He needed to respect their decision. He nodded again and looked away from them. He liked them, they helped him, found him a temporary replacement for his sword. He would miss them.

"Be careful," said Zesiro. He wasn't in the mood to handle all these things. He would push this problem off to the side for now. Rosa's sister, Mikoto becoming a Shichibukai, recovering from his fight with Makada. Those three things took precedence. He would love to keep them around, but it was their decision. He just kept telling himself that. It was not his decision. He had no ability to stop them. It was their decision. He would still have his crew.

Nito and Ichi turned away to leave, but Zesiro stopped them with a single word, "wait." They paused, but the truth was plastered over their faces. They were ready to leave. "What happened with Shigoro?"

(-Meanwhile on Sazkach's ship-)

"You're lucky I'm nicer than my peers," said Sazkach behind his hairy mug, looking up and down their newest visitor, Melanie D. Stars, the Shichibukai, behind her stood the famous Simon Dew, millionaire of mining. "Why did you have to bring him though?" He knew he was going to receive a lot of heat from the higher-ups just for saving her, but she brought along a visitor? This wasn't going to bode with any future promotions of his.

"Relax," she said, as her hand glided through her hair, pulling it out and away from her face. "Be happy that the headlines for tomorrow won't be 'Marines Murder Mining Millionaire'. Not to mention two of your best Shichibukai that were betrayed by you in a blink of an eye, because that's what would've happened if you left…ME….THERE!" Melanie proudly pressed herself up against Sazkach, who was by now cowering in fear of the infamous pirate. Melanie turned away from him with mild grunt of distaste. "Any news on the Infinity Pirates? I want to get their heads on a silver platter, by myself, no interference understand?"

Sazkach grunted. The girl was obviously overstepping the line, ordering the Marines around like that, like she was the boss. He frowned, "No. It was their lucky day. They disappeared from sight. We were too caught up in the Buster Call to track them down. We were going to send a ship after them, but with Docket Jr.'s defeat we needed all hands on deck to handle 'Air Sword' Burakku." Who got away in the end, but Sazkach didn't want to admit another defeat to this lady.

"Perfect," Melanie said with a tone of disgust. "My crew gets butchered by your oh-so-specially selected Shichibukai, Trevor! I almost get killed in crossfire of your big guns only! It is amazing that you Marines can still dress yourselves!" She knew that it hurt Sazkach immensely to hear that, the Marines were definitely in a tough spot nowadays. The recent Pirate King's reign as well as declaration of One Piece, didn't make the pirate life seem any uglier. As a matter of fact it made Pirates look good and Marines look bad. A lack of applications to become Marines have recently become a growing problem. A problem Melanie need not to concern herself with. She simply waved Simon forward, who followed her like a dog, down into her chambers. "Oh, by the way! I need a nice, soft bed, so I'll be taking over the captain's quarters for the rest of my stay, bye!"

Sazkach ground his teeth as he looked over at her. He was in for the talking to of a lifetime when he got back Marines HQ and in the meantime he was stuck listening to this young lady! He pounded his fists onto the railing of the ship, breaking it into splinters with his inhuman and beast-like strength. His luck was at an all time low. He grumbled something beneath his breath, before turning around and faced his crew. The worthless maggots. He took deep breaths trying to calm down; they didn't need to see that primal side of him. He twisted his lips in dissatisfaction before heading back to the prisoner's bay.

He picked up the small pack of all the pirates who were supposedly on the island. The Infinity Pirates and the 'Dark Knight' Pirates both got away along with Burakku. However, wouldn't say it was a waste. He walked over to the prisoner's cells and looked in at Trevor, who was still knocked unconscious. Sazkach smiled and let loose a light growl of pleasure. The Reaper has fallen. But! He was not the only one they captured.

He moved over across the room and found, possibly the more intriguing of the two prisoners. "Armani Dove, is it?" He asked looking over at the young man who had a bright, dazzling smile on his face as if he wasn't aware of where he was. "You know where you are going?"

Armani Dove chuckled to himself, "I believe you should be asking yourself that question." Sazkach looked around for a second, mystified at the young man's strange attitude towards being a prisoner. "Since I'm a nice guy, I'll tell you," continued Armani Dove. "We're heading into the belly of the beast, the last ring of Hell, the final card in anyone's deck…we're heading to both a start and a beginning. We're heading to…the new Era!"

**Disastrous Split**

Yeah, I know...I got to stop killing off people. I promise you Lily is still alive for now.

This chapter marks a couple of important points for Saga, right now. 1) The end of 50 chapter long arc. That's right the URA is officially over. I'll be jumping right into the next arc, no filler chapters for now (although this one kind of was), the next arc will only be nine chapters long. Goodie for you, not as long as this monster. 2) Saga will be increasing its page length to 3000 words for awhile. The strain isn't too much for me, so I may keep it up. 3) 1000 reviews (I know I hit this mark awhile back), but if you go to my Deviantart page (CSpacian412 . deviantart . com) (Take out the spaces) I have three works of art in it. (One is my avatar, one is two panels for my manga in working, and the third one (in my scrapbook is something strictly for Saga of the Infinity Pirate fans. Go check these things out). this is my first time using Deviantart so if anything is not working...I apologize. and 4) 150 chapters! We have reached 150 chapters of this story...amazing, isn't it?

Expect bonus updates for awhile (I've already written everything up to Chapter 165!)


	151. Horror 151 A Disastrous Split

**Disastrous Split**

Mikoto stirred. He rolled over onto his stomach and reached out with his hand. He didn't feel the calming comfort of his own sheets. He felt soft grass. He struggled to sit up and immediately regretted it. His head let loose a furious pounding that nearly floored him. He flopped back to the grassy floor and held his head with both hands. He opened his eyes and glanced around him between the immense throbs of pain.

The ship was gone…which was worrying since the last thing Mikoto remembered was being in it. Instead what surrounded him was dead, brown grass and trees that looked like they had been scorched black. He paused for a second longer as he looked beneath the tree and found possibly the worst thing yet, a tombstone. Mikoto struggled to his feet and walked up to it. He placed his hand on it and collapsed in front of it, his entire body sagging to the ground. He ran his fingers over the cold stone as he examined it for another second or two.

The writing was covered with a soot of sorts and Mikoto took a few seconds to examine the soot, wondering where it came from before wiping it away to reveal the words. 'Here lies 'Red Haired' Shanks'. Mikoto jumped back in an instant as he felt the strength leave his entire body. The tomb of 'Red Haired' Shanks? He remembered stories of that pirate! The pirate who ended the Whitebeard War, the pirate who started Luffy on his journey! This was that man! Or whatever was left of him.

Mikoto thought for a few seconds about digging up his bones and making sure if it was him. But…the only thing he knew about Shanks was that he had red hair…and he wasn't even completely sure of that. He struggled with the thought of unearthing the man's skeleton for a few more seconds until a more pressing question managed to wiggle its way into his head.

"Where's my crew?" Mikoto asked out loud, swiveling his head first to the right then left and then back again. He cocked his head and took a quick whiff of the air, hoping to smell…what was it he was hoping to smell? He paused for a moment as he tried to think of his crew. Nothing came to mind. No faces, no names, nothing. He knew he had a crew, he knew he had a ship that mysteriously went missing, but nothing else was really coming to him. He scratched his head furiously as he tried to think of them, but he couldn't remember them? Was one of them named…Shadow?

"HEY!" Mikoto shouted. "MY CREW GOT LOST! CAN ANYONE HELP ME FIND THEM? THEY MAY OR MAY NOT ANSWER TO THE NAME SHADOW!" He paused for a few seconds looking around for someone to answer his call when his eyes fell on Shank's tombstone. "UNLESS YOU'RE A GHOST! IF YOU'RE A GHOST DON'T ANSWER! OR ZOMBIE! DON'T ANSWER IF YOU ARE A ZOMBIE EITHER!" No one yelled back to answer him.

"I'm either all alone on this island," concluded Mikoto with another glance around. "Or I'm all alone on an island with zombies and ghosts." Mikoto never wished to be alone on an entire island all by himself more than he did so now. Unless it was the ghost of Red Haired Shanks it might be nice to talk to him…would a ghost still have red hair? Mikoto began to walk in search of his crew while trying to answer that question. Maybe he should be called Ghost Haired Ghost Shanks, the Ghost? If Mikoto was a ghost he would be named Ghost Coyote Ghost-koto.

The thoughts of his missing crew, disappeared. It was the furthest thing in his mind right now as he headed out. His mind kept track of very little. The fact that he had discovered Shank's grave was interesting and demanded his total attention, regardless of how little attention he should have to spare. It should after all, be completely focused on finding his crew…whoever they were.

(-With Zesiro-)

The large Fishman fidgeted a bit as he sat up in what used to be a luscious green forest. A look around him told him more than he wanted to know. The field had been burned alongside the trees, there was still smoke rising up from some of them. He muttered something beneath his breath as he looked around. The pain in his shoulder was probably from whatever attacked their ship. It was the middle of the night when Hiro-Shu asked for everyone to come to the top of the deck because something had hit them. When the crew got up there…they were stormed at high speed. Their ship was rocked and they were thrown free from it. Meaning he was separated from his crew due to some unimaginable force. He drew his swords and slowly crept forward through the dense woods in search of them.

Suddenly he felt alone. He paused as he looked around. Thoughts from the past flooded into his mind, memories from the past. He thought back. He remembered seeing Sanada fall, Nito and Ichi leaving him. He was all alone now. In this dense empty forest. He tried to calm down. But it was hot here, a cool breeze was here sailing in from the ocean, but overall it was warm. Bitter thoughts kept creeping up on him. He was playing the scene of Sanada falling.

He thought of it. He saw the cannon fire. It was slow-motion as Zesiro thought of it. A cannonball the size of him, blowing through his friend's shoulder was what he saw again and again. The shoulder's flesh was being torn through in a frightening fashion. Zesiro had no idea what to do. There was nothing he could do…the wound was huge, completely unfixable. If only he hadn't been there at the URA, if only he never went to the slave labor camp. Everything could be traced back there…all of Sanada's poor luck was right there.

Nito and Ichi were gone. As far as Zesiro was concerned everything was going wrong now. The URA was just a signal for everything to go wrong apparently. Death, imprisonment, being separated. Zesiro was never one who needed the comfort of others. However, after all of this stuff went down…something was wrong and he needed some help just to calm down and distract him. The name 'Shigoro' pounded itself into his brain. The last thing he remembered talking to Nito and Ichi about. He felt his heart rate rise, he was getting angry he needed to calm down. He shook his head and picked up the pace through the forest, he needed to get away.

Zesiro continued to trek down the forests when he heard a light shuffling. He spared himself another look around to examine the world around him. He almost immediately noticed he couldn't see the shore-line, his ship, or any friends in any direction. That meant the island was big, possibly big enough for its own village. Zesiro crept down and disappeared behind a tree. He waited patiently behind it as he looked on.

There were three of them. Three humans? Maybe? It was hard to make out through the dense woods and even denser darkness that cloaked the island. They could've been Fishmen, imps, or the devil himself and Zesiro couldn't tell the difference. He tried to move forward again when he saw them turn their heads in different directions as if inspecting the location. They let loose a slurred garble in a language that Zesiro could never understand. He tried to stay patient as he looked on at the strange creatures, debating about whether it was worth risking it coming into the open and asking them for directions.

Before he could come to a decision they continued on their path. They didn't walk right was the first thing Zesiro noticed. They dragged their feet, if a log was in their way, they didn't walk around it at all, and if they just tripped over it, they got back up and kept walking. Zesiro was immediately glad that he didn't introduce himself to them when he first saw them. It was obvious that they weren't someone Zesiro would classify as 'friends'. Nonetheless they were his only hint at an intelligent civilization. He lowered his stance and continued tracking them through the dense forest, hoping that they didn't have any more slurring, tripping friends.

(-With Sage-)

Sage clutched a long twig as she moved around her target. She was lucky, unlike the rest of the crew she had woken up with the ship in sight almost immediately. However, in Sage's opinion she wasn't quite sure what constituted as luck anymore. While she may be able to see the ship she could also see what surrounded it. Land, land, and more land. It was grounded completely in the middle of the island with a short shelf of mountains to the north of it. However it got to this place of the island definitely wasn't natural.

She made a quick note of the mountains they stretched on a little forever past the ship, maybe as big as a ship and a half. It stretched on further. They were a little higher than the ship, meaning anybody on the other side of the mountain wouldn't find their ship. A string of smooth boulders stretched down and around forming a large C. The other side of the mountain shelf stretched to the other side, there was a weirdly shaped, almost box-like stone on the end. She ignored it and returned her attention to their ship.

Sage kept her eye on their old ship trying to find anything amiss. Nothing was happening on the ship it seemed, none of the lights had been turned on, she didn't hear any sounds emanating from it either. She took a deep breath as she moved forward and into the clearing. She paused temporarily as she noticed beneath the ship were a group of squashed trees. She shook those trees out from her head and went onto the ship.

She grabbed the rope ladder and went up it and onto the ship. Her feet hit the deck with a heavy thud, she froze. She didn't move for a few seconds, waiting for something to happen and make her leap off of the ship and onto the ground, bursting into a full sprint and back into the woods. When nothing happened she let out her breath and moved in deeper into the ship. The ship seemed twisted into a completely new setting. The hallways no longer seemed to run straight, they appeared as if they were bobbing and weaving throughout the entire ship. She crept forward.

She suddenly entered into the hallway and paused again. On the wall were their bounty posters. Mikoto's bright idea was to post them up on the wall as a kind of motivation. However, in the dark light of the inner ship since all the lights were out she really couldn't make them out too well. She paused as she saw hers. Someone had drawn a mustache on her picture with a marker. This wasn't the first time Ridley had done something so childish. She quickly ripped Ridley's from the wall and let it drop to the floor. She continued down the path. She stopped almost immediately again.

The last bounty poster wasn't familiar to her. It looked like an incredible old man, wrinkles on top of wrinkles, like all water had been driven out of his body. She waited another few moments trying to place the face. When she couldn't she scoffed and shook her head. Suddenly a large gust of warm breath washed over her face. Her eyes snapped onto the man before her. This time rather than just focusing on his face, her eyes traveled down his greasy, worn-out, dehydrated body. "Oh," she said as she came to the realization that the man in front of her was in fact flesh and blood…or at the very least flesh. His body seemed dehydrated of all fluids including the precious red one.

"Rorh," spoke the man in an unintelligible gibberish. His two arms flew out as he tried to grab Sage. His arms wrapped around her despite he struggles. His dirty, almost ancient-like smell wafted up and into Sage's nostrils. She turned her head aside in disgust. "Yuuuees thar ghumin to merstir." The language was still indecipherable, but he began to pull her in a weird bear-hug-like fashion down the hall. Sage pressed her two hands against the man's abdomen.

"**Pressure ball**!" Sage let loose a large amount of pressure using her Devil Fruit, forcing the man up and off of her and threw the air…and right into the wall. She took a breath thankful that the awful smelling man had been pushed off of her finally. Only problem was his smell was still in the air. She swatted at her nose trying to knock the smell out of it. When her hand came back down, she felt stringy and stretched skin beneath it. She paused and clenched her eyes shut. Had the man covered the distance that fast, wrapping his arms back around her…she slowly opened her eyes to see not the man she had previously beaten, not the man…just his arms, still clinging to her clothes.

Sage let loose a blood-curdling scream that could rip the ground asunder. She wasn't about to wait around for the man to come back and get his arms. She knocked them both loose, swatting at them and sending them to the ground. After that, regardless of the fact that this was her ship, she bolted, her little lithe legs carrying at her at incredible speeds out of there.

Once she was outside and X number of miles away from the blasted ship and whoever that was in it, she finally stopped. She probably wouldn't have if she had a choice, she fell to the ground out of sheer fatigue. She looked to her left and right, whatever that was she wasn't about to stop and wait for it or its friends to come and catch up. This island oozed 'disaster waiting to happen'. First off the blasted thing that stranded them here, then the thing she just encountered, and finally whatever it was that flew the ship straight into the middle of the island. It must've had gargantuan strength in order to do so!

She paused as she leaned back up against the tree finally safe from the horror that was currently taking over their ship. She was trying to calm down. She redirected her gaze up to the sky. There was a dark cloud setting in. There was a strong wind blowing down here and sweeping around the island. It was a cool fall breeze. The storm rolling in wasn't the best of the news. It meant rain and lightning and they didn't have any shelter of any form. Their ship had been hijacked. She supposed they could all get a little wet for a day.

Suddenly an arm tightened around Sage's neck, cutting off airflow to her lungs and forcing a sharp gasp out between her lips.

(-With Hiro-Shu-)

The storm set in with a ferocious pounding of rain. The occasional thunder would boom across the island striking fear into anyone around. There was little to no wind. The pellets of rain sloshed loudly into the ground with every second that passed. The rain completely reduced visibility to almost nothing. Anyone on the island would be stuck in a wet, sloppy, near blind state. All the meanwhile a horrible creeping sense of horror set in.

Hiro-Shu struggled through the island. He couldn't see much around him, the rain casted a heavy cloak that ruined his vision. He barely saw anything in front of him and he was being extra cautious to not trip over any downed trees. He took another break and looked around. He took a deep breath and shrugged. He tapped his foot on the ground and felt another thick drip of mud stick to it and try to suck him back to the ground and prevent him from moving.

Hiro-Shu groaned as he continued to trudge through these horrible conditions. He needed to find his crew at the very least. If he could find the ship that would be a good achievement as well, however, he knew that the crew took first priority. He tried to keep an ear out for Ridley's obnoxious music, but the pitter-patter of the rain and the crashing thunder drown any possible noise out.

Hiro-Shu kept on trudging across the muddied ground. He didn't feel like doing much of anything. He kept his eyes up to the sky. With the weather being the way it was, he was expecting strong gusts rather than no winds at all. It reminded Hiro-Shu of the eye of a hurricane. Those few precious moments before the whole world came crashing down in an instant. Maybe it was his own wild imagination that was running off with him right now, but he felt like he really needed to find his crew before something happens.

A desert island in the middle of a rainstorm, the crew was separated right after a horrible battle. It was enough to send chills up someone's back. It was as if the world was asking for something horrible to happen to them. They survived one horror story made by man to be thrown into a natural horror story.

**Trying to Survive**

B-O-N-U-S UPDATE! I mentioned last chapter about having a bunch of backlog for this story. So here is a bonus update to keep you guys all coming back for more!

I mentioned to some people about wanting to write a horror arc. Labyrinth Designer sent me the prompt for this arc. I decided to run with it. I have never written anything remotely close to horror before, heck, I don't even watch horror movies, so this is completely experimental. But it still has all the Infinity Pirates goodness you have come to expect.

Next up, a lot of people have mentioned not being able to find the Infinity Pirate artwork, so here is the URL. (Just take out the spaces and stuff). cspacian412 . deviantart art/ Saga-of-the-Infinity-Pirates-372751017 It is a short gif just showing what I imagine all of the Infinity Pirates (except for Zesiro) looks like. I JUST CAN'T DRAW THAT FISHMAN!


	152. Horror 152 Trying to Survive

**Trying to Survive**

Ridley was just sitting down beneath a burnt out tree. He made a makeshift tent out of the small branches. Rather than sleeping on the ground, he built his tent on top of a rock. Not very comfortable, but he would wake up with clean pants. He gripped his guitar and tried to play a few notes, but another burst of thunder silenced any muse he once had. He looked out at the trees sprouting up in the distance. Despite his tent and stone bed he couldn't sleep, the thunder didn't bother him. It was the apparent emptiness of the island that wouldn't let him sleep. It was disturbing to look in all directions and find nothing. No small huts with people huddling beneath them for warmth.

Ridley was surprised that they were still islands in the Grand Line that were completely unoccupied. It was possible, he supposed, but there had to be a damn good reason. Why else would an entire island become sparse of any and all life to mysteriously vanish? Even the rats disappeared. If something could scare rats completely away from their home. The thing that attacked their ship was possibly the thing that managed to make life on this island scarce.

He fiddled with his guitar for another few seconds as he considered it all. An empty island plus giant mysterious force that attacked them for no reason meant something horrible was coming. The real question was what was it that attacked their ship in the first place? Or why it did? Ridley took one last glance upwards toward his poor tent's roof before settling in even more to his place.

He picked his eyes up. He looked around, he paused as he caught sight of someone growing closer to him. His hand gripped his guitar. He felt a slight twinge of pain shoot up his shoulder as he hefted it up. His fight with Karasu was still messing with his body, he couldn't rush it, but whoever was coming…he needed to be ready to knock them out. He kept his eye out for the approaching person. They were almost here.

(-With Enma-)

A large white pure bone rib cage stuck out of Enma's shoulders forming an almost umbrella like structure as he walked through the rain. The rain muted all sounds. His bone umbrella made things a little bit better, but it didn't help with the poor visibility. He kept walking forward through the heavy downpour in search of something helpful. He was highly doubtful that he would encounter anything that would be of help. From what he could tell it was an abandoned island, with no real good feeling to it. Not that it bothered him. He wasn't one for puppies, rainbows, and beautiful flowers. All of which this island seemed to be completely devoid of. He marched on trying to keep his head dry as he went.

He paused and squatted down, examining a few foot prints in the mud. They were Maria's! Enma smiled as he examined them more carefully. Right off the back the imprints of her mechanical body made themselves obvious to him. He guessed that didn't automatically make them Maria's, but the odds were good enough. Enma jumped to his feet and continued down the path, a happy smirk on his face. While it was only one of eight, it was a still a refreshing sight to see his nakama's footprints and get back on the right track. He quickened his pace down the muddied path, anxious to be reunited with one of his fellow crewmembers.

He was taken back a bit when he did though. Maria wasn't really alone, but who was with her didn't really comfort him. It didn't appear to be anyone he knew. And from the way Maria just embedded her fist into one of their faces, he assumed she didn't know him very well either. Maria continued rotating around and brought her heel into the face of a second guy. There was almost a horde on top of her of mangled old men, with rotting teeth and ruined complexions. He supposed this wasn't the time to be insulting them, though as another large group of them ganged up on Maria, bringing her down.

Enma's bone spear extended from his hand, piercing into one of the men and that was it. The man's body wasn't forced off of Maria or anything, his spear pierced his skin, reducing it to dust and he barely even took note of Enma. The doctor rushed in with his spear at hand, deciding that weak attacks like that wouldn't work. He swung a blunt end of his spear up and into the chin of the already injured man, blowing his head off as his neck was turned to dust. Enma looked at the head fly through the air, almost transfixed as he watched it float about.

Suddenly another two or three of them jumped up, grasping to Enma's neck determined to bring him down like Maria. **"Skeleton Porcupine!" **Sharp bones shot out of Enma's back and front in all direction, exploding into the men around him, forming holes in their body and making them release him due to their somewhat primal knowledge. His spear shot through his hand, backwards into the abdomen of one of the men behind him, knocking him off of him. Enma rotated around, swinging his spear and knocking it into the poor man's skull, once more Enma found surprisingly little resistance as his bone spear ripped through his skull. It was as if the man wasn't even there, it was like his entire body was just being held together by dust and nothing else.

Enma paused as he took a quick inventory of what was around him….the answer was about 60 more of those men. Their skin looked like shriveled up old prunes, but they were coated in white clothing with special marking adorning them. They shambled forward Enma all at once. Almost just as quickly their heads were blown to the side, sending their entire body flipping to the side as Maria came crashing through. She moved through the mob like a demon. She was punching and kicking, knocking any one of the men who stood in her way aside like a hurricane. She planted her feet once more and bulldozed another ten or so down.

Enma rushed forward, spinning around and placing his back to Maria. He would protect her back and she would protect his. Or so he thought. While his plan was clearly the smart thing to do, Maria had other plans. Bringing her fist around and stepping forward again, she clear another row of the men throwing them aside. Without bothering to return her position and protect Enma's back, she rushed forward moving through the mob. Her fist swinging through the air and knocking another man back through the air. Enma's plan may have been smarter, but Maria was proving her plan was simple and effective. Just knock them aside.

(-With Mikoto-)

Despite the fight going Enma and Maria were involved in happening on the same island as he was, Mikoto didn't have a single ounce of worry. Or knowledge about it. He was leisurely walking through the rain barely even bothering to keep an eye out for his crew or any other living being on the island his thoughts were kind of preoccupied. "It's the eye of the coyote! It's the will of the wild! Rising up to the challenge of our world!*"

"Yeah! That can be my theme song," said Mikoto, taking a break from what should be described as the perfect impression of a drowning cat than a man singing. He looked around for a brief second, deciding that maybe one of his crewmembers heard his song and was calling out to him. When he didn't hear anything, he shrugged and kept walking forward…and sadly resuming his horrible song.

He cleared another branch out of his way with a quick jab, snapping the branch as he made his way through. He paused as he noticed what can only be called someone's humble abode, a small wooden shack with a fire place out front. Mikoto looked up at the rain; his hair had been matted down from the vicious downpour. He could do well with a quick nap under a roof…maybe they had food…or riddles!

Mikoto smiled to himself as he calmly walked up to the small house and knocked on it. The door creaked open, apparently who ever lived there wasn't a big believer in locks. Mikoto shrugged as he looked in at the small room. There was nothing in the way of comfort or even food…Mikoto frowned, no sign of life either. _"Either way," _thought Mikoto directing his gaze skywards only to be met with more rain dropping down onto his face and eyes causing him to flinch, he scurried into the house despite its owner apparently being missing.

The room only contained one small table with a clear vase sitting on top of it, in that vase was one flower that was in the process of dying. Its leaves were withered and its head had drooped as if accepting its poor fate. If it was…someone on his crew's flower it would be in much better condition. He couldn't remember his name, but he was fairly confident it was a guy. He shrugged and further inspected the small room. Other than a boring table and a dead flower the only other real thing in the room was a bed, a small straw cot that looked like it hadn't been made or cleaned in ages. He would just take his chances with the floor. He took another step forward when the sound of thunder pierced the air and made him jump. Thunder sucked.

"Who are you?" shouted a voice from behind him. The pirate captain swerved around and took up a fighting position almost reflexively. While there was admittedly a man behind him, Mikoto's attention jumped to the thing past him. A large bag of fish was laying just barely in sight, he could make out at least half of the pile though. Mikoto licked his lips as he looked at it. Fish was one of his favorite dishes.

He took a step forward, but the man apparently took that as a sign of violence. His hand went to his weapon and he gripped it tightly. Mikoto took a brief second to actually pay attention to the man this time. He appeared to be well-aged, probably 50's-60's. Mikoto stretched his shoulder blade with small circles as he looked on. He wanted past the man and at the delicious fish he had been hauling. Mikoto raised his guard and made a quick half-step forward, to which the man reacted to quickly. Mikoto lunged forward ready to fight for that delicious looking fish!

(-With Rosa-)

Rosa was wandering through the island. She kept her trusted diary saved in her jacket. She didn't want the rain to ruin it. She was trudging through the rain, in a real foul mood at that. The rain wasn't making it any better, but regardless, she would never be in a good mood until they rescued Lily! How could the crew act that calm! She gave her life for them! She…went to jail for them…not gave her life. Rosa had to stay calm. She took a deep breath.

Lily jumped off of the ship and attacked a madman who was trying to kill them! Their biggest concern wasn't even with that! They should be doing whatever they could to save her, but they weren't! It seemed their biggest concern was about their captain becoming a Shichibukai! Not about saving the young girl who saved their lives! Lily struck out, flashing her sword through the air and burying it in a nearby tree. She needed to save Lily. She was taking too much time! They needed to get going! The longer they waited, the longer poor Lily was in jail. She couldn't imagine how she was holding up! It had to be horrible for her. Rosa was shaking with the thought, both in rage and fear…and possibly a little bit out of the cold rain that was pelting her face.

Rosa grabbed her small jacket and held it tightly together. She was trying to stay warm in the middle of this horrific storm. Another strong gust of wind blew into her face, but it didn't do anything to calm her rage. She kept her head low and marched forward. She just needed to march on, keep her head held high and ignore the roaring rain and rage. She may have been annoyed with the crew right now, but they were still her only way off of this island. She had decided already. When she got off this island, she would rescue Lily even if it meant storming Impel Down. Even if it meant doing so alone.

(-30 Minutes Later-)

Mikoto and the old man were sitting in the small room. Mikoto had a deep swollen cheek on his right side. The old man on the other hand was trying not to wince in pain. His left arm was tightly gripping his abdomen. There was a slight swelling going on down there, too. He had given Mikoto a slab of fish and he had one in front of him as well. Neither one were saying anything, but they have come to the same conclusion that neither one was particularly interested in killing the other. Mikoto was just shipwrecked, here by accident, and chanced onto this house. The old man…the old man was here for one reason or other. Mikoto didn't ask, he just dug into the fish.

"So, you are looking for your crew?" asked the old man. He had better manners than Mikoto did who just barely managed a grunt between bites. "But you don't remember anything about them." Mikoto flashed him a thumbs-up to convey the old man's understanding was correct. "Well when the rain clears up I'll take you to the nearest island on my boat."

Mikoto choked down a large bite of fish. "No need," said Mikoto with a smile. He paused for a second and looked thoughtful, "I'm pretty sure I have a navigator…and a ship! I'll be able to sail out of here once I find them. Safe and sound!" Mikoto gave the old man another thumbs-up before digging back into his fish. With a sharp knife and fork, he was having a good time ignoring the fact that all of his allies and friends were lost out in the pouring rain. He was too busy enjoying the food laid out before him to worry about his friends.

"I'm saying forget about them," the old man had a very scolding tone to those words he said. He slammed his fist into the table. "On this island there are two deadly forces. One is a beast, the other is a hunter. I have been here for awhile and then the beast arrived. He was young at first; he ate some of the wild-life here and there, but for the most part he was lazy. He would sleep, eat, then sleep some more. I didn't mind it. The beast was more trouble than he was worth. However, he didn't bother me; he didn't bother life on this small island. It was the hunter who threw a wrench in things."

"He came here at first just to rest at first, but then the two became entangled in what can only be described as destiny," continued the old man. "They fought a fight of epic proportions. They exchanged blows, the beast and the hunter until the battle died down. It ended horribly…for both ends. It was a draw. Neither side had won, neither side had lost. However, how could they accept this as the conclusion? Could the hunter really accept that such a creature was his equal? Could the beast accept the hunter as its equal? No, the hunter stayed on this island in constant competition with the beast."

"Yeah, so what?" asked Mikoto, "Just because they are two titans on this island doesn't mean anything. My crew won't interrupt their fight as long as they stay on our good side. And if they offer my crew fish like you did, they'll definitely stay out of their hairs."

"Hah," laughed the old man, his head swung between his two shoulders. "It's not going to happen like that. They are both territorial, both of them are evil and powerful monsters. They will chase after your crew and beat them down. I hate the thought of it, but they will try to kill your crewmates the instant they see them." Mikoto paused for a second thinking about it. "I'm not trying to scare you, but you lucked into finding me first. I'll be able to take you off the island without exciting them."

"Nah," said Mikoto leaning back in his chair. He reached forward and rolled a fishbone around on the plate. "My crew can handle themselves. I'll go searching for them and find them all tomorrow. Until then I have complete and total faith that they'd be able to survive. They have survived worse after all."

The old man struck out with his weapon, smashing it in front of Mikoto's face and into the table. He was breathing heavily, a sign of the utmost serious news plastered on his face. "There is nothing worse than those two."

**The Enemy's Base**

*'Eye of the Tiger' with some…Mikoto variations to it.

Mikoto doesn't have a care in the world. His crew is trying their hardest though, it is just that Mikoto…Mikoto is being Mikoto. Cooks come before navigators, theme songs come before crews, and fish and riddles top all else. Just a quick glance at how the rest of the group is holding up. I know I'm a day late, but yesterday was Memorial Day so things got shuffled around. This had to be pushed back...also what's up with the lack of reviews as of late?


	153. Horror 153 Enemy

**The Enemy's Base**

Enma's eyes struggled open. He rolled his head to the side and immediately regretted it as he felt a surge of pain shoot up his neck. He could barely see, his vision was still blurry. He opened and closed his hands, they were tied together and the annoying scratchy sensation of rope dug into him. He was still unsure of what happened. He just woke up here. It was beginning to become way too common, waking up in an unfamiliar setting. A sharp light flashed and Enma cringed, turning his eyes away from it. He looked down at the ground, he saw the firm soil beneath his feet. That made him feel fairly well, he wasn't hanging up fifty miles above the sea nor was he stranded in a blazing inferno, he quietly gave his thanks to Lucifer for his…luck.

He struggled turning his attention upwards to the source of the blinding light. It was a small fire. He could still hear the pitter-patter of rain, so he was at least inside some place. Though, that meant very little to him. Inside in a strange place was not much better from outside in a strange place. He moved his fuzzy vision across the room. He found nothing that made him any happier. Just Maria and Sage tied up with him. He strained against the ropes a little bit harder. There was no coming loose. To make matters worse…he felt weak. Not just physically weak like he had lost night or two of sleep, more like he was being drained of all energy. It was the familiar feeling of sea stone pressing up against him. Whoever was doing this was doing it cautiously.

"Hey," whispered Enma trying to wake Maria. He was not physically strong enough to break free, but maybe Maria would be. "Hey….Hey…HEY!" Enma continued to nag, trying to snap Maria out of her funk. The last one seemed to cause her to stir. She shook her head and almost immediately went to stretch only to find her arms were bound. She struggled for a few seconds as she looked around with a form of panic on her face, Enma knew he probably looked the same when he woke up.

"Where…where am I?" she asked as she tried buck with her legs. She quickly found out that they were tied up as well. Their situations were the same, hers and Enma, as well as Sage's. They were each attached to a long metal pole jutting out of the ground with their legs tied to the base and their hands tied behind it. This was exactly as Enma had put it with the sea stone…a cautious approach. Of course, the term 'cautious' could also be replaced with the word 'wise'.

Suddenly a large mass of people poured into the small chambers. There footfalls completely blocking out the noise of the thunderstorm. They stopped and separated, splitting up into two groups, wrapping around the room, but leaving a straight path through them to Enma and the others. Enma recognized the people as the same ones that were attacking Maria. They had ragged, dirty, skin, an almost dead composure. They didn't move once they got into place. Enma looked over them, not even a flinch out of them. It was as if…they were robots, no nervous twitches or anything of the like.

Suddenly Enma froze. The air just got a deep, dark charge through it. It wasn't normal this feeling in the air. He swallowed hard as his eyes remained fixated at the entrance. Suddenly he saw exactly who was behind this all. The monster who had captured them and left them here, tied up. The man himself didn't appear threatening. Enma would say that he had run into people with more threatening appearances than him. However, appearances can be deceiving, the eyes weren't.

This man's golden eyes appeared inhuman. They read of malice and dark-intent. When he spoke that dark-intent translated very clearly. It was gravely, sickly voice. One that would make lesser men soil themselves in fear. "Good evening," he muttered, he snapped his fingers and almost immediately one of his henchmen dropped to the ground on all fours. The golden-eyed man sat down using the minion as a seat. "My name is 'The Mummy' Abel."

He tapped his foot and looked at Enma, Sage, and Maria. All of them were propped up by the wooden stakes in the ground. Chains made of seastone were shackled to their hands and feet, making sure they couldn't move an inch unless they were unlocked. "I am a master. I had a crew of mine at one time, just so you know. A good crew with a loyal beast at my heels."

"However, admittedly things don't stay good forever," said Abel as he snapped his fingers again. The zombies quickly shuffled around. "My beast left me, attacked both me and my crew in a fit of rage. So, I decided I'll take him down. First thing I'll ever do. He landed on this island and then I did." Abel smiled as he leaned back behind him and looked at the roof of the small hut.

"Great…" said Enma as he looked around, "what does this have to do with us?" He didn't mind the background story of the person who kidnapped them and tied them up, but it seemed a bit unnecessary. Especially when he was surrounded by zombies of him. He could tell them whatever he wanted and it wouldn't much matter to them.

"I know, but I do feel a sort of responsibility for you…" he paused and got distracted. His eyes traced the room, jumping from one zombie to the next. "I feel responsible for all of my creations. Even those simpletons that surround me. I want you to know what kind of man I am. I am unforgiving. I am heartless, however, I am your master from this point forth. If you ever disappoint me, there will be dear consequences for you and everyone around you. Don't make me act on my primal urges." His hand slowly came forward, collapsing on Enma's forehead. There was a pulse of light purple that surged from Enma's body and into Abel's hands.

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto and the old man were back to sitting on the ground, both of them had visible new welts on their faces. They looked like they were in bad shape, but they kept their mouths shut. Neither one of them seemed too happy about the outcome. "I'm going to help my crew," muttered Mikoto acting like a child with no respect for his elders. "I'm not leaving this island without them."

"Fine!" shouted the old man. Throughout all of their fight this was the only thing that kid would say. He was growing tired of hearing him say it. "I won't help you, though!" The old man turned away and went back to taking care of his own things. "I got more important things to do then handle the mistakes of some idiotic kid!" Mikoto frowned as he leaned back. He was hungry again.

Suddenly the door swung open and a dashing young beauty waltzed in. Her skin had a thin tan to it, giving her a darker than most appearance. Her light blue eyes were the only thing visible beneath her purple hood that extended down to a cloak. There was a light golden trim that ran along the edges. For a brief moment when she took a step forward, her cloak fluttered revealing a white shirt beneath it and what appear to be the beginning of some skirt, but before Mikoto could make it out. Her cloak fluttered close, blocking the sight of her pristine clothing. She froze for a moment as she took in both Mikoto and the old man. "It appears we have another visitor," she said. Mikoto was a bit taken back by her voice…it seemed almost bitter like she had already developed a strong distaste for the young pirate.

"Hey, are you a part of my crew?" asked Mikoto wandering up to her. He stopped short as the young woman took a step back and away from him. Mikoto paused as he looked at her, he found it hard to believe that somebody on his crew would have such a strong disdain for him…but how could someone he didn't know have such a strong disdain for him.

"That's Viola," muttered the old man. "She's not part of your crew. She's someone who came to this island before either one of the beasts." Mikoto raised his eyebrows. Why did she dislike him then? He shrugged it off. "She came here to study some of the ancient monuments; of course, this was before the beasts razed the ground. What do you mean by 'another visitors'?" Mikoto sipped some water, he did remember her saying that.

"I saw a group of people…two of them being taken by Abel's minions," she said looking away, "and then directed another young man after them. Fate has apparently decided today to be a day to turn this island into a popular tourist spot," She said as she went and fixed herself a glass of water.

"Those are my crewmates!" shouted Mikoto jumping up and onto his feet. "Point me in the direction of this Abel fellow so I can get my crew."

The old man sighed, lowering his head. "They are already lost. If 'Mummy' Abel got his hands on them, they are already lost," his voice trailed off as he looked down to the ground. "Like I said just let me take you off of this island tomorrow when the rain clears up, forget about-" Viola quickly interjected his thought pattern.

"He's due north by northeast," she said with a calm voice. "You can't miss his house…it's the only one still standing aside from this one." Mikoto nodded, grabbing his shoes and racing off out of the room. The old man glared over to Viola.

"What do you think you are doing!?" he shouted as he shot up onto his feet. He raised his feet and stormed over to the door. Viola didn't budge an inch as she stood still. The old man froze in the doorway; he paused for a second as he looked back at her. Expecting a child to clean up her own mess and waiting for her to jump at the chance to do so.

"Fate brought him here, fate made Abel capture his friends, fate will decide whether or not he survives," she waited another second as she watched the old man hang by the door like a ghost for another few seconds. She raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was thinking while he watched her.

"If there's one thing both me and you have learned while being on this island is that fate is a cruel mistress," he said in a stone cold voice, almost with a stern scolding. "Sometimes you will see an apple fall from a tree. However, it doesn't fall from the tree because of 'fate'. It falls because of a strong wind blows and that's what this is! It's an apple going up against a strong wind, better known as Abel! It's not fate! Its recklessness!"

"I won't deny that fate is a cruel mistress," stated Viola, standing up for her belief. "You're right…I know that better than anyone, but you seem to be forgetting one thing. Sometimes the apple won't fall." The old man stood in the door for a few second, pondering this statement. She was right about that, but that was only if this was a normal wind.

"You come from a kingdom where everything is rooted in fate," brought up the old man. "However, sometimes I wonder if you understand what that means. Fate exists because we make it exist. In that instant when he asked you, you could've said no. You could've said it was too dangerous for him to put his neck on the line. But instead…instead you allowed him to go on, you told him the truth. You twisted his fate into something much more dangerous!" The old man huffed as he glared at her. She smiled and shook her head. "This is only his fate because you made it! So if he dies, don't blame fate! Blame yourself!" The old man grabbed his coat and charged out of the house.

The young woman stood there and shook her head. It was him who didn't understand. Once more fate was working its way even out here. It directed the ship, directed the kid to her. Everything happened in this order, not because of luck, not because of chance, but because of fate.

(-with Zesiro-)

Zesiro stood there, his breath rising and falling as he looked out over the hills. At his feet laid six or seven disgruntled men, completely destroyed due to Zesiro's own strength. He had been following two of them, the problem was he didn't see the other four or five sneak up behind him and attack. Luckily there were so few of them, it took a lot of Zesiro's strength to bring them down. In terms of physical strength, Zesiro easily overpowered all of them together, but they just wouldn't stay down. Zesiro wasn't happy with what he did to keep them down, but he'd live with himself.

Asides from that they did what Zesiro wanted them to do, he was close enough to see what they were heading to. Two small shacks in the distant. If this was a normal island Zesiro would walk up to it and check on it, but with the way things were going he believed it would be best just to wait out here. He sat down and waited. The rain was still coming down in massive amounts, but it had lessened somewhat. He expected it to be gone in another hour or so. He leaned back and looked at the house. What was in there?

The group of men that attacked him were heading there so that alone told Zesiro it wasn't exactly a 'visitors welcome' place, but even without that Zesiro feared that he had all the evidence he needed just sitting here. He didn't want to admit it, but it was giving off a far worse aura than he ever experienced. Trevor's aura was the closest thing he could think about. They both had that feeling of hideous malice, but this one was far worse.

Trevor was a killer. That much was obvious to anyone who took a glance at him and that made everybody scared of him. It is hard to imagine a faith worse than death. Looking at this aura it wasn't the aura of a killer. At least not in the way it had been with Trevor. Sure whoever was in that tent was responsible for killing someone, but that didn't mean it was his most prevalent talent. No, this man would step on, squeeze out of, or torture anyone to get what he wanted. Zesiro decided that waiting here would be his best bet at finding someone else from his crew. This was the only landmark Zesiro has seen for awhile now, aside from the small mountain range, someone else was bound to stumble upon it.

Suddenly a heavy hand clasped onto Zesiro's shoulder. It only took Zesiro an instant to draw his blades and launch an attack at the man who dared to touch him. He swerved around, bringing his blade out and aimed for the neck.

It slammed into a heavy, yet solid force. It forced the man back, but no blood was shed. "Look before you leap," said the voice and Zesiro immediately recognized it. It was Hiro-Shu. Zesiro let out a breath of relief; he bent down and helped his friend onto his own two feet. If it wasn't for Hiro-Shu's vessel power of iron, his head probably would've been chopped off. Even as it was there was thick dent in Hiro-Shu's neck.

"Sorry about that," apologized Zesiro. He turned around and looked out back to the house. He was more on edge than he had originally believed. This was the third island they had been on since entering the Grand Line, but the terrors they had already encountered felt like hundreds of islands worth. At least the rain was letting up.

He closed his eyes as he tried to calm down. Being a pirate was nothing but a series of miniature heart attacks.

**Gunning for the Hunter**

Do you know how I said I had a schedule and all that? Yeah, I lied. My week just got blown to smithereens, I was busy doing handyman work (AKA doing some work that actually makes me money!) I promise you this story won't disappear for awhile...I can almost guarantee another two years of Saga (if I don't officially end before then).

I just want to say how freaking awesome everything is going! One of my artworks (not my manga) was one of the six rewards that received an award at an official art gallery! (There were over one thousand in the running though)! I'm an official artist! Yes, I love bragging, yes, I have a big head, etc.

Other than that I am honestly surprised at how far ahead I am in this story. The next arc is already nearing its climax and, dare I say it, I think it may even rival the URA despite the fact that its much shorter! I'm having a blast with life right now!


	154. Horror 154 Gunning for the Hunter

**Gunning for the Hunter**

Mikoto was racing forward, the small house was already in his sights, however that small victory didn't slow him down any. He kept racing forward, his entire attention being focused on what was ahead of him. That small hut of a house was what he kept his full attention on and perhaps that was where he made his mistake. His leg got snagged on something sending him tumbling forward. Mikoto caught himself, rolled back onto his feet and turned around to see what tripped him up. He saw Ridley their with a smile on his face, laugh uproariously at his own nakama. Mikoto grumbled something.

"What was that for?" asked Mikoto, jumping to his feet and jabbing his finger at Ridley. Ridley had a bewildered look on his face, probably just shocked that Mikoto didn't return the favor by chasing him around. Well, that and the fact that it didn't seem like Mikoto recognized him.

"Chill, man," spoke Ridley raising his hands almost signaling defeat. "I understand that you are a little annoyed, but come on! We haven't seen each other for awhile now." Mikoto looked questioningly at Ridley. Mikoto raised an eyebrow at him, trying to piece it together. His memory was still a little hazy, but it was slowly starting to come to him. This guy…was a member of his crew. Other than that Mikoto was drawing a blank. You'd think despite his loss of memory he would at least remember the guy's cool Mohawk.

"Yeah, sure…" Mikoto mumbled. No name was currently coming to mind so maybe he'd just have to settle for 'Hey, you' until he remembered. The man had a flash of concern on his face, but it quickly faded as Mikoto spoke up. "Well, what's going on? Why did you stop me from going down there and picking up the rest of my crew?" Ridley shook his head and laughed again, he rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to figure something out.

"Look, Mikoto," Ridley said with a wave of his hand, he gestured down to the house. "We don't know who's there and one thing I can tell you is he's not nice. He kidnapped at least two of our nakamas so far." Mikoto guessed this man must've been the one who Viola found and talked to. He must be the man who she sent after them. Mikoto didn't mind it, he guessed this must be a trust-worthy guy. "There's more upside to this as well! Awhile back I saw some of Zesiro's footprints and they seemed to be headed in this direction so it is entirely possible he's around here somewhere." Ridley didn't feel like mentioning that Zesiro's footprints had been covered up by what can only be called a wave of people apparently dragging their feet, ruining Ridley's only hint at an ally nearby. He supposed being with Mikoto was a benefit. There was strength in numbers and in all honesty, his body still hurt like hell. It would be helpful to defeat and more importantly survive whoever was in the house up ahead.

"Great!" shouted Mikoto lifting his arms up into the air. "First we beat the crap out of whoever is in that house and then we find Zesiro!" Ridley frowned, he would've rather it have been the other way around, but he suppose there was no stopping Mikoto. He was just along for the ride not really to help out anyways. Besides Mikoto beat Trevor by some miracle how hard can this man be? Ridley nodded, finally steeling his courage and deciding to go along with Mikoto's 'plan'. He turned around to give Mikoto the A-Okay sign, but instead found himself staring at a tree. Ridley paused for a moment as he tried to figure out what exactly had happened, before he realized he already knew what happened, no thought was necessary. He turned his head to the side and saw Mikoto rushing full-speed down the path with his hands in the air, pumping as he went down. Only thing he was missing was a battle cry… "It's the EYE OF THE COYOTE!" screeched Mikoto as he continued his headstrong, reckless charge on the house.

Ridley sighed, grabbed his guitar and went in after him. When they got to the house and Mikoto burst through the door without a care in the world, Ridley realized he was worried for no real reason. No one was inside. There were three poles sticking up in the ground that looked used and worn, not to mention the handcuffs laying down at the ground. "I guess that's something," Ridley said. He took his guitar off and prodded the handcuffs, "I miss my Saturday nights." Ridley laughed and looked over at Mikoto who was busying himself looking around elsewhere. His nose held high in the air. As much as Ridley didn't want to find this new opponent, he knew they needed to find their crew so he shrugged and bit his tongue, allowing Mikoto to go about his work.

In a moment there was a noticeable difference in Mikoto's demeanor. His ears piqued up, his eyes went wide as he caught a scent. His hair went on end as he felt the creeping feeling of someone watching him. He backed off from his spot and looked around. He looked towards the door and tightened his fist, stepping forward towards the door at a slow pace. Mikoto shot his fist out, punching directly in front of him at the door. Ridley flinched at the horrible sound of a door being broken with one punch. He opened his eyes and was greeted by a large dust cloud. He could make out Mikoto and another man in it, but something was wrong. The dust must've been playing tricks on his eyes.

Despite the fact that the dust limited Ridley's eyesight to nothing, but shadows it was fairly obvious to see Mikoto was winning and against a slightly taller foe. Mikoto dove beneath it, raising his fist back up, he pounded into it, getting a clean cut through on the man and knocking something loose. A shadowy blur flew backwards off of the old man as Mikoto took his distance. The second shadowy figure kind of slumped to the ground in a horrible fashion, piling up on the ground. Ridley waited a few more seconds for the dust to settle before really thinking about intervening, but when all was said and done. The fight was over.

And what was left was Mikoto standing over a disgruntled man…perhaps disgruntled wasn't a strong enough word…perhaps dismembered was more like it. The man's arm was reduced to a short stump where dust was pooling up, the same could be said for the head, except Ridley could see the head laying a few feet away. Even for Ridley that was sight he would rather never have to see. He turned his head away and looked out the only small window in the cabin. "Ah…we are royally screwed here," he muttered as he looked on. Mikoto walked back and joined Ridley in his window gazing. It didn't take a genius to recognize what Ridley meant. Apparently this house was nothing short of a trap and Mikoto and Ridley walked right into it. It was surrounded. That man Mikoto just took out was only the first. "Get ready!" shouted Ridley.

"HAH!" laughed a booming voice as it cut into the room, attracting their attention. Both Mikoto and Ridley flicked their heads up and looked around them, searching for the voice. "Ah, it is nice to have allies, but it is even nicer to have competent allies! I'm quite sorry I couldn't be there in person to defeat you, but you see my number one enemy exists on this island and I'm afraid he takes priority over someone like you." Mikoto raised his eyebrow, was he talking about the beast that the old man was talking about?

"You see when it is raining he goes into a slumber-like state. He falls asleep into a nearly impervious stone statue form. However, once the rain ends so does his slumber." Mikoto looked back out the window. The rain was letting it up, it should stop any second now. Mikoto didn't believe a word this man was talking about. He looked around again, quickly locating the source of the noise. He stopped, slammed his fist into the wall and pulled out…a Den-Den Mushi. He stopped as he looked at it, questioned its worth and tossed it aside. "I'm going to go defeat him. If you're still alive when I come back I'll enjoy ripping you to shreds myself."

Mikoto growled. He saw a figure in the distance move, turn its back towards them. "Hey…you!" shouted Mikoto catching Ridley's attention, he had a questioning look on his face as to why Mikoto didn't remember him. "Handle things here okay! I'm going to go wipe the floor with that guy's butt!" Mikoto leapt out of the window and charged forward. The slow zombie-like creatures shambled towards him, but at that pace even a normal human could outrun and Mikoto was much faster than that. He disappeared into a blur, blasting past them all and at the man he saw leave.

"Ah, the things I do because some idiot leaves me stranded amidst an army of undead soldiers," muttered Ridley as he took another look out of the window and at the approaching zombies, all of them shambling forward at an admittedly underwhelming pace. Ridley took his guitar off of his back and placed it in front of him. "**50 Decibels!" **He strummed hard on his guitar sending a painful screeching like sound all out and around him. The zombies froze for a second, apparently they were still capable of feeling some pain, but for the most part they didn't seem to mind as they 'quickly' resumed their march. "Well…that's all I got."

"**Rapid Cuts!*" **shouted Zesiro as he raced forward and into the middle of the shambling men. He quickly unsheathed his sword. He landed perfectly fine and brought his sword arcing across the scene. The blade dug into and destroyed multiple of the zombies, sending plenty of their arms and legs flying across the scene. "No use trying to take this slowly Ridley, just dish out as much direct damage as possible."

"**Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame!" **shouted Hiro-Shu as he let loose a bellow of flames that he used to surround the house, except at the front door. "That should slow them down a little." The only thing Hiro-Shu really did was create a choke-point. The zombies would have to enter from one area, meaning a sudden stream of them was impossible. It bought them more time at the very least, but there was too many of them for them to beat back forever, eventually their stamina would run out.

The first wave approached, breaching the small opening in the flames and wandering in. They were met with a solid slap of a guitar, the clean cuts of a finely tuned blade, and the heavy hits of an iron gauntlet. They were thrown backwards, tipping and knocking into others as they went. However, the next wave didn't wait to see if their allies were okay they were already pressed up against the crew.

Zesiro's smooth and concise flow from one slice to the next managed to keep them at bay for awhile, but eventually he would tire. Another four stepped forward to take the place of the two he just made minced meat of. He stepped forward, bringing his sword around and into them, knocking them around with ease. He felt one of their hands clamp onto his shoulder, he wasn't fast enough with the drawback of his swords. He brought his arm swinging back, smashing his elbow into the zombie's gut and temporarily stunning him. The next instant he brought his sword all the way around and chopped the man's arm clean off.

Ridley's large, full-powered swings sent them skidding back to start. He quickly caught himself and strummed a brief note out, the sound caused the zombies to flinch, but only for a brief second. However, that second was just the amount of time Ridley needed to re-steady himself and swing his guitar back around, knocking one of their head's loose.

Hiro-Shu's heavy fisted displays of power, also allowed him to stay ahead of the game. Slamming his shoulder into them whenever they got too close and following it up with a scorching punch, he slowly managed to whittle down their numbers and push them back with this. However, every time he managed to send one of them flying back away from their small base another group rushed in eager to take their place. Hiro-Shu looked around, trying to keep tabs on the wall of flames. Luckily…or unluckily as it might be the zombies seemed to be smart enough to know to avoid the flaming walls. They walked around them all of them aiming to press through the small opening Hiro-Shu had left them. Of course, the rain wasn't helping any either, he noted that the drops, however few there were at this moment were still managing to slowly put out his fire. The masses would be on top of them in seconds.

One of the zombies fell down way back before them. A slice appearing on his body, stretching from the inside of his shoulder blade all the way down to his waist. Another zombie's mouth was wide-open as a clean and smooth sword pierced his chest, forcing him to stumble forward a few steps. Another quick rush through the group was Rosa, stepping through the masses as quickly as possible. A smooth slash here and there brought another group of zombies down as she slowly waded through the dusty bodies to the crew's base. She rushed up next to them, taking her place next to their side. "Another great chapter for a book is it not?" she said, holding her blade up and watching the masses of them approach. Zesiro smirked as he looked over at her, grateful that another ally joined their side.

Rosa didn't know how many were out in front of them, she would bet on the lower thousands, not too horrible given their circumstances…however, if she had to bet on the lower thousands or four….she would bet the mass of zombies, slowly shambling forward. Another one grew too close, Rosa struck out, bringing her sword up into his mouth and out through the other side. She grateful that these guys were already dead, so she didn't have to hold back against them. There was a temporary moment as she let out a sigh of relief for that fact, but the next moment when the zombie she had skewered with her sword moved forward another inch, letting out another groan she realized she didn't want to put up with the undead wave. She brought him forward and into the circle and then using the built-up momentum she spun him around and forced him back out into the circle to be with his people. Almost like bowling, the zombie stumbled forward, coming free from Rosa's blade and knocking down another two of them.

"_Great," _she thought, _"one down, one thousand to go." _The next zombie shambled forth, arms out-stretched as if threatening to hug Rosa to death. Rosa's blade shot forward as she moved in. It was a clean upwards cut, severing the arm from the body. She moved in, not wasting a moment. She dashed past the helpless zombie that was fumbling around without its arm and moved to the next. A clean side-ways sweep through its abdomen left it in pieces. Rosa cut through the crowd, quick slashes that temporarily rendered them helpless. In terms of skills and speed, the zombies didn't stand much of a chance compared to her.

Zesiro was cutting through the crowd just as cleanly. He didn't so the slightest intent to slow. He moved through the crowd with such precision that his heavy-handed sword slashes seem out of place at the end of his finesse movements. He moved in with such fine movements, like water through the crowd. At the end of his movements, his two swords blew through two separate targets, sending them both collapsing to the ground. He moved in and out, bringing his swords to a final halt at his side. Behind him a group of zombies collapsed all with massive sword wounds painted on their chests.

Hiro-Shu was having a bit of an easier time. With a roaring flame that burst forward from his mouth and coated his fist, he easily stepped through the crowd, landing several devastating punches while doing so. One punch for each zombie was all that necessary. He would step in, smash his fist into one of their guts, and then quickly moved on to the next. It was quick, painful, and efficient. The zombies were thrown around like ragdolls whenever one of his fists echoed into chests.

**Crossed Lines**

I forgot to post this one! I meant to post it earlier this week, I uploaded it and everything! I even did the author's note...but I forgot...

Still don't have a schedule. Expect sporadic updating. Maybe even no update for a week in awhile (got a job that's going to take up most of my time soon), but I don't know when that week will be it could be next week. Anyways, things are heating up, the fighting have been brought to a boiling point as the captain turns his attention to the hunter and the crew is stuck taking on waves of zombies. But it appears a group of the Infinity Pirates are still missing. Where are they and what has been done to them?


	155. Horror 155 Crossed Lines

**Crossed Lines**

Mikoto bolted back and forth, he managed to make it through the massive horde and his opponent was in sight. Or at least who he thought was his opponent; he piled on another burst of speed, launching himself forward. He leapt into the air, propelling him at his opponent. He rotated his entire body forward, "**Rapid Fire x 10!" **His arm pumped back and forth as it readied for the moment, finally it smashed into the man's skull. Each pump became a punch and all of the punches blended into one fine final blow. Only problem was Mikoto could tell immediately that something was wrong, his fist squished into the man's skull as if it was made out of thousands of layers of paper. Mikoto looked down and noticed it kind of was.

There was a shield of multiple layers of paper, growing out of the man's head. Mikoto was surprised, he pushed himself back off of the man's weird head and landed. Luckily Mikoto guessed due to the fact that the paper layering absorbed the impact of his blow, there wasn't that much of a kickback to his Rapid-Fire he may be able to use it again soon. That is if he survived the man's next attack. He turned around and with a ferocious look on his face, he lashed out. His wrappings slid off of his arm forming a whip and striking Mikoto, sending him sprawling to the ground. Mikoto transformed into his full beast form, landing on all fours and rushing forward for the man. Mikoto dug his teeth into the man's arm only to be met with a surprisingly hard thrust of his palm, freeing himself from Mikoto's jaw. Mikoto quickly transformed back into his preferred hybrid form.

"It looks like one rat managed to escape my trap," said the man, 'The Mummy' Abel. He looked over at Mikoto and sized him up. "Hmm…you actually seem like a potentially potent foe, perhaps you will actually warrant me going at full-throttle." Mikoto felt a flash of pure instinct overcome him. The word 'run' seem prominent. Mikoto took his distance, making sure that this man wasn't like Trevor. "Hah! I suppose I should give you a sporting chance, hmm?" He reached out and grabbed one of the trees. There was weird look as light pulsed through his arm, coming from the tree and pulsing inwards into his shoulder. Mikoto watched as the tree slowly began to wilt, draining itself of all life and crumpling up into a dried pile of mush.

"I ate the Kanso-Kanso no mi*. Anything I touch turns to dust. I dry out anything around me." Mikoto looked down at the man's feet and watched as more purple pulses moved inwards from the ground and into the man's feet. He was drying up the land as they spoke. "Of course, if you haven't put it together yet, this also means humans are incapable of standing up to my powers. They turn into mummified shells of their former selves. With this they become mindless shadows willing to obey the man who turned them without question." Well, that explained the masses back at the house a few seconds ago.

Abel dove towards Mikoto, his hands outstretched, determined to turn Mikoto into another one of his mummified followers. Mikoto dodged the first strike, swinging towards the side and moving in. Abel lashed out once more, keeping his hands moving in wards for Mikoto's body; just a simple touch was all he needed to work his magic. OF course, this was proving to be more difficult than Abel was originally led to believe. As he drove in, each lash was expertly avoided by Mikoto. To a normal person looking in at the fight it might appear that Mikoto was a genius, reading all of Abel's movements and dodging them before he stood a chance, but from Mikoto's stand-point it was even more amazing.

Abel was just slow. It appeared as if Abel and Mikoto were just moving in different times. Mikoto's speed was much higher than Abel's, ordinarily this would be true for all of Mikoto's opponents. But with Mikoto's recent victory over Trevor it was like a switch had been flipped. All restrictions had disappeared. That was a tough fight for Mikoto, but now Mikoto had an overwhelming new experience he had come and defeated a Shichibukai, not only was the experience a great boost to his skill, but also the newfound confidence. Mikoto was using minute, yet high-speed movements to barely dodge each of Abel's punches all while moving in. He drew close and lashed out, his fast punch spinning in and nearly hammering Abel's face in, except Abel was obviously a bit more skilled with more experience. He could tell Mikoto's punches were coming and was using that knowledge to dodge it. Speed versus experience were facing down here.

"**Desert Whip!" **Abel's hand transformed into a wrapping similar to that of a mummy and stretched out. Mikoto dodged to the inside and watched it fly past him. Abel yanked it back, bringing the long whip of wrapping back at Mikoto's head. It smashed into the back of Mikoto's head and knocked him forward and towards Abel. Abel lashed out, Mikoto's eyes widened as he kicked it up a notch. Abel's hand grasped Mikoto's neck…or it would've. He felt nothing, he saw the kid in front of him, but it was obvious that Mikoto wasn't there from the feel. His senses were playing tricks on his mind.

"**Afterimage **into **Wolf Cutter!" **Mikoto brought his claws slashing upwards bringing them to fruition right at Abel's shoulder blade, drawing a brief string of blood. However, Abel was used to fighting, he was used to bleeding and knew exactly how to counteract it. He dried up his blood using his own Devil Fruit power, causing the blood to form a poor bandage at the surface of the wound. Mikoto was immediately forced away as Abel struck out at him, a quick flurry of whip aimed at his head. Mikoto pivoted to the side and stepped in again. It was a constant power play between the two of them. Mikoto was better closer-up while Abel was better far away. It was a continuous dance between the two, Mikoto would try to close-in, Abel would try to distance himself.

Mikoto rushed in, he swung his fist in and tried to connect with Abel. Abel lashed out with one whip, deflecting Mikoto's punch and then he struck out with his second arm, the whip snapped forward slashing into Mikoto's cheek and throwing him back. Mikoto shook his head, but he kept his head. He dove beneath the next swing and closed in. He planted his foot and with a rapid fast twist in his fist swung in, widely. Abel's body bloated up as the wrapping thickened. The thick wrapping absorbed the blow at least the first one. Mikoto jammed his entire body forward, **"Rapid Fire x 20!" **He pressed his fist in, forcing the bandages together, tightening them up reduced the amount of force it would absorb. Suddenly Mikoto's fist began pumping, each punch forced its way into Abel's ribs. Every 20 of them pounded into his ribs, Abel's body twisted slightly as he tried to whether the blow. His body clenched up as he tried to stand through it.

Finally the last punch rang through Abel's body and he didn't waste any time forcing Mikoto away, a quick whipping from his arms. They smashed into Mikoto's side, Mikoto was spun to the left and right as each of them came into his sides. He tried to stay standing, remain on the top of his feet. He stayed on the balls of his feet, sending himself spinning all the way through. He spun to the left and right, trying to break through and get close again, but he couldn't. The continuous whipping kept Mikoto at bay. Mikoto couldn't press in any deeper.

(-With Zesiro, Ridley, Enma, and Rosa-)

Of course, saying that Mikoto had it the hardest was a lie. The rest of the crew was still be invaded. They were being swarmed by hundreds, if not thousands of zombies. They were all shambling towards the house. For the time being they were still effectively defending the stronghold, but they were breaking down. The ring of fire was dying down to mere cinders now, but regardless of the lack of flame, the zombies were being careful they were walking around it, avoiding it. Things were looking bad until a long ivory spear shot out.

The spear shot through one of the zombies and drew close to Hiro-Shu, but Hiro-Shu stopped it. He looked down at it and he lifted it up slightly. It reminded him of their own doctor's spear. Hiro-Shu smiled at this, recognizing a friendly weapon when he saw one until he was met with a solid iron punch to the side of his face. He was tossed back as he tried to catch himself. He planted his feet down and managed to look up at his attacker. And he immediately felt horrified at the sight.

Maria was standing before him, or what was left of her. Abel had gotten to her. She had wraps coming down and encasing her torso and head. She looked like she lost weight too, shriveled up in the hot sun and dried out to where her skin was paper-thin and rested over nothing but her bones. Hiro-Shu brought his hands up and made a tight guard. He immediately found himself at the wrong end of the attack as Maria brought her hand smashing into it. Hiro-Shu was thrown backwards, he couldn't find his footing and was flung, nearly into Zesiro.

Zesiro turned around to take down the zombie that had flung Zesiro only to hesitate. How could he attack one of his old crew members? Luckily it appeared he didn't have to answer that question. A solid kick landed in the side of his face, forcing him back and rolling around in the mud. A ragged, zombified Enma stood towering above Zesiro. Zesiro jumped to his feet, quickly moving onto his own two feet and drawing his second sword. It still felt weird to hold, the weight was close, but it wasn't the same. It was a little heavier, a little bulkier than his old sword. But nonetheless it was sweet to hold…just not against his old friend.

Enma extended his bone spear at Zesiro, Zesiro swayed backwards to avoid it. Enma swung his bone spear to the side away from Zesiro, but into Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu turned around to face the attacker, just in time for Maria to rush forward and smash her fist downwards and into his face. The two of them had better teamwork dead then they did alive that much was obvious. Zesiro rushed in and met Maria's attack, temporarily hold her off from Hiro-Shu. But what could he do? Slash her arms off, behead her? He was at a stalemate with her. He couldn't do anything to take her down. He could just hold her off and wait…at least that would be an option if it was only her. Possibly if it was only her and Enma, but he felt a tearing, twisting, horrible pain in his side. He was thrown to the side with the force of a hurricane.

Sage was the next zombie that walked in. A pressure ball had hit Zesiro's side, it hurt like hell. He couldn't believe it. Those three were kidnapped and transformed? It was impossibly bad news, even worse there was another huge horde waiting just past them to tear into his flesh. He had no choice. The fact was right now…as much as he hated to swallow this fact. It was a matter of him…or them. He twisted his sword around, they were friends he would use the back of his blade, but at this point that was the only pity he could afford them.

Zesiro stepped in, he swung his sword around and upwards, smashed it into Maria's side. Maria's arm managed to jet in between her side and his sword. She survived the blow without any real injuries. Of course, Zesiro wasn't done. He had two swords after all. His second sword came in from the sky, chopping down aiming for Maria's shoulder. It hit with a horrifying clank. Zesiro's sword dug into the metal, denting her shoulder. Maria swung that arm in and smashed it into Zesiro's gut. Her arm was still working fine, that strike probably would've paralyzed a normal person's arm.

Maria stepped back and readied another punch for Zesiro's head. She fired it, drawing her metallic fist ever closer to his head. Rosa stepped in, parrying the punch with the back of her own blade. Rosa continued the assault, a long swinging slash to Maria's rib cage sent her spiraling to the side. Rosa was immediately thrown forward by Enma stepping in. He swung his spear straight at the back of her head. Rosa moved back, expertly dodging that stroke. She kept it up, using bare minimum changes in her movement to avoid zombie Enma's swing. Suddenly she felt cold metal latch against her arms, holding her steady. She turned around and saw that Maria had sneaked up behind and grabbed a hold of her. Enma leaned back and readied a powerful forward thrust!

Hiro-Shu's fist shot into Enma, throwing him to the side while a swing from Ridley crashed into Maria, forcing her to let go of Rosa. Maria skidded across the ground. She planted her feet and charged in back for Ridley and Rosa. Rosa thrust her sword forward, smashing the tip of it into Maria's arm and letting it slip in a bit. Maria stopped short enough to make sure no real damage was inflicted to her arms, she then stepped forward and fired another punch with her other arm. Ridley stepped forward and blocked that. Together these two were barely holding Maria back.

Ridley' leg was ripped out from under him as a massive ball of pressure slammed into it, twisting his body into the air. With Ridley's footing gone, he could no longer hold Maria back. She brought her fist pivoting around and into the side of his head knocking him to the ground. "Ridley?" asked Rosa, but she didn't dare to move eyes off of Maria. She kept them focused on Maria and her fist. Maria stepped in again and swung her fist through the air, this time however, Hiro-Shu did a complete interception. Throwing his entire weight into her to ensure the attack was a fail. He skidded to a halt and looked over at his fallen comrade. At that instant though, Enma had broken free from being face-to-face with Zesiro and charged. He swung his long bone spear sideways and at Hiro-Shu's face. Hiro-Shu ducked beneath it barely avoiding the bone spear. Only problem was as soon as Enma realized that was a miss, he produced a second one and thrust it at him. The sharp tip of the spear dug into Hiro-Shu's shoulder and drove him back. Enma quickly brought the first spear back around and aimed it at him.

"**Forger's Fire! Iguko's Flame!" **Hiro-Shu roared, unleashing a massive wave of flames all over Enma.

"Hiro-Shu!" shouted Zesiro, "that's Enma!" Hiro-Shu didn't need the reminder though, he knew all too well who it was, but he didn't have much of a choice. They were attacking them quickly and efficiently. It was easy to knock out the masses of zombies that were approaching, but their own friends would be impossible to strike at full speed. Only a completely heartless person could go at full-power against their own friends and allies. In all honesty, he was holding back with that last attack. He didn't want to burn him too badly, he just needed to get him off.

Perhaps Hiro-Shu had spoken too soon. There was a loud and deafening crack as Ridley brought his guitar straight through and into the side of Sage's head, throwing her completely to the side. "That's for attacking me!" shouted Ridley as he marched forward for her. Sage stumbled back on to her feet. Ridley swung his guitar into the air then back down, it would've hit her square upside her own head if it wasn't for Zesiro interfering with him.

"What the heck do you think you are-" Zesiro's words were cut short as a blast of another pressure ball slammed into his side, throwing him completely sideways. Zesiro smashed into the ground and he tried to right himself, to stand back up…but it was hard. He had taken several blasts to the side now. It was starting to tear at his skin. Perhaps he should've let Ridley swing that guitar down on top of her. He shook his head, the health and well-being of his crew came first. Although it was starting to seem like it was either them or him. Zesiro tightened his grip on his sword.

Zesiro looked at his opponents. Three of his fateful allies. It took him a few seconds to think, but he believed that maybe he should fight at full-power. Enma and Maria weren't weak, a strike with even the slightest amount of strength being held back wouldn't be enough to take them out. So he would have to fight them without any mercy. He turned his sword around, ready at last to use the front of his blade against his old friends.

**The Front of the Blade or the Back?**

**Which One Do You Use Against Friends?**

Poll taken down! The poll considering whether or not I should include character profiles in my chapters is over and done with! Starting next chapter I'll include crew member profiles as they join (starting with Rosa) and they will all be in the 3rd person view.

Partly because I feel bad about accidentally not uploading the last chapter on time, partly because I have massive backlog, and partly because I don't know if I'm going to update this week due to lack of a schedule, here's a 'bonus' chapter for you all, enjoy!

Mikoto has finally caught up to Abel and managed to land a hit...sort of! But now the real fight has started and with Abel's weird powers, who knows what will happen should the fight continue in this manner. Will Mikoto barely manage to pull out ahead? Or will Abel's unique and crafty powers provide him with the winning edge? Not to mention what the other Infinity Pirates are facing! Each other! Will they find the heart to harm those who had grown up with them throughout the ages or will they accept defeat at the hands of their friends? (Except for Ridley apparently...)


	156. Horror 156 The Front of the Blade

**The Front of the Blade or the Back?**

**Which One Do You Use Against Friends?**

Rosa saw Zesiro rotate his blade around at first she thought about correcting him, but then she saw the fire in his eyes and realized that it was completely intentional. He intended to strike at full-power. She nodded and turned her blade around as well. She suppose Zesiro was probably right striking at full-power was probably the only way to win the fight now. She lowered her waist and leaned forward, ready to go right off the bat. Ridley and Hiro-Shu both noticed this as well and while they thought to go at full awhile back, they used Zesiro's resolve as the true signal to get serious

Zesiro roared forward, bringing his sword around and at Enma. Enma brought his spear in between them and blocked the first strike. The fishman kept it going, rotating around and bring his second sword up, forcing Enma's spear out of the way. Ordinarily this would've been the end of the attack both of their hands had been ripped too far away to block or attack again and in all honesty, out of those two neither one could attack, however there were more than those two around. Rosa rushed in, acting like Zesiro's third arm and sword. She rushed in from below Zesiro's arm and closed in, her hand stretched forward with a slight pulse behind her blade she thrust it forward for Enma's gut. The zombified doctor seemed to recognize this as another attack, however, he had no way to really block it. A thick wall of bone oozed out ready to absorb the blow. Rosa's blade sliced into, she had enough force behind it to shave a streak off as it blew in deeper into Enma's body. Enma's face was contorted in pain, but he weathered through the blow. He spun his hand around, producing another bone spear with it he aimed down for Rosa's back. He plunged it straight down intending to skewer her with all of his might.

Only problem was if Enma was ready to attack so was his initial opponent, Zesiro. Zesiro brought both of his swords roaring down, screaming for blood. And of course Enma could do nothing, but accept these two pieces of brilliant steel into his shoulders…he was so totally enraptured with Rosa below him. He probably wasn't even fully conscious that Zesiro was even there, which was probably a first for someone to say that about him. Enma's eyes went wide as staggered back. He was confused that much was obvious. Zesiro twisted his sword around, he would use the back of the blade for the finishing touch…and he would pray that his friend survived it. Luckily he didn't get too far into that prayer.

Another strong blast of power blew into his side as Maria came over. Apparently there was some friendship between zombies. Zesiro quickly caught himself before he skidded too far across the ground. He looked over at Maria just in time to see Hiro-Shu close in. Hiro-Shu's fists were red-hot. They swung in quickly, capitalizing on Maria's own recovery period in between blows. His fist slammed into her cheek and he rushed in. A series of punches flew from him, each one landing heavily with the sound of a loud crunch. He swung around, swinging his entire weight behind each and every punch. Hiro-Shu's already unnatural strength was boosted above and beyond as his weight crashed in from behind it.

Maria was blown back again. She stumbled for a second, but she bumped into something behind her. She turned her head around and immediately locked eyes with who was behind her; it was Zesiro. He moved in while Hiro-Shu was distracting her, he brought the sheath of his sword forward and into the side of her head. Maria stumbled again as she tried to catch her. This time Ridley rushed in, he leapt into the air and swung his guitar down for her head. Maria brought her two arms together and blocked the downwards chop. By flexing and throwing her arms to the side she managed to blow Ridley's guitar and, as a result, Ridley away. From there Maria moved in lifting her foot into the air and then bringing her heel smashing down into Ridley's gut, and clamping him in between her heel and the ground. Ridley tried to hide his pain, but he couldn't help rolling onto his side and bite his lip, trying to calm down and ignore the pain. Zesiro charged in to stop the attack, but Enma brought his heel around and into Zesiro's side to throw him back and sent him back to start. Zesiro thought they had a little more time before Enma was back up and ready for action.

Rosa blew in, intercepting with her sword. Another zombie shuffled up to them without even having to turn her head to look, Rosa's sword cleaved into the zombie's head. Anyone other than the three zombies in front of them weren't important. She just had to focus on them. No one else mattered. She readied her sword and sped in towards Maria. There was a brief moment as her sword, smashed into her metal arms. She was thrown back with the force. She twisted around and brought her sword around with a thrust aimed at Maria's shoulder. Maria's fist intercepted the blow. However, that only lasted for a second. Ridley swept his guitar across the ground from his spot on the ground, the guitar blew out from underneath his feet, throwing her in the air. Rosa rotated around and swung her arm into the air and then drove her sword downwards through her arm and into the ground, pinning her. Hopefully that would keep her out of their hair for awhile.

Of course, just taking down one out three, much less one out of one thousand was a very little goal as Rosa soon found out. Enma charged in at her. He swung at her head, making contact with his fist and sending her tumbling to the side. Next up Enma moved in and fired a quick punch to her gut and then another in a repeated machine gun-like fashion. Rosa tried to protect herself, but sadly she left her sword inside Maria's arm. Enma then grabbed a hold of Rosa's shoulder and brought her down, while bringing his own leg up. He slammed his knee along with a bone jutting out of it into Rosa's chest. Rosa let out a gasp of air. She was having a hard time focusing now, the world was starting to become dizzy. It seemed like she had been going through an awful lot of fights lately. Suddenly a solid elbow was rammed into the back of her neck, sending her crashing to the floor.

"Rosa!" shouted Hiro-Shu as he rushed over to Enma. Hiro-Shu stepped in and swung. His fist rang out like a gong against Enma's head. Enma's entire body was thrown through the air. Hiro-Shu stopped for a second as he checked on Rosa. He took note of the faint rise and fall in her chest and quickly turned his attention to the man who had made it so faint. Hiro-Shu rushed at him. His weight crashed around as he brought his fist around with a wicked hook. The heavy iron golem brought a full-powered punch into his once former friend. Enma was thrown back from the force, he caught his feet and produced another bone spear. The skeleton man waved the spear at Hiro-Shu as if threatening to attack with it. Hiro-Shu ignored the large weapon and instead chose to barrel on through. He swatted at the long weapon with his metal hand, swatting it away as he covered the distance going inwards. Enma immediately produced a second a spear and thrust it in, hoping to use Hiro-Shu's own forward momentum to skewer him. Hiro-Shu brought his arm down on top of the spear, snapping it in two with great ease. The move cut very little time off of Hiro-Shu's charge as he continued it regardless.

A wicked strike came out that made Zesiro flinch. Hiro-Shu's heavy fist bereft of any and all pity came crashing down on Enma. Enma's body jerked downwards, following the blow's direction. Almost immediately Enma was met with another punch, this time coming vertically from Hiro-Shu's side. Even the zombified Enma had enough brains left to know what this meant. A world of hurt. Enma flinched as the massive fist shuddered into his lanky body. Enma's feet were yanked from the ground and brought sailing into the air. Of course, if Hiro-Shu had learned anything from the fights with the zombies so far it was that that alone wouldn't keep them down. Hiro-Shu brought his hand up to his mouth and with a snap of his finger, he spewed fire forth from his mouth. The fire reached out, engulfing the poor man in a red and yellow torrent. Enma hit the ground hard, he would probably be sore for another week, but for now he was out for count. Meaning that the crew could focus on the rest of the zombies…including Sage. Their last friend-turned-enemy.

Zesiro drew his swords as he slowly crept towards her. He had no idea how far they could take it with her. Enma and Maria were both fairly resistant, but if they took it to that extent with Sage would her body be able to handle it? Zesiro twirled his sword around as if trying to decide between the back of the blade or the front. Finally he stopped. The front of the blade was what he decided on. As much as he worried about Sage's well-being, she was part of the crew too. He would place his faith in her for what it worth. She had attacked them as well, he suppose she had actually probably done the most damage he thought as he remembered his poor side. He would fight her without restraint it was the least he could do.

The wave of zombies rushed forward. Each of them eager to take the place of the last. They formed an almost wall-like existence separating Sage from them. Zesiro smirked at least someone was trying to protect Sage from the dangerous opponent. However, it would be in vain. Zesiro rushed in with his swords, smiling as they glinted, ready for the battle ahead. Something an old pirate or Marine had once said. Something about how swords don't tell the good from the bad, the innocent from the guilty, they just cut through anything…it was the swordsman's duty to do judging. He leapt through the crowd, showing very little restraint. He blew through the first group, a whirlwind of a slash surrounded him, blowing the mass away without any problem or even strain on Zesiro's part. He set it up, leaping forward again and bringing his swords simultaneously slashing through another small amount of zombies. He finally managed to claw his way through the horde, blasting past each and every one of the zombies wasting not a minute to get to Sage. He lifted his swords up about to spell the end to this ridiculous fight against his team-mates, but he couldn't. His mind flashed back to Sanada and he imagined the poor kid falling down again after another cannon shot. How was he expected to fight Sage with that image running through his mind?

Luckily it looked like Sage solved that problem. She pressed her hands against Zesiro's body once more forming a unique form with her hands. Suddenly he felt the pressure building up against his side as a solid mass formed, twisting its way against him. A build-up of pressure suddenly shot out, firing the ball of high pressure air forward and right against Zesiro. Zesiro grimaced as he was sent flying through the air as the pressure was completely released into him. He was helpless against the cannon-like strength of the Pressure Ball being directly emptied out into him. He was thrown back and crashed into the house's wall taking it down with him as he fell.

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto raced in, jumping into the air and arming his left fist ready for another Rapid-Fire. Abel swung to the side, dodging past him and moving into his blind spot. "**Desert Binding!" **Wave after wave after wave of mummy wrappings flew off of Abel and at Mikoto. Mikoto took a deep breath, bowed his head and raced in. He bobbed and weaved through the numerous whipping wrappings. He felt each and every different whip lash into his skin. Some of them drew close to his eye, threatening to tear it out, others whipped wildly at his feet, a misstep would cause Mikoto to trip over them, but nonetheless Mikoto kept moving forward. Slightly weaving his body left and right through the torrent, ducking at just the right time while never slowing his feet with that tactic he finally managed to squeeze up into Abel's chest. Mikoto tightened his fist and swung upwards. He soon found out it won't be that easy to land a hit on Abel. The wrappings that he had been using to attack Mikoto with were now all against Mikoto.

They were wrapping themselves around Mikoto tightly, holding him back. It was a strain on his legs to even stay standing against them and not get pulled to the ground and into the wet mucky earth. While Mikoto was struggling Abel took this time to launch his own attack. He brought his fist around and into Mikoto's skull, knocking the coyote back. The mud splashed around him as he hit the ground. Once more the wrappings tightened up, holding Mikoto still up against the ground. Abel chuckled as he looked at the helpless mutt. He spread his hand wide open and crouched down to Mikoto's level. Mikoto continued to struggle, trying to break free from bindings. Abel clucked his tongue as he ran his eyes over Mikoto.

"I feel embarrassed that you even managed to touch me," Abel said, "not many pirates have managed to do so to me. They usually expire within the first few minutes against me. I was impressed with your speed, perhaps in the modern world you are a famous pirate. I've been on this island for so long I'm afraid. I'm no longer up to date with the news. Who knows maybe if fate favored you, you wouldn't have run into me so early and you may have become famous." His hand flinched again as he brought his palm down to Mikoto's chest. "But as it stands you'll just become my poor servant."

Mikoto looked up at his hand as it closed in. Mikoto felt the cold air whip around it as he watched it approach him. He admitted it, he wasn't thinking straight. He couldn't use his feet or arms while he was bound to the ground like this. However, he still had other tricks up his sleeve. Abel's hand flew forward aiming for Mikoto's poor hybrid chest. He soon found himself with his hand pressed up against the mud. The purple light pulsed, instantly turning the mud into a cracking surface devoid of all water. Abel muttered something under his breath he didn't understand what happened. He looked up and away from the dried mud and right in front of him sat a coyote. Abel reached forward, a little unsure of how to act in front of a feral beast. The animal leaned forward and snapped its mouth shut firmly on Abel's hand. Abel yanked it back and shook his hand, trying to wrench himself free from Mikoto's vice-like jaw. Finally with one massive wave of his hand, he sent Mikoto's mouth flying open and Mikoto flying away from him. Mikoto landed on the ground, he quickly shifted back to his hybrid form and leapt forward. He took a wide swing with his right hand barely having it make contact with Abel's forehead.

Abel moved backwards, he found it hard to get any traction in the mud. Of course, on the attacking end the lack of traction didn't seem to bother Mikoto. Mikoto rotated around quickly and brought his right hand jabbing forward. Abel weaved to the left and right, letting Mikoto's fast, razor-sharp punches fan the air around him. Abel lashed out sending a series of whips all around him. Right there they started to exchange blows. Abel's whips digging into Mikoto's skin, causing paper thin cuts and swelling on his face and Mikoto's punches somehow ringing true as they buried themselves in Abel's face and abdomen. The two didn't back down even as they were brought face-to-face with the other's best weapons. Mikoto continued to plow through Abel's many whips, suddenly, one of them dug into his skin, another cut appeared on his face tearing it wide open, a spurt of blood streaked past his face as Mikoto dove in even deeper.

Mikoto's fists were truly showing the more savage part of the young pirate. They bit into Abel's body with the ferocity and speed of a wild wolf. They blew through Abel's guard as Mikoto moved in, gradually speeding up. He was like a hurricane as he moved in, gradually stepping and moving faster, each blow bit ferociously into Abel's body. Suddenly his left fist flew up and into Abel's chin, throwing his head back. Mikoto pivoted and quickly brought his right fist arcing in from above. It was as if Abel's head was in the middle of a wolf's jaw, as it bit the head off of its latest victim.

**Who is the Beast?**

Sorry about not posting anything last week…I mean I know how after a hard day's work on top of roofing in 90 degree weather and then moving boulders from your grandparent's house to your parent's house I like to just sit back and read some fanfic…oh, wait, you guys didn't roof for five freaking days and then move boulders? Oh, that's right I DID! I'm tired…and sad…

Anyways, I promised you all a profile did I not? Here she is Scarlet Rosa!

Full Name: Scarlet Rosa

Aliases: 'Scarletsword' Rosa

Age: Seventeen, but she looks like fifteen or even younger.

Gender: female

Specialty/Position: bounty hunter, it would be nice if she would be in the crew, but otherwise she can be an ally. She works as a bounty hunter as she finds no piratecrew she likes to join. Swordswoman, writer and plays the violin.

Race: Human

Devil Fruit/Weapon: She will never eat a devilfruit because she likes to swim. She wields a sword, Tsubaki (Japanese Rose).

Physical Appearance: a petite girl with medium short dark brown hair, dark brown eyes and she wears glasses with a half frame. She could be considered pretty and if she tries to be, real beautiful. Doesn't really care about her looks, so she usually wears pants with a t-shirt and some kind of hoodie. Her hair used to be long but the children in the village would always bully her and pull her hair so she cut it short. She leaves it like that for the convenience but she's thinking about letting it grow. She's always wearing pins in her hair and has lots of them. Is slightly tanned because her father comes from South Blue.

Personality: She's pretty smart, but can be really naive from time to time. She's really calm about situations and can handle herself. Down-to-earth but she still dreams. She fears nothing and likes adventure and danger, but stays careful.

She reeeeeaaaaaaaaaally likes to read and does it all the time. She can read anywhere and anytime, like she can read while fighting an enemy pirate 'caus she just got to a good part. Or she reads while walking on the street without bumping into anyone (could be a first meeting with the crew.) She's able to do that because she has Kenbonshoku no Haki. The weird thing about her Kenbonshoku is that it only workd when she's not completely observing her surroundings (like when she's reading, writing or playing the violin). It's like an autopilot. She always fights better if she's reading because of it.

She always has a bag with her where she keeps her recent book and empty papers where she can write her own stories. She's a terrible dancer and can only dance her own silly dances but when she dances with someone she dances a lot better.

She looks like a tomboy and likes her clothes to be comfy and free to move in but she also likes girly things and would like to be more girly and wear cute clothes. For now she just wears cute hairpins.

She doesn't like to be lonely and is afraid to stay alone in the dark. She would like to learn to play some more instruments.

She has a habit of daydreaming if she isn't reading and can stare at the ocean for hours without being bored. Now that I think of it, she's pretty airheaded. ^^'

Her most prized possesion is her note book and her pencil. She also has a diary in which she keeps her daily adventures. Anybody who takes away her book, notebook or diary away mustn't be surprised if they find themself hanging from the mast or any other punishment she can think off.

She isn't a really good cook and can only handle simple recipes. She's really sensitive and in emotional situations (like if one of her sisters gets hurt or something sad or emotional happened in a book) she will definitely cry, but tries to hide it if she does. Only real close friends and her sisters have seen her cry without her hiding it.

She's really optimistic and can find a good point in every situation. If she doesn't know a good point, the situation looks really bad. She likes the nature and loves the sea and can enjoy every weather. She can even stand in a storm and not be bothered with it, but just smiles and asks someone if they also think the weather is particularly beautiful that day.

She doesn't believe Monkey D. Luffy to be a bad person and idolizes Nami and Robin 'caus they were strong women in a crew full of men.

Likes: her siblings, reading, playing the violin, daydreaming, writing.

Dislikes: being alone, getting laughed at, bullies.

Dream: To sail the oceans with her friends, be happy every day and explore the world and have many adventures. She aspires to be a great writer whose stories anybody would want to read. She would also like to be married to someone one day and be a mother, but she doesn't tell that anyone because she thinks they will laugh at her, only her sisters know about it.

Others: She never names her attacks and thinks it lame if anybody else does.

Her motto is: 'Relax, everything's gonna be alright.' She says it so often it will annoy the people beside her.


	157. Horror 157 Who is the Beast

**Who Is the Beast?**

The wrappings exploded from Abel's body. They tightened themselves onto Mikoto's body and forced him back, dragging him away from Abel as Abel tried to recover. Abel smiled as he realized he had avoided a close blow. That last attack from him was quite possibly a killer blow. There was no restraint behind it. Abel's head would've been snapped up and then right back down in the same second. His brain would've been thrown against the inside of his skull even if Abel hadn't died from the blow, it is entirely possible that he would've lost consciousness from it. Abel didn't mind it though. He had been face-to-face with beasts greater than a simple wolf.

Abel unleashed another maddening salvo of wrappings for Mikoto's head. Mikoto strained against the wrapping unsure of how to proceed, he was stuck straining against the wrappings. His arms tied back, he couldn't bring them forth to even help block the immense attack. His legs were stuck in the mud with the same amount of binding stuck to it, so running away and using his superior speed to avoid it was even out. That meant he had no option. No other last minute saving techniques were present. He was faced with only one option, grit and bear it. The attacks hit him hard and fast. He felt each and every blow, blast into him. It was like being in the center of a hurricane. He felt each whip tear into his skin separately as he stood still. He continued to strain against it, he didn't want to back off, but he had to keep his feet planted and survive through it. He couldn't back down, his instincts were telling him that much.

However, Abel showed no signs of his intention to let up. He kept the whipping going, searing inwards at him at an increased pace each time. Mikoto was still being held back by the wrappings. There was no way for him to move forward to land his own punch and something told him that Abel wasn't about to fall for the same transforming trick twice in a row. Mikoto kept up straining against the bindings while facing the whips, he had to break free. Mikoto had put something together though. He had lucked out against Trevor.

He knew Trevor was strong, which was possibly why he felt so proud when he beat him, but Mikoto realized something else about the fight. It was a matter of rock-paper-scissors. Trevor was strong for sure, but Mikoto's speed gave him the advantage. Trevor's Haki of Observation was rendered useless. On top of that even his devastating attacks were lessened due to Mikoto's speed…Mikoto was rock while Trevor was scissors. However, in this fight Mikoto had come to realize the exact opposite was true. He hadn't lucked out, Abel had. Abel had the ability to put Mikoto's speed on ice. The binding technique easily stuck Mikoto in the mud and made him weaker. Mikoto guessed that made Abel paper to his rock. He couldn't move that much was obvious. Stop his feet and he basically became useless. He definitely didn't like the sound of that. He pushed once more, kicking out with his feet slamming them down and into the dirt trying to propel himself forward with extra burst of speed. He needed to break free…and he needed to do it now! As soon as one leg hit the ground he slammed the other one into the ground as well, quickly kicking off of the ground with one foot and then the other. He didn't slow down, he was going to break free and slug a quick one in Abel's face.

Mikoto didn't know for sure if Abel had noticed what he was trying to do, but Mikoto assumed he did. For some reason that Mikoto did not know Abel had sped up the speed and strength of his whips. Mikoto was helpless, his arms were tied as well, he couldn't even bring them forward to guard, he was just taking each blow as he released a powerful kick into the earth again and again in attempt to break free. Suddenly he felt it, the slightest of the give in the bindings. Of course, that was the only incentive Mikoto needed. He pushed forward with another burst of his legs, he continued to strain against the whips.

The bindings finally jumped off of Mikoto's body and Mikoto immediately stepped it up to full speed. He moved forward at a brand new speed. His topmost gear. He blasted off towards Abel. His fist came forward, swinging around and into Abel's face. Abel was sent flying backwards from the punch his feet were ripped off of the ground. However, Abel was not one to be completely shown up, a wrapping from his leg snaked out and tightened itself around Mikoto neck, dragging the coyote along with him. Mikoto felt the wrapping tighten around his neck as if intending to choke the life out of him. It was a nice try, but nothing beyond that. Mikoto didn't care about being dragged along with Abel, he was trying to catch up anyways. Mikoto quickly rushed to Abel's side and armed his right fist. Abel had been blocking each and every single one of these so far. He didn't care if Abel was paper and he was rock. So what if he was faced with an overwhelming distinct disadvantage. With this punch all of that didn't matter, it only mattered if Abel was knocked unconscious or not. Mikoto's fist bit into Abel's body and chewed straight into it. The sharpness of his punch had returned in full force blowing straight into Abel's body blowing it straight down to the ground. Mikoto wiped his sweat from his brow. He was in bad shape, but he managed to beat him finally. A good single blow straight into his body was exactly what he deserved. Mikoto turned his head as he debated about heading back to the mess and helping…that guy out. He shrugged and started to head back, but a sound cut through the air that made him freeze.

(-back at the house-)

Zesiro had been blown through the air, he was rendered helpless and defeated. His side was torn and his chest had several slight scars and cuts on it from Sage's twisting Pressure Ball. He hit the ground with a hideous thud. Ridley, Hiro-Shu, and Rosa paused for a split second as they turned their heads over to their fallen comrade, but it quickly became apparent that they weren't going to be allowed a moment of reprieve. Another zombie came shambling into the circle which required immediate attention. Rosa rushed forward and with a quick swing of her sword, she sliced into the zombie's legs and brought him tumbling down to the ground. She quickly lashed out again, taking down another one. They didn't have enough time to waste worrying about Zesiro there was still an army of monsters ahead of them. When they were done then she would worry.

Hiro-Shu's fist came crashing in behind her, blowing away another zombie before it could bite into Rosa's head. But Hiro-Shu spun in again, he stepped in and brought his fist upwards and smashed it into another zombie's chin sending him sky high. "Listen," he spoke with a solemn tone. This was not a conversation he wanted be having so Rosa already knew what the issue was, "There's no way I can get to Sage. These zombies will just slow me down further. I won't get close enough fast enough and as it currently stand those pressure balls of hers are the most annoying things these enemies have on their side. We need to defeat her and defeat her first…you understand? You're the only one right now who can take her down in time." He made a harsh swallowing sound, Rosa knew this wasn't easy on him. She slowly nodded and turned her attention forward for Sage, quickly scanning the horde for her old friend.

Rosa rushed forward through the horde wasting the bare minimum amount of time. She planted her feet and rotated, skidding past each zombie. She didn't stop for a single one of them, she was too busy mentally adjusting her strength. She needed just enough strength applied to the back of her blade to deal the right blow. Anything too strong would hurt her badly, but anything too weak would only give Sage the perfect opportunity to strike back. She would need to hold back the perfect amount and she would. She would hold the perfect amount and release the perfect amount of damage. She needed to adjust her power for her current speed. She dodged to the side as another zombie lunged for her, but he was immediately burnt to a crisp by a violent blast of fire from Hiro-Shu. She needed to adjust her striking power since she was using the back of her blade. Another zombie lunged down at her, eager to bite her head, but was stopped as it met with a guitar to his head. The zombie was thrown backwards, helplessly. Rosa didn't slow down. She didn't have the time Sage was right in front of her. She needed to adjust for her rotation.

Rosa's body whipped around like a hurricane completing a circle and bringing the sword forth and into Sage's side. There was an obvious sensation of pain spread across Sage's face as her side formed around Rosa's blade. Her entire body slowly bending into a C shape from the speed and power of Rosa's rush. Sage was flipped, head over heels, as she spun through the air from the force of Rosa's swing. She floated delicately in the air for a second or two before the rest of her body followed the way of her heels and crashed to the ground in a thud similar to that of Zesiro's. Rosa paused for a second, breathing heavily and looking down at her fallen friend. She wasn't happy with what she just did, but she had to do it. Sage wasn't on their side for the time being, she'd find the man who did and turn her back. A zombie lunged at Rosa, while she was deep in thought, and Rosa completely dodged to the side, completely unaware of the zombie's attack. That only served as a reminder for her, they were still at war…no time to worry. Her blade stretched high into the sky for a split second before chopping down into the zombie's neck easily severing the head from the body.

Rosa turned around and looked at the horde. They stopped. The entire mass seemed to freeze. Rosa was amazed, did they finally understand what had happened? That they were completely outmatched. Rosa smiled, but then she immediately learned that that wasn't why they had stopped. The ground rumbled, sending tremors all around. The island was shaking, but this didn't seem like an earthquake. It originated in the center of the island. Rosa, Hiro-Shu, and ridley all directed their heads to the center of the island, towards the origin of the shaking. They were aghast at the site that they saw.

(-at the center of the island-)

The Infinity Pirate ship laid amidst a barren forest. The trees that surrounded it were burnt down, next to the small ship was a huge mountain range…or what was originally believed to be a mountain range. The rain had finally died down and the once grayish pallor of the mountain was slowly fading away. The mountain was slowly transforming into a sharp and beautifulblackhue. One of the smaller boulders was lifted into the air by a massive string of rock. Two sharp slits opened up on the small boulder revealing horrifying yellow eyes. Sleets of rock up-heaved themselves from the surface of the island and into the air, forming massive wings that shadowed the ship. The rest of the mountain range picked itself up, revealing a gargantuan beast of horror. The flying, fire-breathing terror. A dragon.

It let loose a monstrous roar accompanied with a stream of flames. It turned its head both left and right, seeking out a delicious breakfast right after a short slumber. Finally it flapped its wings and took off into the sky, eager to seek out its next meal.

Mikoto watched a little ways away, still standing near Abel's body. The monstrous beast stretched it wings, exercising first making sure it was capable of flight before booming off in a different direction in search of something to satisfy its hunger. Mikoto stood there, slack-jawed and in amazement. "That's the beast I'm hunting," muttered Abel from beneath Mikoto's foot. Mikoto snapped his neck down and looked at Abel flattened out on the ground. Abel's own eyes were riveted upwards at the monster that roamed the skies. "I've been after him for awhile ever since he betrayed my crew and flew off to this island for some reason. It is my strongest desire to defeat him." Mikoto looked back up at the sky and the beast. He admitted it, he was amazed by the terror as it rocketed around in circle encompassing the island. It was huge. The beast reared its mighty head as it scoured the sky once more. Its eyes jumping about, remaining fixated on the ground. It didn't want to miss out on the opportunity for a nice meal.

A pain shot back through Mikoto's head as he remembered what had just occurred the memories of how they wound up on this island were returning.

The crew had just left the URA and had a discussion about Mikoto's Shichibukai status. They had been at sea for maybe two or three days and things were going fairly well, aside from Rosa's rants about saving Lily and Zesiro's worrisome thoughts about Sanada and the rest of them. They had all basically been brought back up to full health and they were having fun once again. It was nice to eat Sage's meals once more. It felt like it had been forever! Mikoto's long time in Trevor's throne room didn't dampen his appetite at all. Ridley was busy playing cards with Enma and Maria. Zesiro had joined in for a hand or two, but he left to go handle other issues. Sage was cleaning the kitchen after another meal and Hiro-Shu was stealing the ship. Mikoto and Rosa both had other problems, deciding how to handle their own respective issues. Mikoto on whether or not he wanted to become a Shichibukai and Rosa on how to save her sister, though the latter was obviously more preoccupied with the issue. Mikoto probably only spent a grand total of two minutes thinking about it before signing off for a dog-nap.

It was the middle of the night when Hiro-Shu called for the crew. Ridley and Enma were the first two up, they were both night-owls and apparently their poker game had gone into overtime. Then Rosa, who Mikoto didn't think got a wink of sleep out of worry. Mikoto followed due to his superhuman speed, followed by Maria, Zesiro, and Sage respectively. At first the crew was made at Hiro-Shu, they didn't see anything of importance that was worth dragging them out onto the deck in the middle of the night until they heard the flapping of large leather-like wings. The crew looked skywards and saw it. A massive beast the blocked out the moon.

Mikoto went first, charging up the mast to the crow's nest to get closer, he couldn't very well punch a monster that was in the sky while he was on the ground. His arms didn't extend. He was in the air when he saw the monster's tail snap down with the speed of sound. He remembered a loud whack and then his body getting embedded into the wooden floorboards of the ship, but after that Mikoto struggled to remember what came next. Mikoto paused for a second as he looked up at the beast, still flying high in the air like it owned the place. Mikoto tightened his fist as he thought about how to take it down.

"It is looking for food, right now," said Abel as he stretched back against one of the trees. His sides were killing him there was a strong pain burning into it and he didn't quite feel like moving yet. He would eventually, when the time was right. If these guys were Bounty Hunters he definitely didn't want to stay around too long.

Mikoto thought for a moment, recalling the island's layout. "What food?" he dared to ask, looking down at Abel. The island was a barren wasteland, completely void of any food aside from burnt tree bark. The dragon was welcomed to eat as much of that as he wanted to.

"Here's a hint, I'd run if I were you," Abel smirked to himself as he looked at the beast, whose head had finally snapped in their direction. They were close enough for the monster to see them or possibly smell them depending on which was better. Abel just knew the monster's range perfectly from his many fights with it. He laughed as he laid his head back, "seriously, kid, run."

The dragon let loose an ear-splitting roar that tore the ground asunder as it flapped its mighty wings and leaned forward. Its body shot loose from its space in the air like a bullet. The one-ton beast shot forward, its mouth agape, eager to accept its next meal.

**Coyote Versus Dragon?**

Yup, this'll be a fair fight. Anyways, I just want to direct everybody around here to my profile page. I posted an 'Others' fanfic section on my story, which is basically some other fanfics that I'm working on when I can't think of a good plot twist for my main ongoing current stories. If you wanna know more about them or motivate me to write them shoot me a PM. (Please take special notice of the 'a PM' part…I don't want to get shot…)

Also, to anybody who is currently all caught up in One Piece does anybody else notice the similarities between the Dressrosa Arc and my URA Arc!? I think Oda's copying me!

Oh, also about being almost a week late with this chapter...still no schedule that is all!


	158. Horror 158 Coyote Versus Dragon?

**Coyote Versus Dragon?**

As much as Mikoto hated to accept help from someone like Abel, he decided the dried-out man was right. Running was his best option. He sped forward, rushing about. He wasted little time in putting distance between him and the monster that was flying straight towards him. The dragon's bottom jaw hit the ground, scraping the earth free and sending up a cloud of dust that engulfed the area. Mikoto didn't stop to make sure Abel or the beast was fine. He kept running. He heard a sound behind him that he couldn't quite place, however, something told him that looking back would be a bad idea. The area around him burst into light, the darkened skies of the late hours were disappearing and as the smell of burning dirt filled Mikoto's nostrils he immediately understood what happened.

He transformed into his faster and smaller coyote form and dashed to the side as quickly as his feet could carry him, even with the increase in speed he didn't fully dodge the burning ball. His tail got singed from the roaring flames and that only propelled Mikoto on behind a tree. He had to remember that he was facing off against a dragon and not just a terrifyingly huge flying lizard. It could breathe fire and singe his body. Actually based on the size of the fire ball that just whizzed past Mikoto, he guessed it was more likely that the dragon could incinerate his body with a single blast. He turned back around and looked at the dragon…he wished he didn't.

The dragon was coming careening for him. Its massive jaw was dragging against the ground as it zoomed towards Mikoto. Mikoto transformed back into his hybrid form he was ready for it. He was going to go at full blast, starting now. He rushed towards the dragon at full speed. A head-to-head battle would serve Mikoto better. The dragon didn't care it seemed, the glowing red heat of its fire was visible in its gaping maw. It just flew towards Mikoto ready to crunch his bone and gobble them up. The thought didn't seem to bother Mikoto as he didn't slow down, if anything he took things up a gear and accelerated again. He rushed towards the monster, the monster roared loudly and drew closer to Mikoto. His jaws flashed down on top of Mikoto, devouring him in a hungry manner. The captain had disappeared into the fearsome belly of the beast.

Or had he? "**Afterimage!" **shouted Mikoto as his real body became visible above the dragon. He rotated around and brought his leg screeching down, "**Leg Whip!" **His leg smashed into the back of the dragon, smashing the scales. Mikoto was thrown aside by the recoil that shot up his leg. He quickly caught himself landing on his feet like he should, but he couldn't believe it. The monster's scales were as hard as solid stone. He looked over and noticed something weird…the dragon was stone. Itsblackluster had disappeared and had turned back to the earthen gray color it had been during the rain. Mikoto picked his leg up and looked at it questioningly. What the heck just happened?"

"I've see you have met Cain," said the old man from before as he appeared besides a tree. "This is the beast, Cain. Abel, the mummy had risen up from the slums and found this dragon. Originally they had been good friends from what Abel had told me…however, Cain became tainted and turned on his master, viciously, slaughtering his former friends and crew mates. It's a sad story, but it is also true." Mikoto looked over at the dragon as itsblackluster spread back over its body, its stony body reverted to its previous leather-like form. The dragon turned its head around and roared loudly as soon as it locked eyes with Mikoto.

"It ate the Guuzou-Guuzou no mi*," muttered the old man. "A fruit that allows it to turn its entire body into solid stone at will. Combine that with the mythical strength and speed of a dragon and you've got Cain." Mikoto looked back over at Cain. The dragon had planted its feet and looked questioningly at the half-coyote half-human hybrid. Mikoto supposed while Cain's ability to turn to solid stone surprised him, chances are Mikoto's disappearing act from Cain's mouth had returned the favor. Neither one of them knew all of the tricks the other had possessed. Mikoto tightened his grip, his furry knuckles turning bright white from the stress. A dragon, huh? Seems like a great practice buddy. He felt ashamed that he couldn't have him join his crew…it would've been awesome!

The dragon blew through the air as it sent its massive body towards Mikoto once more. Mikoto was a little worried as he watched the massive beast quickly cover the ground that was between them. Could he even hurt the beast if as soon as Mikoto struck out against it turned itself back to stone? Mikoto supposed he only really had once choice. Mikoto lifted his hand up and took aim at the beast right between the eyes. The beast screeched forth its mouth wide open in another attempt to swallow Mikoto whole. Mikoto dashed forward and leapt up at the last second, sending his more agile body into the air above the dragon. He tightened his fist and twisted it down, "**Rapid-Fire x 15!" **The dragon's scales once more turned to stone the instant before Mikoto's fist swung down and dug into the monster's hide. He pumped his fist quickly, delivering 15 blows that all melded into one final hammering strike. Mikoto jumped off of the dragon and quickly landed on the ground. He turned to look at what kind of damage his punch had done. The dragon stopped and lifted its head up high. No sign of a broken skull or even a dent was obvious on the massive beast. Mikoto wasn't discouraged despite the fact that he couldn't feel his arm. A sharp pain shooting up it was obviously weighing on his mind after all the Rapid-Fire still had its draw-backs even if it didn't anything.

The dragon turned to face its attacker. It went up onto its hind legs and looked at its enemy, a ferocious growl forming on its face. Suddenly it threw its head back and roared. The dreadfully loud sound filled the air. The beast turned its head to the side and its narrow eyes caught track of Mikoto. Fire started to spark from the beast's lips; it tilted its head down and locked onto Mikoto. The beast's head shot forward and sent a roaring ball of flame forward. Mikoto supposed if short-distance fighting wasn't working, perhaps long-range was better. Only problem was Mikoto lacked a long-distance move…oh, well…he supposed he'd just have to go for it! He sped forward, racing towards the fire ball! He dodged to the side at the last instant, but he didn't lose any momentum, the instant his feet touched the ground he continued his race for the beast.

Mikoto quickly closed the distance between them and was once more in front of the dragon. He was immediately taken back by the size of the beast. He had forgotten how big the beast was. Mikoto looked all the way up the monster's body and was amazed by its size. Before the beast was on all fours, but now…now that the beast was sitting on his hind legs Mikoto was amazed by the size. He was three…no, four…possibly even five stories tall. Mikoto felt a pit form in his stomach. He wasn't all too fond of facing off against a beast whose little toe was the same size as him. That moment of hesitation proved to bring more trouble than Mikoto needed. The beast twisted around, bringing its body into the air and snapping its long wire-like tail forward. The tail smashed forward into Mikoto's torso. Mikoto remembered this pain from last night…it burned into side and he gritted from the pain as he was flung back.

The pressure right in front of the dragon was unreal. It was on a whole other level than Abel or even Trevor. The force was immense it was punishing just to stand in front of it, it was the pressure of a wild animal on the prowl for food. Mikoto caught himself, landing on his two feet and felt the recoil shoot up it. He flinched at first, breathing heavily as he tried to clear his head, but he didn't get a moment of rest. He felt a mass of heat growing close to him again, even if he couldn't look up and see it. He felt it, the massive burning ball of fire. Mikoto dashed off to the side as quickly as he could. The ground where he was standing was turned to ashes. The trees didn't even stay standing. Mikoto took a deep breath and decided…he would have to dive in there again. He didn't have a choice. The beast probably wasn't about to let him run away…and his pride definitely wasn't going to.

Mikoto steeled himself. He took up his stance. He knew he had done pretty stupid stuff before, but now? Now it was him pitting a coyote against a dragon. Even Mikoto's damaged common sense could tell him that was like pitting a water pistol against a cannon. Mikoto didn't mind it. He tended to do better when he did something stupid…at least according to his crew, Mikoto didn't think he ever did anything stupid. Mikoto bolted forward, speeding towards the dragon. He took it up another notch. It was obvious that he wasn't going fast enough for now. He needed to take it up another notch, up another gear. He didn't have any time to waste; he needed to go so fast he didn't have any time to second guess himself! He would go for it. His right fist was still useless due to his earlier failed Rapid-Fire, but he still had his left fist. He would go for it. Mikoto rushed forward for Cain.

Cain bellowed out a roar that tore through the air as if accepting Mikoto's challenge. It planted its feet and readied itself for the moment of impact. Its tail flapped up and down, ready to intersect Mikoto at the very last second if need be. It was the final showdown between the two predators of land and the sky. They were going to go all out for this moment.

Cain went first. Several quick bursts of fire from his mouth, each one screeched down and at Mikoto. Mikoto's body zigged and zagged to the side. Mikoto's speed was far superior to Cain's. Cain's bulky body didn't help him keep up with the much smaller and more agile Mikoto. Mikoto burst through, clearing the first set of obstacles Cain had set-up for him. That just meant that more were on the way.

Cain's next shot was with his tail, it snaked forward zooming in at Mikoto. Mikoto smiled and leaned in more, Cain's tail was quicker than his body and his fire. It was the only thing that stood a chance against Mikoto's body, however, even that proved futile. "**After-Image!" **Mikoto shouted just as the tail smashed through his body revealing a fake pirate for all to see. Mikoto didn't mind his fake being smashed, instead he turned his attention upwards at the towering bulk in front of him.

(-With Abel-)

Abel was clenching his side as he made his way through the destroyed forest. He was injured something horribly, but that didn't mean much to him. His ultimate goal, the beast he had just spent half of his life hunting down was about to be defeated…he froze for a second when he came to a small clearing and turned his head back. He could still see the beast standing there. He remembered that when he first got him he wasn't that big. When Cain first escaped he wasn't that big. He was three meters long, maybe four with his tail taken into account. Now as Abel looked at him he was faced with an amazing sight. He couldn't believe the monster's size. It was breath-taking.

"That's a big beast, isn't it?" asked the old man as he came into sight.

"What's it to you, Gravekeeper?" growled Abel as he brushed past him. "That beast means nothing to you, neither do I! Ever since we've arrived on this island you've wanted us gone. You've tried again and again to force us both out and off of this island. Face it, he's about to lose and with his lost…brings my goal to an end."

"I'm amazed that the kid not only managed to beat you, but he's now going head-to-head with the beast." The old man nodded forward to the dragon. Abel scoffed. "I know…he was just lucky, it was his fate and not yours. Both may be true. I think…I think we've both been on this island too long. We've got bad eyes now. Neither one of us could see that that kid was that good. We both mistook him for someone weak. I think that is our greatest folly, yet. Only one person on this island still has good eyes, apparently."

Abel stopped and looked behind him. "She told me when she first got here that I would lose eventually. That I wasn't going to be king of this island forever. I shrugged her off; I didn't care about being king of this island. I had bigger dreams…but I think what she said still rings true. I'll never be king again."

"What was your dream before you came to this island?" asked Gravekeeper as he turned his attention away from the fight and to Abel, giving him his full undivided attention.

Abel paused for a second, kicking up some dirt as he stopped his two feet. He looked back behind him and at the fight going on behind him. He smiled for a second and then frowned. "Something stupid and foolish." The Gravekeeper frowned and shook his head. He turned back around and returned to watching the fight between the coyote and dragon. He wanted to say 'Maybe that was why you were beaten' the difference in conviction between the two of them were great. Earlier when he fought the kid in his house, he heard words he hadn't heard anyone spout in a long time.

"_I'm going to be King of the Pirates!"_

He thought back to the man who visited the island years ago. The man who erected the small tombstone dedicated to a man called 'Red-Haired' Shanks. Even now he chuckled at the thought. The man who arrived looked so foolish and yet he still declared those words very proudly. At what age do you stop having such grand dreams?

(-With Mikoto and Cain-)

Viola watched the fight unfold from her space between the trees. She had remained unnoticed for now and she wasn't planning on making her presence known, for now she'd just settle with watching the fight. She felt the utmost amazement as she watched the kid rush around like he did. She believed in fate. She believed that it was this kid's fate that he prevailed against Abel and that the outcome of this match, too would be decided by fate, but still she felt riveted to the spot.

The kid rushed. He charged across the ground and towards the magnificent dragon that stood, towering above him. Mikoto suddenly changed direction, he didn't run left or right. He went up. He dug his foot into the dragon's big toe and started to race up the monster, putting all of his momentum and strength behind him as he covered the distance to the sky. The dragon twisted around, straightening its next out and looking down its belly at the hasty kid. Another flame began to roar to life in its fearsome maw. Suddenly the flame ripped free, screeching down the beast's belly towards Mikoto. Viola remained fixated on the spot, she knew that the fight would end any moment now. If Mikoto was forced back again it was debatable whether or not he would be able to close the distance again. He needed to defeat the beast in the next instant…or it would be all for naught. She found herself hoping on behalf of Mikoto that his fate would be the winning one. The beast was strong, but for a long time she had seen the shadow of defeat hanging over him.

The fire was still screeching down to Mikoto. Mikoto smirked, leaping off of the dragon's chest and twisting his body around. "Let's go!" Mikoto shouted as he watched the flame blast down past his feet before snapping his gaze upwards and at the beast. "**Geppou!" **Mikoto recalled his fight back at the URA against Ko. He used Geppou as well as Soru, Mikoto had better legs than him. So it stood to reason that Mikoto could use it as well. As a result traveling up the beast's massive bulk would be easy. "Let's GO!" shouted Mikoto louded as he began pumping his legs quickly downwards, forming multiple quick thrusts…that did absolutely nothing. Mikoto flailed for a few precious moments before plummeting to the ground like a rock. He knew he should've tested out the new skill before trying to use it in a battle, oh, well…live and learn.

Viola's face immediately twisted itself into something that was mix of her trying to hold back an upcoming chuckle and her own disbelief at the kid's stupidity. Even Cain had an obvious look of disbelief and utter disappointment in his foe on his face.

**The Future Pirate King and Riddle King!**

* * *

Guuzou-Guzzou no mi = Statue-Statue Fruit

Before I do anything else I have an apology to make. Viola from this chapter and previous chapters is the work of Cotton Candy Luver Chopper! Not me. I apologize a million times over, I completely forgot to give credit where credit is due! I apologize!

Anyways, onto the story where I (Hopefully) did not make any mistake! Yeah, did you guys expect Mikoto to sudden and miraculously learn a new technique during a fight? Hah, you should know better by now this is Saga of the Infinity Pirates! Where the main characters get screwed over nine out of ten times!


	159. Horror 159 The Future Pirate King

**The Future Pirate King and Riddle King**

"What did I do? What did I do?" panicked Viola as she jumped back rushing back into the trees. She was ashamed with herself…she couldn't believe what she just did! It was forbidden in her village to do such a thing to interfere with 'fate'. But she did it. She snuck into the kid's timeline and made a mistake. She interrupted with it, she saved him from the fall! She couldn't believe it! She felt ashamed, her face turning a bright red. On her home island this deserved the same punishment as high treason! She couldn't believe it! However, punishment be damned! She quickly turned back to the fight and watched the young captain continue his fight. She didn't come out from behind her hiding space, she didn't want to interfere with fate more than she already had.

Mikoto paused as he looked around. He tried to figure what had happened. He was falling than he hit something and he suddenly stopped…but it wasn't like the ground or anything it was almost as if someone had prevented him from falling to the ground. He paused and looked to both sides. He didn't see anything. He looked up at the dragon, who had his cocked to the side. He thought Mikoto was going to go splat against the ground and when he didn't he became confused. When Cain noticed that Mikoto was staring back up at him his confusion vanished and was replaced with anger, the dragon tilted its head back and let loose a fearsome roar. Cain backed up and spread its wing. It was riddled with scars where the skin had been torn, but had healed over after all this time. Mikoto smiled. He was thankful to whoever just saved him and now, Mikoto thought as he brought his two fists together, he was ready to get back in the game.

Mikoto dashed forward, immediately bringing his speed back up to par already. The dragon bellowed some unspeakable words in dragon-speak, of which Mikoto could not decipher, but that didn't stop either one. The dragon's tail lashed out from its hiding place, which was behind the beast's bulk. The tail slithered forward and struck out at Mikoto. Mikoto bobbed and weaved to the side, bringing his head out of the tail's path before continuing his speeding along. He didn't have Haki like Trevor's to predict an enemy's movements, but Mikoto did have his instincts. He could sense the dragon's next movement on a primal level and with that in mind he headed in. Mikoto hit the dragon's leg and propelled himself up. His last time was a sham, but he was ready this time. He tensed his left and then right hands; he could feel the life in both of them. The Rapid-Fire's side-effect had worn off.

The dragon's head turned downwards to lock onto him. Mikoto smirked and he could make out the same look on the dragon's face. They both were thinking the same thing. 'I won'. The words echoed in both of their heads as their fight was brought to its climax. Mikoto was racing up the beast's belly for the final time, that's what they were both planning to make happen! Mikoto knew that whatever saved him the first time wouldn't save him again. He felt his leg muscles tense up and he was reminded of the fight he just had with Abel. He looked to his side and saw that Zesiro, Ridley, Hiro-Shu, and Rosa were coming towards him along with who appeared to be Sage, Enma, and Maria. Though the last three looked different. He remembered their names now…he suppose he had to thank the dragon for that. Maybe it happened when he was last thrown back. He just felt bad that his payback would be a heavy-handed punch to the face.

The dragon let loose a stream of flames that coated its belly. Mikoto vanished beneath the flames. However, Cain knew that meant nothing anymore. He remembered Mikoto vanishing right before his eyes twice already. Cain wasn't planning on that attack being the finishing blow. His tail anxiously wavered off to the side, ready to move in at the drop of a dime to spear Mikoto when needed. The dragon's head snapped to its side when it felt something press up against his arm. He saw the kid there, bent down, compressing his legs against its own arm. Cain roared loudly as its tail snaked forward.

"I'm going to need to borrow you arm!" shouted Mikoto as he leapt forward and off of the beast's arm. He knew he couldn't jump off of air, but that didn't mean he couldn't jump twice. He just needed a platform! Cain's tail zoomed in, intent on piercing straight through Mikoto's flesh and tearing him apart without a second of hesitation.

Mikoto had it. He was thankful enough time had passed for his Rapid-Fire to have its side-effect wear off. He had two shots now and he knew exactly how he was going to use them. He shot forward towards the tail; the tail zoomed by him aiming at his chest. Mikoto spun around and brought his fist forward, "**Rapid-Fire x 25!" **Once more the dragon's ordinarily scale covered tail turned to stone readying itself for the moment of impact. Mikoto's fist came into the stone tailed and smashed it! The ordinarily solid stone couldn't hold up against 25 compact punches blended into one. With the tail out of the way Mikoto wasn't done just yet. He flipped around and onto the tail, another platform and this one was in just the right place! Mikoto shot forward, pushing himself off of the dragon's tail and at his head. Mikoto rotated around bringing his fist around and at the dragon's skull, right between the eyes.

The dragon blinked back to stone. Its stone form was much more solid than its regular form. The several layers of thick stone that supported its head meant that it held more resistance to blunt attacks than its thin tail. That meant nothing. Mikoto's fist swung forward, **"Rapid-Fire x 25!" **There was a loud and deafening crack as it came into contact with the solid stone. The stone began to fracture from the force, but it appeared that it would hold together for the most part. Mikoto's attack wasn't done though, "**Nature's Rampage!" **Mikoto swung his leg down following the path that his fist had took and brought it again into the already cracking stone dragon. The force of his leg traversed down the broken body, further destroying it.

Cain transformed back into it regular form a brief second, but Mikoto's attack had already done its damage. Cain tossed his head back and roared in pain. Mikoto all of a sudden realized a great flaw in his plan as he looked down to ground and that was how would he be reunited with his precious earth? He was starting to miss it dearly as he was rocked side-to-side by the dragon howling in pain. Mikoto rushed forward and grabbed a hold of one of the two spike protruding from the dragon's skull. He held on for dear life as Cain's body gave out and tumbled on down. Mikoto was dragged behind the falling beast's heavy skull and braced himself for the impact with the ground. The dragon's head shuddered as it slammed into the earth below it and Mikoto was finally wrenched free as he slipped off of the horn and into the ground. He hit the ground with a solid thud and looked around. He stood up and shook his entire body, sending scraps of dirt flying all around him.

"Hey, Mikoto!" shouted Rosa as she waved hello to him as they came over a nearby hill. Mikoto's head snapped over towards the sound and he cocked his head, watching the group come up. His memories were back so he quickly ran all of their names through his head before running up to meet them. He skidded to a halt as he saw who they were carrying. Sage, Maria, and Enma were all in pretty bad shape it looked like. Mikoto sped up and ran next to their side. He didn't stop and return Ridley's offer on a high-five or even check-up on Zesiro, who seemed equally depressed. "As far as we can tell whoever is on this island turned them into mummies," explained Rosa, not quite in the mood to tell Mikoto how they got so extensively injured.

"Abel!" growled Mikoto as he turned his head behind him, a flash of rage appearing in his eyes. His mouth was stretched backwards and his fangs were bared. He was about to rush off and find that son of a gun, when his feet were swept out from underneath him. The old man was back and he quickly jabbed his staff back down against Mikoto's chest, pinning him to the ground. "Let me go!" Mikoto screamed as he struggled against the man's staff. The old man was asking for it. If only Mikoto had enough strength left in his body to give it to him. After fighting with him the first two times, then against Abel and Cain, Mikoto was just too tired to get out from underneath the man's expertly planned staff pin.

"Just soak them in water," the old man declared as he removed his staff from Mikoto's chest and turned to the crew, "go! I heard it straight from the horses' mouth! Water undoes the spell, so go and do it! These guys'll be as good as new." Rosa nodded and quickly scurried off with Ridley and Hiro-Shu in tow. Zesiro looked back behind him and at Mikoto, waiting to see if the old man could be trusted. Mikoto nodded and Zesiro quickly went trotting off after them. "You're gonna be pirate king, huh?" asked the old man flashing Mikoto a look.

"Yup, Pirate King and Riddle King," Mikoto said with smile. The old man paused for a second as he considered this. Yeah, he did say something about riddles, didn't he? "I still got a long ways ahead of me, but I took down one of the Shichibukais recently so I'm getting closer…to being the Pirate King, Riddle King is still a ways down the road."

The old man chuckled to himself and shook his head. Even now after seeing the kid victorious, he didn't believe he could do it. If someone said he had taken down both Cain and Abel, the two monster, reeking havoc on this poor town he wouldn't believe them. "It is a ways down the road for both dreams," muttered the old man. "One Shichibukai means absolutely nothing in these days. There's too many problem children out there…like the Yonkous, the Admirals, the Revolutionaries, all of these are in your way."

"And I'll take them all down," replied Mikoto without missing a beat. He was kidding…the old man recognized that, but still he couldn't help but hold his head in between his shoulders and sigh. He couldn't believe the kid. "I already have my eye on one of the Yonkou," Mikoto growled as if remembering the past. The old man lifted his eyebrow and looked at Mikoto quizzically. He understood the kid's desire to speed things along, but this certainly seemed like a big step. Moving from Shichibukai to Yonkou.

"Who is it," the old man asked. He couldn't help, but be drawn into Mikoto's goal. It was weird, but he didn't mind it. He missed the days of high dreams and his own life at sea, but that was behind him and he wasn't going back. This kid still had a life ahead of him and it should be a good one.

"I know it's a far ways away," Mikoto muttered, as if remembering where he was and the fact that he was definitely not strong enough to be a challenge to the Yonkous just yet. "But that Yonkou has someone on his crew that needs to be taught a lesson." Mikoto pounded one of his fists into his open palm. "I'm gonna take down whatever Yonkou has Shigoro on his crew."

The old man's eyes lit up. That was a name that barely registered with him. He knew the Fishman named Shigoro. Back when he originally settled down on this island he still got the papers and had heard of the Fishman, who had joined the crew of Kai Vonderson, the Yonkou. Suddenly it hit the old man…"You wanna take him out, but you don't even know the name of the Yonkou?"

"Like I said…my goal is to take down Shigoro. The Fishman on my crew…he was a friend of some other Fishman…and Shigoro betrayed them," Mikoto bared his fangs once more and tightened his grip. His knuckles turned a bright white.

Unbeknownst to Mikoto, but Zesiro was thinking of the same thing as he carried Maria in his arms to the nearest bit of sea. He was boiling up as he was returned to his thoughts and what happened to his trust-worthy friends. They had met under bad circumstances, circumstances that would've twisted most normal people into hideous fiends and yet they were still good to him. They were as much as Zesiro, hated the nickname they called him, they were his brothers.

(-Back on the ship, a few days ago-)

'What happened with Shigoro' were the last words that were spoken…and they were spoken well over five minutes ago. Both Nito and Ichi looked uncomfortable with the question that came up. They didn't look Zesiro in the eyes and they were looking away. Finally Ichi choked down his own words… "We'll tell you." Nito twisted around and looked aghast at Ichi's words. "We'll tell him…he's our brother…he needs to know of our other brother and how he betrayed us." Zesiro stood up, knocking his chair down and choking up on his shoulder. A look of anger had flashed over his face. Someone betrayed these guys…and Sanada? They betrayed a little kid?

"Shigoro had told the master of our plans to escape…in exchange for his own freedom," choked out Ichi as he looked away from Zesiro, once more refusing to meet his gaze. "We learned of it later on when we met up with him in the Grand Line, figuring we could be brothers again." Ichi forced an uncomfortable smile onto his face, how much he wished they could've been brothers again…

"It happened when they were torturing him or so he told us…" Nito continued and started to stray off almost immediately. He couldn't stop shaking! He felt terrified; he felt like choking, he felt like this conversation would've been better never being brought up again. "Apparently he originally tried bargaining with him to stop…the punishment got too rough for him. He couldn't stomach it anymore. So he used the one bargaining chip he had." Nito continued to shake horribly. "He told me about the keys as bait. The master knew of it and he let me steal it from him…my brother used me as a bargaining chip to give the master someone to torture…he tortured us! All because of him…" Nito clammed up again, his mouth was dry.

Ichi continued from there. "Timmy, the little guy who let us out knew, but he didn't have the heart to tell us. The one man we trusted above all us, betrayed us! He couldn't tell us, he looked upon us with pity that's why he let us out of there! He pitied us, miserable creatures! Locked up in a cell trusting the man who betrayed us! He felt like we deserved something! Some way to regain our dignity! He gave it to us! He gave us an out! He let us be free, free from that terror out there! Free from the psychopath who allowed us to call him 'brother' all the while he plotted to serve us up, to sell us out!" Ichi hands were balled up into fists, he felt like pounding them against the floor.

However, somebody else beat him to the punch. Zesiro had brought his own fist straight down into the floorboards of the ship, ripping one of the planks straight up into the air. He paused for a second, he was breathing heavily in rage. He looked over at the rest of the crew, who were all showing signs of concern for him on their faces, although Maria also looked a little bit annoyed that the ship had suffered more damage, "I'm sorry," he stuttered out as he wiped some of the dust from the floorboards off of him. "I'm sorry…I'm just…I'll…" Zesiro remembered back at the URA. Where Buraku had stepped in and offered to 'take care' of Sanada for him. Zesiro paused for a split second, "I'll take care of him."

Ichi and Nito froze for a second and looked at him, they were wavering a bit both of them were getting angry and confused and…and…and terrified remembering the past, Zesiro's anger seemed to have snapped them out, but his words still confused them greatly. The paused unsure of how to respond to it. "Wha…what do you mean?"

Zesiro's words were short and to the point. He didn't feel like mincing words with them anymore, he had heard enough as is to know what he meant, to know what he wanted to do. He expressed his anger to their horrible past, his redemption for his failure to save Sanada, and his gratitude for them in three words. "I'll kill him."

(-Back to real time, the next day-)

The old man was seeing the crew off along with the little captain he had grown to respect and admire. His days at sea were over, but it felt nice to have someone out at sea chasing the same dream he once chased. He was standing by the gravestone, belonging to one 'Red Haired' Shanks. He sat down next to it and laughed, "it looks like stupidity, dreams, and greatness all go hand-in-hand, huh?" Suddenly he heard some rustling in the foliage behind him. He turned around and saw Viola walk up behind him. "If you're looking for the kid he done set out."

"I need to talk to him," she said as she wrapped her arms around her chest. She was visibly shaken, her entire body seemed disturbed. The old man looked at her and was about to ask her what's wrong, when she continued her speech, "he…he…he…he ruined me!" she whined loudly.

**The Next Shichibukai?**

**A Turning Point**

Yeah, I honestly don't think I can have a completely serious moment and then not throw a horrible joke in after that. It is just who I am.

Anyways...yes, I finally answered the question about what happened to Shigoro and why the Fishman brothers aren't with him. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it as I pictured it going down like a hundred different ways, but I think I am rather quite happy with how it happened. Also, yes, the biggest question so far in Saga will be answered in the next chapter. Will Mikoto become a Shichibukai? So, stay tuned!


	160. Chapter 160 The Next Shichibukai?

**The Next Shichibukai?**

**A Turning Point!**

The news had finally gotten out and had shaken the world. The URA and the Shichibukai, Trevor, had fallen. Of course, the complete information of a Buster Call had never been released, the slaughter of thousands of URA-goers had gone unheard. However, the champion, the warrior who brought this new golden era around was 'The Kid Coyote' Mikoto. His status had been promoted and apparently there was word that an invitation to him was extended offering him the position of the man he had just defeated. It was friendly gesture of the Marines to the guy who saved them the trouble of taking down the psychopath. Of course, the offer was still pending. The captain's thought on this situation was…

"Heck no!" shouted Mikoto as he wiped another stream of sweat from his face. This Geppou technique training wasn't going as smoothly as Mikoto had thought. Then again he didn't really know what he was supposed to be doing. He assumed jumping into the air and flapping his arms counted as training, at least according to Ridley it did, but it didn't seem to be getting any results. His dad's book didn't quite help out either, while there was documentation on the Geppou technique along with Soru…frankly his dad didn't have a clue as to how people used them either. There was guesses and experimentation, but no real solid info. However, this wasn't currently the real problem Mikoto was facing. The fact was that Lily was hopefully in jail, probably the only time somebody was hopefully in jail as the only other option was Lily was dead. And Mikoto had done decided he would do something about it…Rosa wasn't having it any other way. Despite this Mikoto didn't want to accept the offer of Shichibukai status. Which meant the remaining option was…to attack the jail she was being held in.

"Mikoto!" squealed Sage as she walked up to him and whined, "think this through. Think about what our options are! We either wage war against the Marines or we have them as allies! It is obvious which choice we should pick!"

"Yup!" Mikoto said as he nodded his head vigorously. "We attack at dawn!" Mikoto barked as he jumped back into his training session, although it was already obvious to everybody else on the crew that this 'training' wasn't accomplishing anything. "Our options are either to blaze our own path or become military dogs." Mikoto paused as he thought about his choice of word. He was already halfway there to the second one, but he supposed it didn't matter. He made his choice clear. "So where is she being held?" asked Mikoto turning around and looking at the rest of the crew.

Enma was flipping through the paper. He had a feeling it was going to come to this, he was hoping to see that she and other civilians on the island of the URA were transported to some minimal security prison that they could easily break into, but no such luck. He just sighed and shrugged. Her name wasn't even in the obituaries, if it was in there this entire conversation would become moot. Of course, he wasn't going to say that he was secretly hoping to see Lily's name in that section out loud. He'd just leave it be, especially with Rosa in the room. She was beaming like a beacon though now that she knew the Infinity Pirate's next goal.

"Let's do this," she shouted, apparently all sense of danger was null and void to her when her sister's life was on the line. "We'll barge in there and we'll demand my sister back! I don't care if we have to go to hell to do it! We'll do it!" Enma felt a little annoyed that she was kind of spamming the word 'we' into her sentences. She had been a part of their crew for less than a month…and yet apparently she felt obligated to squeeze that word into every sentence…did Mikoto even ask her to join? Enma kicked back with that thought in his head until he realized something important. Did Rosa ever actually join their crew? He never heard Mikoto offer her the position…he never heard her accept it…was it possible that she was just using them? She'd use them to free her sister and then ditch them the first chance she got? Enma opened his mouth to speak and voice his concerns, but Ridley's whooping interrupted him.

"Imagine our bounties!" shouted Ridley as he kicked back and looked at the ceiling. He stopped his guitar playing for the moment to dream. "I mean I beat Karasu! Just imagine it! My bounty is probably sky-rocketing! I probably have a higher bounty than you now, Mikoto! I should be the captain in that case!" Ridley narrowed his eyes and looked at Sage, who did very little at the URA. "You, low bounty person, can be the cabin girl." Sage growled at him and resisted every urge to tell him off, more important issues than their bounties were at hands. Like their lives if they went to Impel Down or any of the other jails. She turned around and tried to reason with Mikoto, but he was already too far gone in Ridley's conversation…

"No way!" shouted Mikoto jumping on top of the table and striking a pose, "did you forget? I'm the captain and I took down Trevor!" Mikoto went over and snatch the paper from Enma's hand and rushed it over to Ridley shoving the first page in his face as it proudly contained Mikoto's face plastered on it as the man who took down the tyrant…although the Marines did manage to somehow squeeze in their how he couldn't have done it without their help. "See I'm the Shichibukai candidate! My bounty has got to be one billion!"

"Then mine's one billion and one!" shouted Ridley shoving the newspaper aside and pressing his head against Mikoto's forehead. "I'm going to have the biggest bounty of the crew!" Mikoto quickly brought his head back up and into Ridley's head and the two began shoving each other back using strictly their head, although it was obvious that with Mikoto's hard head he'd win in a matter of seconds.

"Found it," said Hiro-Shu as he looked at the newspaper and flipping it over to them. It had only taken him a matter of seconds to find it, despite Enma scouring over it several times. Hiro-Shu pointed to a small section where it mentioned a new jail that was built over the last fifty years. All of the pirates from the last generation had never even put their foot into the building. It was a shame, but it had to be built after Impel Down's reputation had been spoiled.

"Zenith Gaol," read Hiro-Shu aloud and then he immediately gave way into the explanation of the building as he remembered it from previous papers. "After we, the Blue Sea Dwellers, made friends and alliances with the Skypiea one of the first things we gave them was a jail to hold the imprisoned. Zenith Gaol was the masterpiece of them all, modeled after Impel Down, but designed in an even more terrifying process." He saw that he had the crew's undivided attention in explaining the lay-out of the building. "There's the ground level that lies flat on Island Clouds which make-up Skypiea. There's nothing special about that, however, the next few floors are the interesting pieces. They go down."

It took the crew a few seconds to register this and even after that Mikoto still didn't seem to fully understand what they were talking about that until Maria spoke up, "but you said it was in Skypiea or the clouds, going down would mean…it is in midair?"

Hiro-Shu nodded, solemnly. "That's correct," he lifted his right hand up and then placed his left hand below it. "My right hand is the clouds that the ground level of Zenith Gaol rests on. In it are probably one or two other levels, however, beneath that are two or three other levels that are hanging in the air. In other words if you were to try and escape from any of those levels you'd have about fifty stories to fall first."

"So do people jump out regularly?" asked Mikoto, "you know to escape?"

"Only an idiot would do that," said Hiro-Shu as he continued his explanation. "You see the jailers have two methods to prevent this. The first is the ship that follows beneath the jail. Its covered in spikes, so if somebody lands on it they'd die. If they land near it the Marines onboard would pick them up. The second is the monsters that fly around it."

"M-monsters?" shuddered Sage, an obvious tone of reasonable worry on her voice. Nobody else seemed to be bothered by the thought, but then again Sage was probably the most logical and clear-thinking out of them.

"Yup," pointed out Hiro-Shu. "They regularly throw meat out of their windows and that brings massive flying beasts around the island. Gryphons, sky snakes, basically the Sea Kings of the sky regularly circle the place in hopes of the food they throw out."

"And any idiot stupid enough to jump out of the building," brought Enma. The entire crew looked over at Mikoto, who had apparently grown bored with conversation and resumed his Geppou training, which included jumping up and flapping your arms trying to fly. Ridley couldn't help, but utter a laugh as he looked at his own practical joke in action. Enma sighed and shook his head, "What's the plan?"

Hiro-Shu looked over to Maria. "We'll work on it. Everybody else should just sleep and recover. I'm not sure how much time we'll have, but I promise you I'll work on getting this done." Hiro-Shu turned around and Maria went to follow, but Hiro-Shu stopped at the doorway and looked over at them. "We may not be going up against Trevor, but this place will probably be worse than even the URA. Take this time to relax…"

The crew piqued up at Hiro-Shu's words. They had no idea how to react to them, it was like he was saying that this place was hell or even worse. They managed to fight their way out of the URA, they dragged their butts all the way this far into the Grand Line and now…now they were in trouble? What was all the other crap they went through? That wasn't a walk in the park…even Mikoto had to admit that. He was still stinging all over from all of his fights. His wounds were slowly healing; they'd be fine given another week, which was probably the amount of time they had left.

Ridley stood there for a few more seconds as he fingered his guitar strings. "No worries," he sighed as he stretched back in his chair. "No worries, no problems…we're a good crew. We'll make through it together, right?" Ridley paused as he looked around. He could already tell the truth was weighing heavily down on their minds. They had seen the truth behind all of the smoke and mirrors of being a pirate. Sanada had died, Lily was captured, the old man and Abel had given up. For every one Pirate King that rose out of the fog of war…there were millions of those guys. "No need to answer," said Ridley as he strummed his guitar.

"No need for you guys to come either," Mikoto said out loud as he looked around at every in the room. "If you feel faint…worry…or fear here. I think now would be the best time and place to back out. I think of you guys as my friends first, crewmates second. I don't want to force any of you into this. I don't want any of you to die if you want to sit this one out or…or even head back home now…feel free. Starting here and out the journey is just going to get harder, scarier, and deadlier. The lifeboats are…" Mikoto's entire body was ripped from his seat. He hit the ground hard and it probably set his healing back another day or two. The entire crew was up and next to him and all of them were about to slap him, however, the man who got to him first was…Enma.

"Don't talk like that," said Enma as he shifted around, straightening out. Ordinarily he was well composed at the very least, but hearing Mikoto talking like that reminded him of when he joined the crew. It was back when Mikoto had second thoughts after his fight with Karasu, they had come a long way since then. They weren't going to handle another setback like this. "We all joined this crew of our volition. We'll leave when we're done with our dreams and we see the rest of ours through. We're friends." Enma left quietly.

Sage extended a hand down to Mikoto to help him back, apparently feeling bad about wanting to slap him. She lifted him to his own two feet quickly, Mikoto patted himself clean and was about to say thanks when he suddenly found himself back on the ground again, his other cheek now burning. Sage looked down at him, her hand fully extended from her slap. "I've been through hell and high water with you so far. I'm not turning back now. We won't die…you won't let us…and we sure as heck aren't letting you die." Sage pivoted on her heel and walked out on Mikoto who was still on the floor, dazed about being slapped around twice by two of the people he had just called his friends moments ago.

Ridley walked up to him and crouched down beside him. A smile plastered on his face. "What the heck is wrong with you? We've traveled this far. Compared to the hell we've been through…the next one will probably be worse…but we'll get through it." Ridley got up and was about to leave, but he stopped quickly, turned around and launched a swift kick to Mikoto's gut. "I'm going to have the higher bounty!" With that Ridley turned around and left.

"Do you want me to call Enma back in," asked Rosa as she crouched down next to Mikoto and looked him in the face. "Then again there's a good chance he'll slap you again."

(-at Zenith Gaol-)

The large man stood planted in the center of the small room. He was the Warden of the jail. Not a single thing happened in this prison that he didn't know about. He was constantly on watch of the entire prison. He was a Marine before he insisted on transferring on here. From there he quickly gained control of the prison and became the Head Warden. He studied the fall of Impel Down and even the construction of the other two jails that were made in response. He wanted to make sure that his prison was the best, he didn't want it to fall in the same way. As a result he had several safety precautions in place.

He had the utmost dislike for all things pirate and as a result he made sure no one in his prison had even the slightest hope of ever escaping. He made sure they knew at least that. He smiled as he had just finished his fifth check of the prison for the hour. He would do another six before it was up, but for now he could take a break while the rest of the prison guards took over the duty of examining the cells.

A male Longarm stalked outside of the cells first, behind him he dragged a long trident that bumped against each row of bricks and temporarily jumped into the air. He kept his pace going forward, he didn't care about the prisoners who were whooping in the cells around him. He found them tedious and boring charges. He yawned as he looked at one of them, his eyes examined the previous pirate captain. He used to be a famous killer upon the Blue seas, but now he was reduced to a mere shell of who he used to be. He looked upon his right hand where a small sheet of paper was held. The Longarm thought about the Vice Warden.

He had never seen the Vice Warden in person. He had seen the various notes he leaves amongst the prisoners and had read them, originally believing them to be the prisoners trying to conspire together, but he quickly realized the truth. The fact that the Vice Warden delivered them. He still didn't understand the writing on most of them, his writing was chicken-scratch as best. But still he knew well enough that when a prisoner had one it was not good news. The next day the prisoner would 'mysteriously go missing' according to the official file that was going to be submitted to the World Government, but the entire prison staff knew the truth. They were fed to the beasts that surrounded the place.

The Vice Warden considered them his 'babies' according the Head Warden, who the Longarm assumed was the only man to ever see him. The disastrous birds that circled the prison were his pets…his children. And as a result the Vice Warden apparently felt a need to feed them whatever he had a surplus of on hand. That meant the prisoners would be picked up from their cells with their screaming filling the halls in the middle of the night. Next a high-pitched whistle could be heard, then the sound of flapping would fill the air as the monsters landed near the prison, anxiously awaiting their fill. Loud cawing became a nightmare for the prisoners here. The Longarm doubted they would ever think of a bird as anything less than a terror ever again.

**The Invasion Plan**

I really had a hard time deciding should Mikoto be a Shichibukai or not. I mean, I actually would've preferred Mikoto to be one just cause I think that sets things up so much nicer and is a very original turn for most stories, but I believe Mikoto wouldn't do it...maybe a 30% he would...but that's still not enough for me to go against my gut instincts!

Anyways, I need some inspiration! My writing speed for this story and Iron Hammer kind of bottomed out lately. So mention something to get my blood boiling again! OCs, actual One Piece, a killer manga, something that inspires me...or just review a lot. I need some kind of motivation or inspiration get going...


	161. Zenith Gaol 161 The Invasion Plan

**The Invasion Plan**

"That's it," pointed out Hiro-Shu, fingering one lone ship on the horizon. The crew was gathered around and all of their eyes were on the on the ship. It was still the dead of night, their lights ad been turned off and there ship was stalking its prey quietly. They saw the glowering red light of the ship's lights due to the thick darkness that enveloped them. The ship was coated in heavy spikes that stretched all the way out and protected it from enemy attack as well as made anyone who touched it feel unbearable agony. The crew held their breath as their watched the demonic ship with the flag of the World Government fluttering on its mast. "That's our ticket to Zenith Gaol."

Ridley felt a bit like a fool for having to ask this, but he knew more than likely he wasn't the only one who didn't understand. "How is that ship going to get us up to the White Sea levels and Skypiea?" The rest of the crew nodded in agreement, they needed to be filled in on the battle plan. Even Enma, a man who was usually well-informed, seemed a bit lost as he stared at the ship trying to piece it together himself.

"It s connected to the prison," explained Hiro-Shu. "I mentioned about a ship that is constantly at the heels of the ever-moving prison Zenith Gaol, remember?" The crew did recall something about that. If a prisoner ever escaped Zenith Gaol by jumping out of one of the lower levels…they would either be skewered by the ship's spikes or picked up by the ship's crew only to be transported back to that prison or a different one. The above prison currently had an impeachable record of 0 break-outs, 0 break-ins, and 0 hopeful prisoners. "It has a chute the shoots straight up to the prison's bottom floor. This way rather than having to send prisoners all the way around and up to Skypiea through the normally risky matters there is now a straight shot for the Marines to take their prisoners up there."

"And a straight shot for us," smiled Mikoto as he gazed up to the clouds. He originally wanted his first trip to the civilization in the clouds to be a happy one. He had heard great things about them, their food, and even a little of their riddles. He wanted to experience them all for himself and he would love to do it as soon as possible, but he suppose in a way going to the civilization's jail to break out a girl who turned into a tiger was a reward in itself. He always wondered what it was like up in the clouds.

"Here's the thing," said Hiro-Shu as he jabbed his fingers upwards and into the sky. "We don't have any time to waste nor can we leave anyone on that ship conscious long enough to sound the alarm. If the alarm gets sound then by the time we get up to Zenith Gaol, we'd be surrounded, outnumbered, out of luck." Hiro-Shu sighed as he thought about this. No matter how he did so this still sounded like a suicide mission, he suppose their hand had been forced in a way. They had no option, but to attack the jail, but that didn't make him feel any better about it. "Me, Mikoto, and Enma will go straight to the control center."

"Cool!" shouted Mikoto as he pumped his fist into the air, "I always wanted to drive a ship! Much less a ship connected to the sky!"

"Mikoto, if you get there before me or Enma, don't touch anything," said Hiro-Shu, "you are the fastest and time is of the essence. If possible disable the communications and then sit down and do nothing." Hiro-Shu paused for a second and just to make sure Mikoto wouldn't take him too seriously, "if a bad guy comes in take him out, but other than that the controls aren't to be touched." Mikoto puffed out his cheeks like a little kid and slid into his chair, moping. "Zesiro, Maria, and Ridley will be the distraction. At all times try to keep the guards focused on you. Take down as many as you can as fast as you can. We'll need all the time we can get to control center."

"What do I do?" Rosa chirped, happy that they were finally doing something to rescue her sister. It appeared that she was still ignoring the fact that the newspaper did not mention that they had captured Lily and sent her there. This was still a one-in-a-million shot…thinking about that only caused Hiro-Shu to sigh again and confirm his thoughts that this was a ridiculous suicide mission with very little light at the end of the tunnel.

Hiro-Shu's words were dead serious and sound not be taken lightly. "Nothing." His voice boomed and seemed especially loud amongst the quiet shipmates and without a doubt they shook Rosa to the very core. How could she do nothing? How could she stand by and let these people fight for her sister's life? She was about to voice those very questions when Hiro-Shu answered. "They know you and your sister are related. If they see you it won't be hard for them to put together why we are attacking them…if you are seen it is possible that they will use her as bait or even execute her just to make sure we can't win." Hiro-Shu's words were exactly what shouldn't have been said, but they needed to be. He needed to make sure Rosa would stay out of the way and out of sight until they needed her.

"I'm sorry," Hiro-Shu apologized. His head snapped forward and saw the ship was closing in on them. "We don't have any time to waste. We're almost there. So let's get ready."

It was still the dead of night, but on the Marine ship it was anything, but 'dead'. The Marines were awake and partying apparently bored with being out at sea all the time for no reason other than to pick up drowning prisoners will make one want to party and goof off. No prisoners would leap off of the prison at this hour. It was insane. They were just happily downing ale and gambling. Until they got an unexpected visitor, a little coyote had landed on their ship and was walking around.

"Oh, look at the cute little doggy!" shouted one of the men, he reeked of alcohol. The other men all laughed, few of the more sober ones pointed out that it was a 'coyote', but even they were too wasted to truly see what was going on. The man who cooed over the dog walked closer and reached out a hand holding a slab of cooked meat to him. The dog smelled it, came wandering over and snatched it from the man. "It likes meat!" screamed the man lifting his arm up in some kind of victory, although no one was certain if it could really be a victory…then again they were too drunk to care they all brought their glasses up and cheered loudly. Suddenly the dog jumped up, flipping around it whipped its hind legs out and embedded its feet into the Marine's face and sent him flying. The coyote quickly landed again and with his newly obtained meal still hanging from his mouth, Mikoto rushed out in search of the control room.

"What just happe-" one of the men on board started to ask before his question turned into a yell as he was thrown off the side of ship by a woman with mechanical limbs. The group of men paused for a second, hesitating due to the reason that they had no idea what was happening. Just moments ago they were 'getting their drink on' and now a coyote and cyborg suddenly appeared on their ship. Of course, they had other worries. One of the men was suddenly ripped off of his feet and flew clear across the ship, knocking several other men on the way over. He probably would've been cut in two if the Fishman who had joined the party hadn't used the back of his blades.

It quickly became painfully obvious to the Infinity Pirates, especially Ridley, that they only needed one of those two on the attacking detail. Zesiro and Maria were both easily handling the drunken Marines without even fully exerting themselves. Zesiro strode out across the battlefield, not holding back even an inch of his full-power. His sword lashed out from his side and quickly battering itself into and through multiple Marines at once. Maria was on the same sub-monster level she didn't hesitate for even a second as she brought her fists straight into several of the Marine's skull throwing them back. Ridley, who was supposed to be helping them, instead decided to sit back, play a little music, and help himself to the fighting Marines' alcohol. It is what every good, self-respecting pirate would do.

Even Hiro-Shu and Enma who would normally approach any situation with caution realized that these men weren't anything to really be worried about. They may have been in their own clear-headed minds, but being the drunken bastards they were right now…they didn't even hold a candle to their crew. The Marines were hopeless in the face of these pirates. They suppose it made sense what kind of pirate in their own good sense would attack a Marine vessel attached to the prison? Then again these Marine didn't have to be strong…the only thing these Marines needed was to warn Zenith Gaol and their plan would be ruined. Hiro-Shu and Enma needed to prevent that from happening as quickly as possible.

Out of the corner of his eyes Hiro-Shu saw the thing he dreaded. One of the more clear-headed Marines had managed to find himself a Den-Den Mushi and was already starting to call the prison…or something else, but whatever it was it probably wasn't good news for the pirates. He was too far away for Hiro-Shu to stop him, there was no way for Hiro-Shu to close the distance and land a hit on him in time to stop him. Was their plan already destined for failure just minutes into it? All of a sudden the young Marine's body was ripped back by an invisible force, his body sent flying through the air and crashing into the rail. A few seconds the later the Den-Den Mushi faced a similar fate. Right off the back Hiro-Shu knew it was due to Sage and her Devil Fruit power…it was nice to have her on their side again. He quickly ran off back in search of the control panel and their overactive coyote captain.

Suddenly the wall next to Hiro-Shu was ripped up by a wide iron club and out stepped a Marine. The stench of alcohol was heavy on him, but it was already apparent he wasn't near drunk. He must be a real drunkard for this to happen, he had a high intolerance to any kind of alcohol…although Hiro-Shu wasn't really all too impressed with his drinking ability. What really caught the Iron Golem's eyes was his right hand and the club it held. His right hand was covered in scars and his ring and pinky finger were sliced off. The club had a weird undulating shape to it. It was skinny at the base, but from there on out it swelled than shrunk than swelled and shrunk and then swelled again at the tip making a weird weapon, whose weight was probably off. The weapon was about five feet long and the man carrying it was about eight feet tall. Hiro-Shu was bothered by it though, a fight against a man like this was something that he needed. His last fights at the URA left a bad taste in his mouth.

Enma was soon after Hiro-Shu, however, he didn't stop to face the man. Their goal was the control panel, not the Marines. He didn't have any time to waste and he quickly sped past them. He knew Hiro-Shu would follow him as soon as he was finished with the tall Marine. However, Enma found out how wrong he was. Moments later, before Enma had even finished his thought process, the lumbering Marine was sent through the hall and smashed into one of the nearby walls. Enma paused as he looked back and saw Hiro-Shu already running back up to him. Enma couldn't believe it. The Marine was a monster in his own rights, but now he was looking at Enma upside down and through stars. Hiro-Shu was soon running past Enma and shouting at him to hurry up. Enma shook his head clear and continued after Hiro-Shu. He suppose that they all did get slightly stronger now. If not from their fights at the URA then from the training they did in order to make up for it, but still…it seemed weirdly easy.

(-With Mikoto-)

Mikoto was puttering around in the control center of the ship. He had nothing to do, but wait for Hiro-Shu. It was boring, being the first person at a place especially when you were told specifically not to do anything. However, Mikoto's boredom was soon remedied not because a Marine barged into the room to keep him preoccupied, but because he spied something out of the corner of his eye. Mikoto walked up to the control panel and eyed the small mechanism that caught his eye. It was significantly larger than all other buttons on the panel, but more importantly…it was red. If there was anything more fearful, more thrilling, and more dangerous than a red button…Mikoto did not know of it. He resisted pressing it, but now that he knew it existed he didn't know how much longer it would be until he pressed. Mikoto could feel his finger creeping toward the button when a burst of static cut through the air. Mikoto dashed back away from the button, afraid that whatever caused that burst of static was him.

Next a voice cut in. "Hello, this is Zenith Gaol fast food restaurant. May we take your order?" said the voice. Mikoto waited for a few seconds and during this time everything fell quiet until the voice on the other end, burst out into laughter. "I got you, didn't I? We're not a fast food place! Ah cha cha! You're busting a gut right now, aren't ya?"

"Not really," said Mikoto as he approached the small Den-Den mushi that was transferring the sound in between them. "You're not that funny." The voice on the other end made a loud sound as if he was in physical pain. "You know any riddles?"

"Cha…no sadly I don't," said the voice as he sprung back to life, "but maybe if you hum a few bars. Ah cha cha!" Mikoto remained un-laughing. "Ack! My marvelous jokes fall on deaf ears…oh, well, to business. Somebody on your ship tried to call us, but the line got caught short may we ask what happened? And don't say you were lonely and wanted to hear my jokes…nobody ever does."

"I actually don't know," hummed Mikoto as he looked around him, trying to figure out what the man was talking about. "I'm just a pirate who attacked this ship. I have no idea why somebody aboard this ship would call you." There was another period of silence as the voice tried to process what Mikoto was saying. Then out of nowhere and for no reason the voice began a boisterous laugh.

"Ah cha cha cha!" guffawed the voice. "That's a good joke. I'm going to us it the next time I make a prank call! Well, good-bye!" The line was quickly hung up. Mikoto sat there for a few seconds wondering what happened when the line buzzed back to life making Mikoto jump back. It was the same annoying voice again. "Hey, I'm a pirate who just attacked Zenith Gaol. I have no idea why anybody in this prison would try to call you. Ah cha cha!" This time Mikoto hung up the Den-Den Mushi with an abundant of vehemence. Mikoto picked the poor snail up and quickly transported it to a small dark closet and locked it away, now he wouldn't have to listen to any more of that guy's bad jokes.

Finally Hiro-Shu entered and saw Mikoto and more importantly everything seemed to be in shape, other than the missing Den-Den Mushi, but Hiro-Shu supposed he did say something about disabling communications. He suppose getting rid of the Den-Den Mushi did do so. He patted Mikoto on the back, although a pat from the golem Hiro-Shu was still pretty hefty and nearly pushed Mikoto off of his feet. Mikoto smiled, though as he stumbled forward, glad to have once more garnered the support of his crew especially in hard times like these.

"So how are we going to get up?" asked Mikoto staring towards the sky He supposed in the end, blind trust wasn't a good answer. He wanted a real one. Although it didn't matter in the end he would still have blind trust in Hiro-Shu. If Hiro-Shu said it was safe, Mikoto would trust him.

Hiro-Shu pointed behind him. Mikoto turned and saw a small tube. It stretched up and out of the ship. "It's a pressurized air cannon the propels water as well as a platform upwards basically, similar to the Knock-Up Stream. Of course, it occurs in increasing increments so the rise is slower than the Knock-Up Stream, but much safer."

"Ah, I see," said Mikoto nodding. "It is magic."

**Piracy is on the Rise!**

****Okay, shameless advertisement: got a new One Piece One-Shot up called One Piece is a Lie.

But yeah the arc is officially starting to pick up. The gang already had a massive fight with an entire ship in the first chapter that probably means things are just going to get more and more difficult. I think this arc has some good scenery going on for it and a pretty good underlying plot, but as usual I'm none too fond of the fights throughout this arc. However, I feel that way about almost every fight so I'm hoping I'm just being paranoid.

Also just a slight warning as it kind of came across to me as this during the first ten or so chapters, but Saga will be continuing after this, okay? For some reason when I wrote and re-read some of this stuff it just seemed kind of...final to me. Like this will be the last arc, it will not be, okay? I don't even know if it sounds like this to anyone else, but it sounded like it to me...so I figured a warning was necessary.


	162. Zenith Gaol 162 Piracy is on the Rise

**Piracy is on the Rise**

The crew had gathered in the control room. The ship had been completely abandoned and taken over by the Infinity Pirates. The crew found it funny, but despite their rising bounties this was probably the first truly pirate thing they had done. They attacked a Marine Base or two before, but this was surely the first time they charged into an avoidable battle. Of course, Rosa would probably argue that this wasn't an avoidable battle. That this fight was an absolute must, regardless of the crew's reasonable fears.

They looked over at the tube that was going to be 'safely' transporting them upwards. The ship had a smaller crew than it could handle because the entire bottom of the ship had been gutted to make room for this contraption. A series of machine burned coal which boiled the water beneath them and quickly increased the air pressure at the bottom from there, it released the pressure upwards sending the platform up about a fifth of the way. From there it fell about a tenth of the way and then this process was repeated until the platform reached the top. It was a ridiculously slow method to help the platform reach the top of the tube without any interruption or dangers, however, another problem was present…the fact that it wasn't made to carry eight people up at a time. It was made to carry up three people. Two guards, one prisoner. After all this was more of an emergency jettison to the top where a longer trip would just be reckless.

It would take them three trips to get up and seeing at how it probably took ten minutes just to raise the platform to the sky and then probably ten minutes to let it drop. So they may be waiting around for an hour just to invade the prison and sadly any loss of time was too much. They were invading enemy territory, much worse enemy territory that happened to have plenty of guards and surveillance around. A screw was possible and likely knowing this bunch. Both Ridley and Mikoto would probably cause a ruckus, but even worse…with the way Rosa is it's possible that they would have to look over another fool…and there is one more person Hiro-Shu was worried about. He looked at his crew as he thought about this situation.

He thought back to the time they attacked Reverse Mountain. That was the first time they willingly waged war on the Marines and it earned them a slight increase in terms of infamy. Zesiro broke one of his swords and had his strength reduced, but Maria had been covering his weight since then. And then the URA, which spoke for itself, with Trevor, Karasu, and the Buster Call all hovering around them. However, Hiro-Shu believed that this was the first time they have ever done something so reckless. Without even a clear goal in sight. If they got there and Lily wasn't even there it would be all for naught. This time it wasn't even a matter of win or lose…it was a matter of luck, they wouldn't walk away as the victors just because they were stronger. They would need the devil's luck to get through this horrible scene. Hiro-Shu shivered for a second as he thought about it. All the work they had already put into this mission and all the work they were going to have to put into it and all for what? A one-in-a-million chance they'd be able to save someone. He knew Mikoto would accept those odds and right now Rosa, with her mind clouded with a strange mixture of rage and hope, is leading their charge, with them following closely behind her in possibly a fool-hardy attempt. Hiro-Shu shook his head, he felt like a fool thinking about this now. It was too late, the crew's hearts were already into it. No matter how fool-hardy it seemed.

Hiro-Shu had already determined how they would be going up. First just Maria and Enma. Maria's metal appendages skewed the weight so the three prisoner suggestion seemed moot. Next Sage, Zesiro, and Rosa with Mikoto and Ridley soon following. Hiro-Shu iron golem still made him the heaviest so it would be best if he went alone…as well as the fact that he had to man the control panel. He quickly set himself to work. The platform was on the bottom, so he quickly had Maria and Enma gather on. They were a bit uncertain since they felt like guinea pigs, but their trust of Hiro-Shu made them step on. Besides Enma wanted to get their first and have a look around before the troublesome bunch arrived. The lift was triggered as they were lifted up into the air. They were both uneasy, but they were pirates so they held in their screams of terror as the ground beneath their own feet was rocketed upwards.

Enma was definitely uneasy. The rise and fall of the platform with each burst of pressure made him feel sick. When they finally got to the bottom of the base, he was thankful to be one solid ground once more. He stepped out alongside Maria, who didn't seem too bothered by the bursting platform, he supposed her legs allowed her better balance than his bones did. However, he soon found out that being on solid ground wasn't as fun as it was back down on the Blue Sea…he found himself immediately short of breath. The air was thin this high up. It would take him a few minutes to adjust to this sort of extreme, even Maria seemed a bit tired and her arms seemed to sag a bit as she walked and looked about. It would be about twenty minutes until their allies come up…then another and another until the entire crew set foot in this prison. That meant he had at least that long to adjust to this air. He looked around and examined the stone walls that surrounded them.

If he remembered correctly from some of the books he used to read, Skypieans had a slight obsession with earth. They didn't have any up here in the sky so part of the deal with World Government was that the jail had to be made of the stuff. The Marines had to transport large quantities of stone all the way around and back up to the sky again and again in order to finish the building if it broke then they would have to go back down for more supplies. Enma was amazed it ever got done from the way things looked in the newspaper, he was even more amazed that such building was stable. They were how many miles in the air and they were just supposed to trust some architect's words? He tapped his foot on the ground testing the solid earth, it seemed pretty sturdy. He would just believe in it for now rather than think about the worst. Speaking of the worst…Enma's mind wandered back over to Rosa's motives for joining the crew…and whether or not she'd stay with it after this.

"Hey…hey is someone new there?" asked a voice it was dark and desperate. Enma's ears piqued up as he struggled back to his feet. The thin air was still choking him, but he wasn't much bothered by it. He walked forward towards one of the doors. They were in a small circular room, with four doors all facing inwards forming the tips of a rectangle. Enma suppose they did so the Marines who came here wouldn't have to see any of the pirates' faces, so one of them were probably a straight shot to the next floor, but then again…Enma didn't want a straight shot to the next floor. He needed to check this floor's pirates to make sure Lily wasn't amongst them. Besides the voice was interesting to him.

Enma swung the door open and was immediately greeted by the horrifying sight of pirates behind bars all around him. However, the pirates themselves didn't interest him. They were all pinned against the wall with sharp curved blades digging into their hands. They're eyes were all glazed over all hope was lost. Only a few of them even managed to lift their heads to look at him…Enma was a doctor and he could immediately tell that a quarter of these men were already dead, another quarter had severe infections because of the open wounds, and the remaining half were bleeding to death. They were probably given some anti-coagulating medicine to make the process quicker. Needless to say Enma wasn't in a very good mood after seeing this, he didn't know if it was this sight or the lack of air, but he felt sick.

"Give me a second," said Enma as he approached one of the cells. "I'll help you guys get out of this-" He was immediately met with wailing as the pirates all shouted 'no'. Enma stepped back and looked at them, they were sharing cells with dead bodies. They themselves were on the brink of death and he could help them…or at the very least ease their pain. He was a doctor it was his duty. "I'm a doctor," Enma said solemnly, I'll help you…" once more a sharp 'no' was his answer.

"Give it up, Enma," said Maria, softly as she put her hand on his shoulder. She seemed to be all better, which Enma guessed was to be expected. She was probably more physically fit than he was, she probably had already adjusted to the lack of air. "They've given up. I'm guessing they've been here for awhile…they've given up all hope. They've probably been tortured to the point that the thought of escaping from here is all too far away." She pointed towards a man in the corner. His arms were shagging by his side, he wasn't pinned up, but he wasn't moving either…other than the faint rise and fall of his chest. He was dead inside, he wasn't going to be moving. The prison guards made sure of that.

"The girl is right," said one of the men from inside of the cell. He was probably the closest to death, pus was squeezing out of his mouth and a rat was nibbling at his dying feet. "This prison…its…weird you know. At first you hate the walls and then you love them and then the thought is implanted in your head…you can't live without them. The walls are safe…" The man huddled closer to his wall as did the rest of the prisoners…all of them had gone crazy! How long had they been in here?

"This prison is arranged from top to bottom, right?" asked the man, although it was more of a statement. "You see, unlike Impel Down this prison operates on a more basic function…the newbies are dragged from the bottom to the top experiencing all the floors, all the hells, you see your fellow prisoners with their spirits crushed…and you think that's not going to happen to you, but after the days become weeks…the weeks become months, the months become years…you realize that you already have. The prison is the safest and best place in the world!" He let loose a wild laugh.

"How is this prison arranged?" asked Enma. He was hoping to meet more friendly pirates higher up and hopefully ones with all of their marbles still intact, besides he needed an accurate guess as to where Lily would be. If it was arranged like Impel Down then she would be at the top, right?

"The longer you are here, the further down you are dragged," laughed the man from behind the security of his prison bars. "The newbies start at the highest floor where their hopes and dreams are filled as they look out at the clouds and then their spirits are crushed as they move down one floor and then the next. Soon they can't focus anymore, they are starting to spit up uncontrollably. The horrors of the prison slowly start to affect you, you give in! GIVE IN TO THE PRISON! GIVE IN TO THE PRISON!" The man was obviously trying to start a rant, but the rest of the prisoners didn't even have the energy to join in.

Enma shook his head. He couldn't believe pirates could become like this. He even recognized a person or two from the newspaper. There in the corner was 'Blood Fist' Carl, a pirate with a bounty exceeding eighty-eight million. Another pirate in the room was an ex-revolutionary, Markel Thorgrin, a man whose bounty had shot past 120 million. It was heart-breaking seeing these previous tyrants of the sea locked up and detained.

However, Enma supposed it wasn't a complete waste. Based on what they said he now had a fairly good idea about what to do and where Lily was. Based on what they said he could determine that Lily was probably higher up, probably on the first or second floor. They said the newer prisoners stay up there to get their hopes up until they were transferred down further till the point their spirits are crushed. Then again, Lily wasn't a pirate it was entirely possible her spirit got crushed quickly and she had already given up. He sighed. This prison was going to be harder then he thought. "Can one of you at least tell me where the-" Enma's words got cut short. He turned around and produced a thin spear of his own bone. He heard a noise. Maria had also reacted to the unknown noise; she brought her fists up to a fighting stance. She kept her eyes forward towards the hallway. They still had a while to wait until the next group would arrive. The prisoners also lifted their heads-up as high as their crushed spirits would let them. They waited for something to come down.

A long serpent crept into the halls. It had white feathers with a slight blue tint adorning its massive head. It turned solemnly to the left and then to right. Its tongue flickered out between its fearsome jaws as it examined each corridor. Enma felt a little safer knowing that this prison could support that beast. "What is it?" asked Maria turning to one of the prisoners. Their eyes fell to the floor as soon as they had realized what it was. Nonetheless it didn't make Maria feel any safer seeing their dejected looks.

"It is just this prison's curse," stated one of the men. "The prison guards here will sometimes feed the roving monsters outside to make them believe that if a prisoner escapes, he too is its food. Every so often one of the beasts will find its way in here through a hole or a window carelessly left open. Be grateful," nodded the man towards the serpent who was currently winding down the halls in search of its next meal, "for it is one of the smaller ones. It'll be gone in a few minutes when the guards catch its scent."

"Guards?" asked Enma already fearing what he meant by that. If the guards were to slink their way down here they would be in big trouble especially now. They still had to spend another hour waiting for the rest of their crew to get here. They didn't have the time to waste. "The prison is about five stories high, correct?" Enma started to calculate how much time they had left if the guards got down here too quickly in order to catch that monster then they'd be in trouble. They needed to **bide** their time until at least Zesiro got here, that way they'd have some back-up against them and it wasn't completely hopeless…the five stories the guards would have to cover should probably take them about fifteen minutes. They would have to stay out of sight for probably twenty minutes and even then once Zesiro arrived their cover would be blown.

"Can't we just take the lizard out?" asked Maria already surging forward towards the beast, ready for a brawl. She was anxious to put it bluntly. She lived for fights and now that a monstrous snake laid before her eyes, maybe she was a little excited. But that didn't stop Enma from grabbing her and pulling her back. He explained his reason for doing such. After all if they attacked the giant snake now and the guards came down to find it dead wouldn't that just mean that someone other than the guards had taken the snake down? It would be like signaling that they were here to everyone around. Nonetheless Maria didn't seem all too swayed at Enma's laying down the consequences and she stepped forward again…just barely in time to see the snake's massive body fall to the ground covered in blood.

A Longarm was standing in front of the snake, he didn't even break a sweat. He just stood there astride the massive snake with his weapon, a three-pronged trident in one hand. "Such a tedious job," was all he bothered to mutter. Enma took a glance at him and immediately knew that he wasn't a man to take easy. His choice of weapon was the most interesting to him. Longarms have just that long arms, given a normal human being's arms are longer than two feet, his extra section probably gave him a normal reach of three feet to possibly four based on his height…however, even that didn't matter as he had his trident, which was about the same height as him. In other words his reach extended by another six feet...give or take a few inches. Something told him that prison guards like him were awaiting them in the higher reaches as well.

**The Inescapable Prison**

The Longarm is an OC, but since I haven't mentioned his name I won't mention who made him until I do like I usually do. Before I can get into building up suspense I got to apologize. I'm starting school again soon, so my free time is going to bite the bullet. Sadly that means I won't be able to update as much as I currently am. I may be able to keep this up for the rest of the month...but if I don't you'll know why. Anyways, this arc is already finished being written...it goes up to like 186 or something...yeah, another semi-long one, but not as bad as the URA...so, um...prepare? Well, like I said my free time will slow down, but I may also kick it up and do a whole bunch of bonus updates soon...provided I get the time.


	163. Zenith Gaol 163 The Inescapable Prison

**The Inescapable Prison**

Enma tried to calm down. The fact was that in a few minutes Zesiro and the rest of them would arrive and cause a commotion when they did so. They would immediately start looking around for Enma and Maria, the problem was if they did that they would be found out. Enma turned around and peeked past the corner of one of the cells at the prison guard.

The Longarm didn't seem to notice Enma or Maria yet. He just stood there, examining his prey for another few seconds before letting out a yawn. "Man, I'm just too freakin' bored to care about this guy…he'll just stay here for now. Moving him would be too tiresome. I'll just leave him. Surely, Tashio knows I killed him by now…well, will you look at the time. It looks like it is time for my sixth nap of the day." The Longarm paused and looked in both directions before shrugging. "The upper levels are so much nicer. Down here are all of these heartless beasts. I need to talk to the guy who built this prison to install small sleeping chambers for me on every floor that way I don't have to climb all these flights of stairs just to get a decent nap…" he paused for a second and looked around him. "I'm talking to myself again." He wiped his hair out of his face and turned to go up the stairs leaving this floor to the prisoners.

Enma remained quiet for another few seconds as he tried to listen for the footsteps of the guard leaving. He paused as he tried to relax, but he just couldn't. This prison definitely wasn't his ideal location to be in right now. After seeing that Longarm's might, he could only think about what the other jailer's levels were…then again with any luck that Longarm might just be the strongest one out of the bunch…then again when did they have ever had good luck? If they had true good luck then they wouldn't have been in this mess to begin with, but they were here and they were in trouble. Enma took out his small medicine supply box and already decided that what they had probably wouldn't be enough to take care of anything. He sighed as he closed it back up. Regardless of if he has enough materials to take care of his crew, he didn't have any choice. Going back would set them back a whole other half an hour. They would just have to tough it out.

(-at the top-)

Five floors above Enma's own predicament, the jailers of this impenetrable fortress had one of their own. The room was a small place, it wasn't very well decorated, but in it were two people. The warden of this prison was present sitting behind his desk and glaring at the man across from him. The warden was a big man, in terms of both height and muscle size. He was tanned and had short black buzz-cut hair. The man's eyes were hidden beneath a pair of dark sunglasses that sat on his nose, the rest of his body was also hidden beneath a camouflage and camouflage pants. The only thing that was clearly visible was a large sword that rested on his back in its sheath.

The man across from him was just as intimidating. He had an imperial look about him, he was dressed in a nice dark blue suit with a hat on his head, tilted slightly downwards shadowing his sunglasses, which covered his eyes. In-between the man's fingers were a large cigar and he brought it back to his pale lips, took a deep puff, and then let it all out as he started up the conversation, "I understand where you are coming from, so I hope you, too, are understanding and won't over-react when I say that your decision is a bad one."

The warden leaned forward and pounded his fist onto the table, making it shudder with immense force, but his conversation partner didn't seem impressed. "I don't need to understand where you are coming from. I'm in charge of this prison; anything short from a direct letter from the World Government themselves won't get me to repeal my decision. Your crewmate will just stay locked up until then. I don't care what you say, he's staying behind MY bars in MY prison and YOU don't get a say in it. He's a pirate, as far as I'm concerned you are as well so consider yourself lucky I'm not locking you up with him!"

The man didn't seem unfazed by the warden's threat. "Listen, um…you said your name was Taisho, right?" offered up the man. The warden nodded and leaned back into his chair, although he kept his gaze constant on the man's forehead. The well-dressed man continued his speech, "listen, Taisho, I appreciate you doing your job. I know the life of a working man isn't easy. I can only imagine how hard it is for someone who is in charge of a prison, but my boss is worse than you…my boss is worse than your boss." The man stood up and brought his cigar down onto the table, rubbing it out on the hardwood top. "Surely you've heard the news through the grape vine.

"My boss is 'Ghost Hook' Kraven, the newest Shichibukai. His strength is top-notch, but he and the Marines are already on good terms, which is why I'm sure they'll get our crewmate out without even raising an eyebrow. So let's face the music, you're giving my boss no other options. He'll contact your bosses, who'll at which point will drag your ass all around in broad daylight and free my brother. So, let's save you the embarrassment and why don't you let my brother out right now, eh?" He sat down and crossed his legs; he pressed each of his fingers on one hand against all the fingers on the other hand in confidence. His hand gesture not only showed off his confidence, but also the numerous rings that decorated his hands. He smirked as he looked over at Taisho as if saying 'your turn'.

"Hmph," Taisho grunted to himself and smiled, "then call your boss and let's see how this plays out, huh?" The man looked a little bewildered, he froze and his mouth hung open as he stared at Taisho. "Face the facts and leave." Taisho drew his sword and pointed it at the door. "There's the door, you'll see a Den-Den Mushi to the left." The man grunted as he stood up and with a flourish of his arms, he took his jacket off and draped it on the chair he was using, indicating that he'd be back. With a huff he turned around and left Taisho to his own devices while he contacted his boss.

Taisho slumped back into his chair and crossed his arms. There was no doubt in his mind that the guy could get his boss' approval and no doubt his boss could get approval from the Marines. His boss had become a big gun in the Grand Line nearly overnight. His boss 'Ghost Hook' Kraven was a Shichibukai whose legend would go down in history, Taisho was sure of that. Kraven brought the head of another Shichibukai into a meeting of Shichibukais. He had ensured that not only was a position open, but that it would almost positively be offered to him. This brazen confidence and obvious strength was something that would make him a legend amongst new pirates. However, despite the fact that Taisho knew this plan was doomed to fail he would keep this man in his prison for another few hours. A pirate was always a pirate. If anything these recent events proved his point.

He thought back to Trevor being approved to be a Shichibukai, how come nobody tried to point out the failings then? If somebody had then the Marines wouldn't have had to suffer so. He was a pirate through and through and so were these Mafia gangsters. No matter how many allowances the Marines made for them. He thought they would've tried a little harder to repeat these mistakes, but here they were already stumbling into another. All pirates should be his prisoners! They all should be locked up behind these stone walls. He knew that for a fact, but the Marines refused to listen to him! He would keep this one pirate in his prison as long as he could, it was the least he could do to help protect the innocent civilians outside.

The suit-wearing man barged back in. "Heh, heh, heh! It looks like I got permission from boss so if you don't mind I'm just going to go down stairs and put some things in order for now." Taisho was about speak up, but the man cut him short again. "I know, I know, I know. You can't let him out of the prison until after you get your phone call from the Marines, chances are after that there is paperwork, nonetheless, I'm going down to say hello to him. And give him a cigar," the man produced another cigar and put it in his mouth.

"Be careful, the feral beasts that circle this prison can occasionally break in and attack people inside," replied Taisho with a little resentment behind it. "If one of them decides to attack you it may be a minute before one of my guards jump in to defend you." All of his guards had to pass the simple test of being able to beat two of them back-to-back without getting too tired, all of them passed with flying colors. Taisho, the Vice Warden, the Head Jailer, and the Longarm did so without even breaking a sweat. The guards of this prison were the finest crop for miles around.

"Don't go bullshitting me," laughed the man as he removed the cigar from his mouth once more and glared over at Taisho. His body underwent a slight metamorphosis. His head grew out into a beak and reptilian scales coated his body. From the looks of it, he was only allowing a part of his body to transform. A highly skilled Zoan-Type user perhaps, but regardless Taisho couldn't quite place what kind of animal it was. "If your guards get in the way of me and my target, I'll just crush them as well." The man swiftly turned around and left.

Taisho shook his head. It was quite possible that if that man was allowed to run amok in this prison. It would take a lot of the jail's power to stop him. At the very least it would mean full-action from Taisho would have to be taken and he didn't particularly want it come to that. He needed to resume watch over the entire prison.

Honestly, the only reason why Enma and Maria had gone undetected so far was because Taisho was, on top of Warden, the main security of this prison. There were numerous Den-Den Mushi's dotting the prison, but even they didn't cover the entire prison. As a matter of fact security here was more lax than any other prison the Marines had built, namely because Taisho knew the level of security he could provide was much more than that of any machine. He walked over to the center of the room, which was also the center of the entire prison. The prison was a bunch of circles layered on top of each other. The top floor, his floor was smaller than any other floor, because it was only his room with one staircase on each side. Going directly down was the biggest floor which rested on the ground level of Skypiea. The next two levels were in the clouds, with the remaining two levels jutting out beneath it and hanging in the air. That was the layout in which it was designed, however, it was Taisho's order that the topmost layer, his room be built.

And it was for the sole reason of security. Face-to-face his sword was a fateful and destructive force to be reckoned with, however, he had another weapon. His Devil Fruit. With it he had complete control of anything beneath him, which was one of the only reasons this prison's record was so pristine. He could see, protect, or attack anything that happened below him once he was in place. It would take a little time for him to get back around to it, so any disturbances especially one like that man was a major hindrance to him. Nonetheless, he would go back about his duties. "**Plant."**

(-With the crew-)

It was only a few more minutes until Hiro-Shu arrived. The latest arrivals of Mikoto and Ridley were still trying to re-adjust to change of air pressure. Sage and Zesiro who had already arrived adjusted the quickest, Sage probably due to her Devil Fruit and Zesiro due to the fact that he was used to high water pressure from swimming deep below the sea. They both had come to normal rather quickly. Mikoto was about ready to adjust and he'd probably be all ready by the time Hiro-Shu touched down, Ridley would probably finish by the time Hiro-Shu had. In the meantime Enma was quickly informing them; figuring that Mikoto would probably need two run-throughs anyways and Hiro-Shu may already be informed. However, he left the news of the Longarm defeating the large snake to himself because he knew the crew would probably take that as an invitation rather than as a warning.

"This prison was made to break people's minds?" quivered Rosa, she had already put it together. The fact that this prison wasn't made to break the bodies of the prisoners, but to break their hopes, spirits, and wills. From what Enma had seen it was pretty darn effective at what it did. The prisoner's didn't raise a fuss at the slightest as a matter of fact that seemed overly content in their cells. It was a saddening sight for him.

"Don't worry, Rosa," said Maria offering words of encouragement to her, "Lily is a new face to this prison. Chances are she has barely been introduced to any of the works here. She's probably just a normal here, if anything they may have realized their mistake and are filing her discharge papers now." Enma nodded, although, at this point it was more for hollow support than to express what he was actually thinking. He stayed by what he thought earlier more than likely while Lily was probably on the upper floors, she may have broken quickly. However, he had to try and stay as encouraging as possible if they were to have any hopes to drag her through this entire prison.

Then again…Enma's previous trepidation towards her crept back up. Rosa could still be manipulating them. After all the Infinity Pirates have been through this wouldn't be an entirely new situation. They've been betrayed before and talked into attacking a Marine Base. However, if this was a repeat and Rosa left them out to dry…Enma didn't want to think of it. They were already at the prison, no real use in thinking about it now. Besides who else would decide to back him up on this witch-hunt. Mikoto and the rest of the crew didn't share his skepticism about her that much was for sure.

"I want to look around on this floor as well," stated Rosa with a determined look on her face, the look on Enma's face was one that mixed anger and shock. Did she not trust his eyes? He was looking for a little girl amongst burly villains, it certainly wouldn't be hard to pick her out amongst the crowd. "If she's here and we miss her then we would have to fight our way back down here after we made it to the top." Enma couldn't hold back his own scoff, if they made it all the way to the top they would have to take that chance and leave immediately they wouldn't be fighting their way all through this bunch again.

"Especially when we don't know if she's even here," brought up Ridley. Eloquently put, but regardless it wasn't really the time to bring everyone's spirits down now. If anything they needed a pep talk before braving the perilous journey set out before them.

Mikoto sighed and quickly transformed into his full coyote form. "Hop on," he growled due to both his beast form and also apparently a growing agitation. Rosa paused for a second looking at him as did the rest of the crew. "I'm the fastest person here even if I am going to be carrying her. Besides Hiro-Shu is still going to be another ten minutes what is the point of us waiting around here." In truth be told Mikoto was already starting to go stir crazy. Everything about this place was setting him off. He could smell blood, pain, and fear wherever he pointed his nose. A primal ringing in his brains made his hair stand on end as he sensed the strong foes waiting for them higher up. Never before had he ever felt this agitated.

Rosa crept towards Mikoto. She had ridden Lily before, but somehow this was different. Whether it was due to her consciousness telling her Mikoto was a human being or if it was just that she was looking at his lithe and wiry body and just didn't believe it was capable of carrying her, but she just couldn't summon the courage to sit down on his back. Luckily, she didn't have to. Mikoto quickly swiveled around and did a complete circle. Running through Rosa's legs, he quickly swept her legs out from beneath her, forcing her to plummet down onto his back. With that they were off.

**Discovery!**

Edit: Some grammer corrections have been made. Oh, and Taisho is once again the work of Labyrinth-Designer.

Almost didn't post this today...it doesn't feel like Monday...I guess that's a good thing though...

The crew just arrived in the prison and it looks like they still need proof that Lily is not here on this floor before Rosa decides to move on. I know, I know a rather low-level chapter compared to what I had promised, but I can promise you that next arc things get kicked up a notch and slides into the twisted world of a true prison including all the dangers and hatred that are sure to follow.


	164. Zenith Gaol 164 Discovery

**Discovery!**

The crew was resting, Hiro-Shu had arrived a little while ago and was currently in the middle of adjusting to the change in air pressure. It had already been a few minutes and he was having trouble, Enma suppose he wanted to be extra careful in case he needed to use his vessel powers. He was just being extra cautious. Right now they were awaiting both Hiro-Shu to finish adjusting to the pressure and Mikoto's return. Enma already knew that Lily wasn't here so he set out to find and located the cameras using the upmost stealth. Although stealth wasn't his strong suit he was smart enough to be able to find all of the cameras between their current location and the stairs. There was only one. He just hoped Mikoto was exercising the same caution as the rest of the crew.

"I'm back," shouted Mikoto as the small dog barreled into the room and came in next to the rest of the crew. With their fearless captain back at their side the crew decided now would be their best time to head out. They wouldn't have any time to waste now. They would be wasting enough time on each floor separately they would have to move quickly each and every time to get out of here correctly. Wasting time traveling to the next to floor would be an absolute no-no. Mikoto took lead. His speed was once more the key to this mission. He would be checking out each and every prison cell at his incredible speed. Following him would be Sage and Zesiro. This was the first group and their objective would be to map out the entire western side. Meanwhile running opposite of them was Maria, Rosa, and Ridley their side was the eastern. Hiro-Shu and Enma's goal was simple. They would be finding and securing the stairs. With the smallest floor being completed having a radius of only one mile the next floor would be twice as big extending two miles in all directions. "Our goal is simple," roared Mikoto as the crew reached the top step of the stairs, "find and rescue Lily! And come back alive!"

As they reached the final step a wave of heat hit them, instantly creating a thin film of sweat on all of their brows. They were taken back by the sight. All of the prisoners on this floor had chains attached to their wrists and ankles. The chains came together and went through a loop attached to the metal basin in front of them preventing them from running. The chains they wore were made of metal and turned red hot due to the roaring flames in front of them. Despite the obvious pain they were probably in each and every prisoner were set to work, a large metal hammer in their hand and they pounded away at the items in the metal basins in front of them. They were all doing metalwork, forging new weapons at a steady almost hypnotic pace.

"They are letting the prisoner handle weapons?" brought up Zesiro, the heat was the most severe for him. He felt like he could use a good soaking after this, he was starting to begin to sweat an incredible amount moreso than the rest of the crew. The crew didn't quite understand it as well, they were prisoners and yet all of them had a brand new weapon in front of them. When they finished with one they dropped their completed weapon into one of the carts, heaved up another burning slab of metal, threw into the basin, and started work on another. The crew was amazed at the efficiency whenever a cart was filled up a guard wearing a fire proof suit would come by and move the cart away and offer each prisoner a refill of their own little canteens. It was a labor camp, the weapons were for the guards, and the prisoners having come down this far already in this prison already had their spirits crushed. From what the crew could see every so often there would be a sparkle of hope in the prisoner's eyes as they lifted the weapon into the air and thought of rebelling, but a guard was always close by and would bring their metal, burning whips into their back and remind them of their place. The prisoner would turn around and return the sword back to the cart, giving up almost immediately.

The crew was starting to feel their own spirits get crushed as they looked on. Enma recalled the words of one of the prisoners on the floor beneath them. All newbies were given the grand tour. They would be chained up and lead like dogs from the bottom floor and up and up and up, all newbies would see this sight for themselves. See their future and probably become crushed. The first attack on their spirits was that tour and sadly the crew would be getting every bit of that tour as well.

"I don't see Lily," quivered Rosa once more. If anyone was going to break on this crew chances were Rosa would be first. She would be stuck arriving on every floor, witnessing every torture and immediately imagining Lily in one of those positions, doing the work, getting struck by the iron whip, having her little eyes fill-up with hope. Rosa would be experiencing those visions for another three floors. "I guess…I guess that means she's on a higher floor, right?" Her voice sounded deprived of hope, like she was begging for another crewmember's insight for another crewmember to offer her hand and pull her out of the dark pit. The crew, however, could say nothing. They were frozen in silence at the sight, their own spirits starting to waver.

"We'll get her out," offered Mikoto immediately taking a step forward towards one of the guards. He pushed the sleeves on his shirt up higher and revealed his lean, yet muscular arm. "We'll get them all out of here." He was immediately yanked back by Zesiro.

"Our goal is stealth," brought up Zesiro as he looked on at the scene and felt a slight pull at his heart strings as he faced a similar conundrum and desire. They were being treated worse than slaves on this floor. He felt like he should be rushing up to them at a moment's notice trying to break them out, but he knew it was true their goal was to stealthily move through the floors and rescue Lily not lead a rebellion, "besides," shook Zesiro as he swallowed loudly, being consumed in his own dark thoughts, "none of these pirates would be of any use to us now." The pirates on this floor already had their spirits crushed, they were already starting to surrender to the prison's manipulative, controlling hold. Chances are they wouldn't be able to take two steps without a guard's say so. That was just how much they were under their thumb. "Let's just find Lily and get out!" Zesiro swiftly turned at his heels and began to walk away. The rest of the crew followed his lead, leaving Mikoto and Rosa standing there and watching the scene unfold before their eyes. Neither one quite felt the desire to just leave these men for dead…they felt like they should help, but they knew deep down that they couldn't. Soon even they turned around and started their search.

None of the crew fully believed that they would find Lily on this floor. They were still holding out hope that she would be on one of the higher floors, that her spirit was still fully intact. Their inspection of the cells seemed to prove that to be true. There was neither hide nor hair of a little girl named Lily. Every so often one of the prisoners would see the crew passing back, inspecting the cells and immediately jump free from their spot on their ground and leap towards their metal bars. They would clutch the burning metal in their heads due to the welling sense of freedom. This scene caused each Infinity Pirate to paused, believing they found the one man whose spirits had not been fully crushed yet even in this abysmal location. However, soon after this enlightening sight the sound of a whip across another prisoner's back returned even these spirited prisoners back to status quo, a quivering shell of a human in the corner. The crew would then journey on, their spirits sinking further down into the pits of despair. They would hang their heads between their shoulders in dejection.

Suddenly the sirens blared. All of the guards reacted to the noise, turning their heads to the ceiling and awaiting their orders. Meanwhile the prisoners that were outside of their cells immediately through their bodies downwards and onto the ground. All of the Den-Den Mushi's suddenly cut on and Taisho's voice filled the entire prison in an instant, every nook and cranny quickly became aware that the Warden was speaking. "We have intruders!" he shouted into the Den-Den Mushi's and all of them shared his furious face with the prison. "According to our cameras the intruders are none other than the Infinity Pirates themselves including the infamous 'Kid Coyote' Mikoto!" The guards immediately went into an uproar at this news as they began talking amongst themselves, "in extreme cases like this on top of your paycheck, I'm allowed to offer an incentive by the World Government. The incentive is the same amount as the pirate's current bounty!" The guards immediately let loose a loud whoop. They were shocked by the news, it meant great things they could barely hold it in any longer! They were starting to get riled up at the news several of them grabbed their weapons and immediately went in search of the intruders. Mikoto's bounty was high enough already to illicit such a response, but after his victory over Trevor they all knew it was going to rise again! Who knows, but it was possible that due to his attack on the prison it may just go up another couple millions! It made them all smile with maddening glee at the prospect of that bounty.

"I wonder if we should just turn Mikoto in…we could use the extra cash," brought up Ridley with a shrug. Despite the fact that it was obviously a joke Maria and Rosa both glared daggers at him. Ridley laughed and waved them off, he didn't particularly about their opinions anyways. Besides he was right…they were broke the promise of an award was too good to pass up. They needed some way to make money. Too bad they didn't get paid Trevor's bounty for taking him down, Ridley estimated it would probably be above 200 million due to the damage and strife he caused for the Marines. Mikoto's probably didn't shoot up that high. He was stronger than Trevor, but so far Mikoto hasn't really proven himself to be a huge thorn in the Marines' side. The worse he's done is attacked a couple of their Marine bases and humiliated them. If Ridley had to guess it was probably just above 100 million right now, possibly more after this raid was done.

Mikoto's group didn't seem to take this news as seriously. "Hah!" laughed Mikoto as he jumped up, "now we can finally stop being sneaky and wage a direct assault!" Zesiro lifted his sword up into the air, in agreement. Ordinarily it seemed like Zesiro would've preferred to take the cautious approach, but ever since they finished off at the URA, Zesiro seems to have become more primal and willing to jump in with both feet. He drew his swords and without hesitation sliced straight through all of the cell bars on two of the cells. He quickly sheathed his sword and waved the crew forward. Sage hesitated as she wasn't quite sure what to think of this, but nonetheless her two partners were now out of control.

Mikoto rushed forward at his top speed towards the first guard he saw. Mikoto jumped into the air and transformed into his hybrid form, he swung his entire body around in mid-air and without missing a beat, smashed his heel into one of the guard's face sending him tumbling back. Mikoto landed well and leapt forward throwing his entire body weight behind his right hand and blew a straight right into the guard's gut. The guard's body bent in one direction as he felt himself go weak in the knees before collapsing.

What Zesiro was doing was quite possibly just as risky. He ignored the guards, leaving them to his furry friend and instead set his sights on the prisoner's bars. With a series of fluid cuts from his upper arm he brought his blades slicing through the jail cells again and again with proficient mastery. The prisoners weren't exactly jumping out of their cells, but every one out of twenty would shamble out in hopes of freedom. The rest of them just cowered into their cells further afraid of incurring the wrath of their seemingly inhospitable Warden and Vice Warden. There wasn't nearly enough to be considered a small army as a matter of fact it appeared that the guards still outnumbered them. Soon enough the guards came charging out for the escaped prisoners, newly forged weapons in hands and all of these were dressed in fire-proof suit another distinct advantage they had over the Infinity Pirates. The incredible heat of this floor wouldn't affect them.

The group had all drawn their guns and aimed at the invading pirates, "stop or we'll have to shoot!" They all knew that the bounty of a pirate normally decreases if they return him dead, so they wanted to preserve Mikoto at the very least. They eyed up the opposition. Zesiro and Mikoto had both stopped and were returning the favor.

"Go ahead," laughed Mikoto as he leaned forward. He kicked off and vanished. The next time they saw him was within the very same second as he clothes lined four of their guys down to ground, two on each arm. He stood back up and looked over at them; the four guys on the ground were completely unconscious. He turned around to face the rest of the guards. "I'm faster than any of your guns," he boasted. The guards immediately turned inwards all of them aiming their guns at Mikoto. Which was a horrible mistake. The instant their guns left him, Zesiro came charging in. The guards stood no chance, they were being throw into the air by his two blades in a matter of seconds. Mikoto smiled as he looked over his shoulder at his trusty nakama. The two of them immediately set off, getting caught up more in the fact that this was a raid on an enemy base than the fact that they were supposed to be rescuing someone.

The other group was fairing similarly. Whenever one of the guards got cocky enough to try and fight them, Maria immediately took them down. Her kicks sailed in from above, the rocketed into the air and then with an immediate shift in her weight she brought them right back down with the force to cleave a guard's sword in two. She wasn't letting any of them off the hook that easily, shifting her weight and throwing her fist forward, she slammed her own metal fist forward and into the guard's face, ruining his front teeth with incredible force.

The rest of her group seemed to be facing similar ease. Rosa was too distracted looking out for poor little Lily that she wasn't even focusing on the fight, despite this none of the guard's full-bodied thrusts or wild slashes even drew close to her hair. When one finally did manage to draw close and snap Rosa out of her stupor, he soon regretted it. She brought her full wrath upon him. She ducked beneath and using the pent-up power of her legs as well as her arms, brought her sword swinging upwards. The speed and ferocity of her snapping arm was enough to cleave through bone when combined with her sword. However, she still had her sword sheathed so rather than cutting his head clean off, the sheath smashed into his chin and through his head back, nearly snapping his neck in one fluid motion. "Don't bother me while I'm looking for Lily!"

Ridley was probably having the easiest time. He was much better when he was outnumbered. His loud and obnoxious fighting style easily leant itself to taking on multiple opponents. He strummed away at his guitar sending wave after wave of sound forward. The guards were basically frozen in space from the sound, several of them were gripping their ears and writhing in pain as they tried to come to terms of the incredible noise level. As soon as they were paused with their hands over their ears, Ridley moved in and swung his guitar at them. The strength of his swing was definitely a bit better than usual, but he looked kind of depressed at it.

The guards were quickly taken care of although based on what they noticed, these was just a bunch of small-fry. The stronger guards would probably be posted higher up to keep an eye on the prisoners will full spirit and hope rather than these guys who had already given in. They started to begin to leave, however, despite his usual rambunctious and take charge attitude Ridley was dragging his feet a little bit. He needed to get stronger.

**What is the Torture?**

I have a bunch of crap to do to prepare for the real world soon...like doctor's visits and getting new shoes and buying school books and working...and a whole bunch of other things I don't want to do! Anyways, here is the story that took my blood, sweat and tears (oh, so many tears) to get out. Anyways...this floor was just to show you just how badly the prisoner's spirits had been broken, even with weapons in their hands they still can't muster the strength or willpower to attack the guards. It was designed by Labyrinth-Designer.

Also, I didn't mention this yet in this story, but I did over in Iron Hammer. I got two new stories up and under Future Works one of them is Iron Hammer Versus Infinity Pirates. So, yeah...thought I'd just try to rally up some cheers for that.

Another important thing to do! Ba da da DAAAAAA! This story just got its 100th favorite...which is actually kind of, sort of depressing considering how long its been going on for...


	165. Zenith Gaol 165 What is the Torture

**What is the Torture?**

"Well, it looks like Lily's not on this floor either," said Mikoto as he wiped the sweat off of his brow. The heat of this floor was starting to get to him and to make it worse they were running around on it. His little troupe was starting to burn themselves out as well. Zesiro would've slumped to the ground by now if it weren't for his insane spirit, Sage was pretty close to being worn-out, too, and she barely had to do anything to defeat the waves of guards that were coming after them. "Guess we better head to the stairs now." Mikoto said it with optimism, however, he knew that going up to the next floor would only be throwing themselves deeper into the pit of their enemies'.

"I wonder where all the strong guards are at," muttered Zesiro as he sat down, taking a brief reprieve from the heat. Sage looked a little worried that these guards apparently weren't the strong ones. Then again recalling Enma's testimony why would strong guards need to be posted this far down, everyone here had already given up on any kind of idea of freedom. Mikoto took this opportunity to rest a little as well, crouching down and trying to think. He did smell an unholy amount of fear here, however, that didn't seem to make any sense when compared to these guards. They all didn't seem to live up to the profound sense of terror he felt. "I suppose they are higher up, if things keep going like this we may just be worn out by the time we get there."

The worst-case scenario had just been laid out before them. Zesiro was probably right, after all, this was a prison breaking down people's bodies along with their minds could very well be their master plan. Sage directed her gaze upwards to the ceiling of the floor as she thought about it. This floor was burning hot and would tire anyone out in a matter of seconds not to mention with the constant fights with the guards meant any small number of invaders would be exhausted before even putting their foot down on the higher floors. Which of course, meant more danger awaited them and it would only get tougher.

Mikoto quickly transformed into his coyote form and sniffed the air. They had to get going soon and his nose was going to find them their way out. While the stench of hot metal was definite one of the strongest ones in the air there were others mixed in as well. He could smell each and every one of his crewmembers own distinct smell, he just had to narrow it down to one. His eyes shot open as he located his crewmate. Enma and Hiro-Shu went to find the stairs to the next level and secure them, so if Mikoto could find them he would find the stairs. And he did. He kicked up into the air and shouted "follow me," to his two current allies. Zesiro groaned for a second and wiped sweat from his forehead. It would be a long trek ahead of them; luckily he couldn't imagine that any floor would be as hot as this one was.

The three quickly charged off into the distance relying on Mikoto's keen nose in order to get them through. However, Mikoto's speed was much greater than theirs and they had to shout at him multiple times to slow down. There was one small problem that only Sage seemed to pick up on, since Mikoto was busying himself by tracking the scent and Zesiro was distracted by the disastrous heat. Sage, however, was worried about the prison and was staying extra cautious of her surroundings and that is the only reason why she noticed the missing guards. The cells around them had all been cut down, which meant here was one of the places Zesiro had tried to rally troops at (and failed) there were many men huddled into the corners, panicking. Which meant this was where some guards had tried to stop them, but there were no guards on the ground knocked out. She supposed the logical explanation was that they woke up and left, but…that just didn't feel right. They were hit by both Mikoto and Zesiro could they really recover from such rough attacks that quickly? However, she supposed that was the only option. It is not like unconscious bodies got up and moved themselves.

They wound up the staircase before Maria's group did, which was understandable as Mikoto's nose was a better and quicker location method than what Maria's group was doing, which was basically trying to find and locate one of the Enma's signs that had laid out for them to better redirect them to him. It was a chancy choice as it revealed Enma's location to the jailers too if they understood the signs, which is why Enma tried to create a difficult to decipher code if the jailers did not know the right symbols, but still they didn't have much time left. The guards were without a doubt closing in on their current location.

"Where are all of the guards?" asked Sage as she took a brief reprieve on one of the steps. It seemed like the staircase had a built in ventilation system so the majority of the crew was resting there waiting for Maria's group to show up. There were no guards gathered around this staircase, it seemed like if they really did wake-up they would've tried to leave this floor to regroup with more of them, but it was deserted except for them and few of the guards scattered on the ground.

Enma shrugged. "The ones you see here are the ones who were here to begin with," he pointed out. "I didn't see any guards rushing towards this exit. I just assumed you guys took them all out." Sage let out a brief gasp of desperation, she didn't like that sound of that. If they did try to go to the next floor up then they would have to take the stairs as she didn't see a single elevator around here on her walk. Even if they were multiple stairs, some of them still should've came here by luck. It seemed fishy almost. Enma calmed her worries rather quickly. "When we first got here one of the first things we did was go up to the next floor." The term 'we' was Enma's choice of words, truth be told Hiro-Shu lead the way because he was sturdier if there was a trap up there, Hiro-Shu had about a 95% chance of surviving it. "No traps or guards were immediately visible. We didn't get a good look at whatever the torture was that was going up there, though." For some reason his words didn't immediately ease her worries, it still smelled of a trap to her.

Maria's group was rounding corner just now they looked just as tired as Mikoto's group did when they first arrived, even Maria one of the people usually bounding with energy seemed to be a little drained. This heat was really getting to everyone on the crew. "Let's not waste any time," said Rosa already starting to climb up the stairs, but her footsteps were a little sluggish…almost incredibly so, "we need to save Lily quickly." The rest of the crew turned around, they knew it was pointless to argue. Although the longer they argued the longer they got to rest here, but who wanted to rest in a prison anyways. They soon ascended the staircase and came upon a brand new floor.

Compared to the other floor this one assailed them with an instantaneously cool breeze. The crew immediately felt lulled to sleep, but they rubbed their eyes and continued onwards. At first they were a bit surprised at the zen-like garden state of the floor, until Sage's own expertise came into play. She wasn't just a chef aboard the Infinity Pirates, she was also their homegrown botanist. Her eyes locked onto the trees that stretched out before them. They were tall trees that stretched up to the ceiling and then the branches were forced downwards to make room. However, the lack of space for the trees weren't her main concern. It was the types of trees they were and the flowers that they were producing. Beautiful white flowers with a second layer of blue petals surrounding them. Sage recognized them almost immediately. "Sleeping Nightlock."

The flowers released pollen like all flowers do although very few flower pollen was as potent as this one was. The flower pollen spread a dangerous, almost-toxic, substance. The substance would get in people's lungs and slowly start to make them feel sleepy in high concentrated doses it was enough to make people fall asleep immediately and was actually used as anesthesia in certain medical practices. It was also weaponized. One of Sage's earlier opponents, a Groucho Marx, used it against her to make her nod off to sleep. Of course, Sage from her works with plants had a slightly higher immunity to it than most, but still it was enough to make her sleepy. That was all the way back with their first encounter with the Marines. It was amazing how far they had come…and yet it almost felt like they were still at the starting line because of how much farther they had to go. Sage quickly relayed all of this information to the rest of the crew. They immediately stepped back as they tried to figure out how to get out of here. If they tried anything it was possible that this would wind up being a step-back. They couldn't compete with Mother Nature AND the guards all while looking for Lily. Was it possible that they would have to turn back around and leave after coming this far?

"NO!" shouted Rosa, immediately bringing her own opinions into these matters. "I'm not leaving without my sister!" She turned around and without waiting for the rest of the Infinity Pirates to try and back her up, she left. Enma paused for a few seconds, he was seriously beginning to further question Rosa's loyalty. If she truly wanted to help them out she would put the group's need ahead of her own sometimes. At this point, turning back was an option to consider. Especially since all of this was just for an outsider, who never officially joined the crew. They were risking their lives more than ever on this floor due to the chances of falling asleep…they couldn't risk it, no, they shouldn't risk it.

"Let's go," orderer Mikoto jumping to his feet. "We can't let Rosa take all the risks here, can we?" Enma shook his head, his captain was a little too naïve. If Rosa was trying to take advantage of someone she couldn't have picked someone better than him. "Same formation as before, right?" Enma groaned as he stood up. He supposed it wasn't really his choice, he'd follow his captain, no matter how bad his choices may seem. Mikoto turned to Sage, "how long do we have before the Sleep-Locke takes effect?"

Sage tried to recall it from her textbooks. She had long forgotten the time it would take; besides it also depended on how many trees were dotting this land. If there were a lot of them there would be more pollen and more pollen means being knocked out quicker. "Maybe half an hour," Sage mentioned. Although even that was a very rough estimate, she still didn't the full layout of this dungeon…not to mention there was something more menacing nagging at the back of her mind, however, turning either Mikoto's spirit or Rosa's drive down a notch with bad news wouldn't work. She knew that.

"Okay, then," schemed Mikoto, "we got half an hour. If time stretches beyond that we need to return to this spot to snap out of the drowsiness! On this floor we really don't have any time to waste. Let's go!" The Infinity Pirates each surged off into their own direction, none of them wasting their breath now. They knew they didn't have a lot of time left, but still they couldn't help, but be amazed at the design of the prison. Each floor was completely separate and each of them was their own unique torture, but going in this order there was a hidden trick to it. One that the prison maker intended to be included, a unique trick to defeat all intruders.

The first floor they entered in, crushed their spirits. They couldn't believe their eyes. The second floor further crushed their spirits, but that wasn't the trick. The trick was the heat would cause a rise in the intruder's body temperature. Heat them up and another trick of extreme heat was that most people tired out faster in it, they sweated more, the burned more energy. This floor was noticeably cooler then the floor before them and as a result would cool off people's body temperature. It is a little known trick that bodies in the process of cooling down are more prone to falling asleep. In other words, this floor was a 'Sleepy Hell'.

The crew was so distracted by the worrisome thought of falling asleep that they forgot to take everything into account. Not only did they didn't take into account that on the next floor, they would be worn out from the last floor, but they would be drowsy and falling asleep due to this floor. Their bodies were already starting to break down on them and the next floor would ensure that it would occur. However, that was only considering that they made it off of this floor as the question that was nagging at the back of Sage's head was the most important question and it hadn't been asked.

How is falling asleep torture? Sleep deprivation was torture, but not falling asleep. As a matter of fact it was considered pleasant by most people, a true way to relax. So while one had to marvel at the genius way to stop intruders, they had to remember. This is a prison. The goal is not to stop intruders, but to completely break the people already trapped inside.

(-At Marine HQ-)

Nicholas barred his fangs as he destroyed one of the desks in front of him, in a fit of unbelievable rage. This…this 'kid'! The 'Kid Coyote' Mikoto had officially made a laughing stock of the Marine Base without even the slightest thought. Nicholas stomped across the field, immediately ordering the dispatch of the soldiers and he would be going with them. Mikoto's actions was not something that they could overlook. Never in a million years, not even with one billion favors would Mikoto ever sate Nicholas' anger. They had offered him an olive branch, extended a helping hand and made a genuinely sincere offer to him to become a Shichibukai. They offered to make him one of the most feared pirates in the Blues! And his response? To attack their prison! It was as if he had done this just to make fools out of them, to make them appear like court jesters to the modern people. Nicholas would not have this. He had already decided. He would lead an army to that prison, he would demolish Mikoto and his crew and he would dine with their blood on his hands and their heads on silver platter. He would not allow this shame to continue for even one second more. He would crush them.

"Stop!" shouted a smaller man as he stepped in front of Nicholas. "You know we cannot afford to waste a good one fifth of our sheer military might on such frivolous actions." The man was about half the size of Nicholas. Nicholas appeared to be a bellowing beast in comparison to this man. The man was skinny, carried three to four books in his hand at this very moment and had peculiar round spectacles shielding his eyes from view. He was the master strategist of the Marines, a general of the battlefield and crowned hero even though he had never dirtied his hands once. "You know as well as I do that a war is brewing down here on these seas and it could break out any day. When it does we'll need as much military might as we can possibly muster…and that's where you come in." The tiny man jabbed his finger at Nicholas' chest. "We need you down here at the ready for when the day of reckoning comes and it could be any day now."

Nicholas frowned, barring all of his pure white teeth down at the man. He bent down and glared at the man. "I don't care," he said as he shoved the man aside. "I'm a hero of the Marines. You and your stupid war comes after our dignity." The man quickly scurried back in front of Nicholas and outstretched his arms in futile attempt to stop him.

"If you leave now, you could very well be in endangering the whole world," started the man. Nicholas drew his lips back, giving the man full view of his very bestial teeth. "You-you're concern is noted, but please keep in mind other options. We have Taisho guarding the prison, the prison has a perfect record, not even Impel Down had that. Not even one prisoner has ever escaped the iron bars."

"Of course, all prisons have a perfect record…until they don't," swore Nicholas. The man practically oozed devotion to the Marines. He wasn't going to allow some folly like this bring them down. "Besides, I have a 0 escape record as well. Not even one person has ever escaped my jaws."

"True, true, but Taisho isn't someone to look down on," brought up the man. "Taisho is definitely someone you can trust and believe in. He has had a perfect defense record. And don't forget he was once a Vice Admiral of the Marines. You should rely on him." Nicholas breathed heavily as he thought about it. He has seen Taisho's strength first-hand before and it was something reliable, but he couldn't just sit around and do nothing. "Besides," continued the small man, "even if he does fail that prison still has its secret weapon."

* * *

**Sweet Dreams Infinity Pirates**

**...and Hope**

Due to lack of sleep, motivation, and all around ideas...I have nothing to say right here...oh, yeah, Groucho Marx...anybody remember him? Like from all the way back in like the first 'true' arc (at least in my opinion). Also, yeah, for giant killer Marines staying out of the Infinity Pirates' businesses, they could use a break...but they still probably won't get one. Hey, looks like I had an idea of what to write about anyways! Good for you guys, you get to hear my 'voice' after all!


	166. Zenith Gaol 166 What is the Torture

**What is the Torture**

Maria was lost in the prison. She was walking through the numerous trees; each one was close to forming a maze. She couldn't find her way around at all. She hadn't seen any of the other Infinity Pirates for awhile. It was almost as if they had disappeared. She could feel herself getting drowsier, but she powered through it, because that's what she does. She charged forward again and was immediately taken back by the sight. Someone else had appeared on the horizon, however, the Infinity Pirates weren't the only ones on this floor. Worst case scenario it could be the Warden or other high-ranking prison guard. She formed a fist and took a slow approach forward. She recognized the man immediately.

"Randolf," Maria growled. Forgetting about her slow approach she charged. She brought her fist stretching outwards at him. He was the man she had beaten in the URA when she was still a professional fighter…however, he exacted his revenge soon after that. He brought about twenty other men into her house late at night and attacked her. They charged and broke her arms and legs. They reduced her, one of the strongest fighters in the URA, to what she was now. Without her arms and legs she thought she was done for, a friend managed to give her these mechanical arms, but still she never thought that she'd meet the man responsible for this horrible news. "Randolf!" she shouted once more as she brought her fist snapping back over, aiming for his chin, aiming for a repeat of what happened last time. It was a clean hit, yet, Randolf didn't even seem fazed.

"Funny, girl," he said as he turned his head back to facing Maria. "Never thought of meeting me here! Well, I was a pirate, almost responsible for your own death. Of course, I'd wind up in a prison one of these days. I'm just thankful I get to see you again!" He brought his leg around and smashed it into Maria's side. Maria instantly felt an unbearable amount of pain in that second. Several of her ribs, must've been broken. She stumbled for a few seconds, but only for a few, almost immediately Randolf brought his fist around and snapped it into her chin. Maria spun around for a brief second, her eyes drifting to the ceiling for a second as she tried to remain standing, but she failed. She collapsed to the ground. Randolf chuckled to himself as he brought his foot down on top of Maria forcing air straight out of her lungs. "Come on," he said, "where is that cocky swagger you had during our first fight? Lost your will along with your arms?"

Maria's eyes flashed red with anger as she tried to stand up again. However, she couldn't. Randolf's leg remained on top of her stomach effectively pinning her to the ground. When did she become so weak? She couldn't even force the man on top of her off of her body. She lifted her head up and into the air as far as it could go and she froze as she looked at Randolf's leg…or what his leg was on top. It was proudly on top of her stomach, but her stomach wasn't there. Instead it was some kind of weird mechanical body. She screamed and finally managed to wrench her body out from underneath Randolf's leg. Randolf chuckled as he watched Maria, wriggle and crawl over to the small stream near them. Maria's eyes caught her own reflection in the water. It scared her.

Her face wasn't there anymore. Her chin had been replaced by some form of metal body part again. The metal was spreading, her cheekbone was a gear and her chin was just a jutting piece of steel. "What…what's going on?" she screamed as she threw her body back and away from the water. Doing so brought her body right up against Randolf's legs. Randolf smiled as he looked down at her from his position of clear authority. "What did you do?" Maria's voice quivered. For the first time since she joined the Infinity Pirates, there was a clear sensation of fear in her voice.

Randolf laughed at her, which only sparked Maria's anger. Maria stood up and threw a punch, slugging his chin with her full-power, but that didn't seem to do anything. Randolf's maddening laughter didn't stop. Maria's punches had no effect on him? She stepped in again and threw another punch, resulting in a similar amount of absolutely nothing. "You're not even human anymore," Randolf muttered as he drew closer to Maria's face. "You're a freak and then some."

(-With Zesiro-)

"I can't believe it!" shouted Zesiro as he moved through the forest, "she is usually such a strong person and here she is, the first to fall asleep!" On his back was Maria, being lugged around by the Fishman. She was murmuring under her breath and she was covered in a cold sweat, every so often a leg or an arm would twitch, signifying a dream, but Zesiro just kept on trucking, carrying her on his back. "This is already turning out to become a troublesome flo-" Zesiro's sentence was cut short as he let out a yawn, the drowsiness of the floor was starting to affect him as well, he shook his head, rubbed his eyes clear with a free hand and finished his sentence. "A troublesome floor."

His only companion that was still awake was Ridley. Ridley was busying himself playing along his guitar, trying to keep himself busy and awake. He would play a tune every now and again, but in the end he didn't play it all too much. He was also starting to nod off. Suddenly, Ridley's eyes jumped up to something moving ahead of them. It was a rotund monster. It was a beast that probably weighed 300 pounds; it was kind of fat though. It had four stumpy legs and a long almost elephant-like nose that was in the air and sniffing around. "What is that?" The bulky animal also apparently had locked onto Ridley and Zesiro.

"It looks like a tapir," brought up Zesiro. He remembered reading certain books about it, but still it surprised him to be seeing one right now. "They were in old myths. It was said that they ate the dreams of the people around them." It was an old fairy tale and not one to worry about, but there was something troublesome about it. The Tapir was definitely staring at them as they walked closer to it. Almost like a guard dog. Suddenly the animal bucked, lifting its massive weight into the air and then bringing it back down, slamming its front feet into the ground. Suddenly it let out a billowing cry. Zesiro took a step back and out of reflex drew one of his swords, only problem was as soon as he unsheathed the blade Maria started to slip off of his back and to the ground, causing Zesiro to quickly wrap his arm back around to support her. "Crap. Let's go Ridley!" Zesiro pivoted around, he couldn't fight with this thing while holding Maria. However, as soon as he could see behind him, he saw another group of Tapirs standing around and looking at him. Suddenly they all let out a brazen war-cry and charged forward.

Ridley jumped in between them and Zesiro. He planted his feet and swung his guitar sideways aiming for the tapir's head. It created a deafening smack as the beast was tossed into the air due to the force. "Just put Maria down for a second!" shouted Ridley as he quickly ground his heels into the dirt and rotated around making another clean swing into a tapir's chin. He strummed a quick series of notes, just enough to make the tapirs stop their rush for second, but it didn't seem to bother them all too much as as soon as they recovered they began the assault all over again, leaping up into the air and then bringing their bulky bodies back down towards Ridley and Zesiro over and over again, trying to stomp them flat. Zesiro was managed to dodge all of them for the most part, but suddenly he decided that Ridley was right. He set Maria down for a second and drew his two swords.

"**Shark Sword!" **Zesiro rotated around and turned the speed of his rotation into a dazzling amount of momentum for a thrust. He brought the sword up and through one of the tapir's shoulders and threw it to the side almost instantly. The other tapirs barely seemed phased by the monstrous assaults and instead let out another billowing call and charged forward with more enthusiasm. "**Whirlpool Razors!"** Zesiro did a quick spin around, cutting all the air around him and forced several of the tapirs back. The tapirs slowly let loose a low cry of annoyance, but they still didn't retreat. They began jumping up and down once more with rage. Zesiro was starting to see just how long of a fight this was going to be. It seemed like regardless of his or Ridley's strength, they would just keep on coming. Zesiro was about to back orders over to Ridley, but instead he let out a yawn. Right he couldn't forget about that. Zesiro brought his sword around and back to his side. "We're going to need help here." He quickly bent back down and swept the unconscious Maria into his arms. "Let's not wait around here by ourselves let's try to regroup with the others before recklessly endangering ourselves."

Ridley muttered something quietly to himself as he looked back over to the incoming army of animals. He stepped in, swung at another one again, and seeing what little effect it had, quickly turned away and bolted. Zesiro was right, there was too many monsters and he definitely wasn't in the mood to be taken down by such funky looking creatures. He was the first-mate it wouldn't go well for the Infinity Pirates reputation.

(-With Rosa-)

"Annoying beasts!" shouted Rosa as she swung her sword back around. She managed to knock one of the many animals that were surrounding them. She quickly swerved in without wasting a moment. There were a lot of them, but that didn't cause her will to falter. Her goal was still with her. She needed to save Lily. With her goal once more pounding in her head, she lowered herself. Bringing her body down beneath the beast, she placed her left hand on the tip of the sword while gripping the hilt tightly with her right. Then she brought her entire body upwards. Her blade swinging upwards while he legs propelled her upwards, all of her muscles were being focused into one point, the very tip of her sword. The sword blast upwards and into one of the tapirs, the strength behind the sword was probably the greatest Rosa could muster, however, she still felt like it was lacking in comparison to the rest of the crew.

Mikoto suddenly came screeching back and into another one. His fist swinging upwards and then right back down into one of the tapirs, sending the entire monster down to the ground. The tapir slumped to the ground and laid there for a few seconds as Mikoto quickly went over to the next one. There were a lot of beasts clamoring around them, but they didn't bother Mikoto fully. He was streaming from one to the next. Mikoto's speed was greater than any of the beasts, it was possible that they were originally faster, but it seemed fairly obvious that they had gotten fat. They were still fairly strong, they had to have been as the prisoners on this floor probably weren't fairly easily handled. They had to have at least have decent strength to have become the guards of this floor. Another group of tapirs started to descend towards them. Mikoto looked around and immediately noticed how badly outnumbered they were.

"What's the plan, captain?" questioned Hiro-Shu as he managed to throw another one of them. They were coming en masse now, but that didn't seem to bother the iron golem. The animals were easily hefted around by him. Honestly, even without his armor he could probably beat these guys. However, he was slowly feeling like he was tiring. They were too many of them for this to go on forever. Even worse, he was starting to feel as if he was being lulled to sleep. The giant trees were completely doing what they were supposed to do. Hiro-Shu bent back and let loose a large flaming ball, trying to scare them away. "Captain?" asked Hiro-Shu once more looking over his shoulder, only to see their faithful coyote captain laying on the ground, snoozing. "Mikoto!" Hiro-Shu pivoted around and was about to race over to help him, when another tapir jumped in their way. Hiro-Shu paused for a second, mostly out of surprise. The tapir nudged its head beneath Mikoto's body and with a quick turn of its head looked over at Hiro-Shu. It bellowed a weird nose and then quickly sped away from the fighting ground.

"Mikoto!" shouted Hiro-Shu as he turned around and began to give chase. Even if the tapirs weren't in the best shape of their lives, they were still faster than him. Hiro-Shu didn't have that great of speed. "Rosa, go get Mikoto back!" shouted Hiro-Shu as he turned around to rally their latest ally. Almost immediately he was disheartened by what he saw. Rosa was trying her best, but the tapirs were still managing to slow her down. They threw their impressive bulk at her with almost sheer recklessness. Rosa pivoted and danced through the nest, but in the end she couldn't quite break free quick enough. By the time she had enough space to dash out, Mikoto was already gone across the horizon.

"Uh…that's not good," muttered Hiro-Shu.

(-With Enma-)

Enma and Sage were having a slightly more productive time on the floor than the rest of them. He had taken Sage with him and as a result he completely reorganized the groups for better handling this situation. He needed Sage if he was going to come up with a formula on how to overcome the Sleeping Nightlocke. Her advanced intelligence in botany was certainly proving useful as she practically assaulted him with facts, however, not a single one of these facts were actually helpful. But he appreciated the effort she was making. He continually experimented with the extract he obtained a few trees ago trying to come up with a proper antidote. Luckily for him there were plenty of guinea pi-, er, he meant prisoners to test it out on. "Apparently another failure," he said as he looked down at one of the still sleeping prisoners. If he was at home at his own lab, he probably could've fixed it up by now, but sadly the ship and his lab was several hundred miles below them. "What's another possible causation for-," Enma let out a terrifyingly long yawn, "for its effect?"

Sage was trying to be helpful, but she didn't know why the plants did what they did. There were several problems with the Sleeping Nightlocke and one of them was the fact that it put people to sleep, another one was its horrible use in cooking, it lacked nutritional value along with taste, it also had poor value in the medical field. As a result very little interest had been taken into researching it. Who would risk falling asleep for several months at the worst just to figure out how it made you fall asleep. She felt useless to her crew once more. She was too busy feeling sorry for herself on the last island, but now! Now here she was in her element…still useless to the crew. She shook her head and bent down. She promised herself. She would figure out how these flowers worked one way or another.

Enma noticed on the horizon the same tapirs that were messing with the rest of the crew. They were a fewer amount here for some reason, but Enma ignored them for the most part. He had studied books about them. The ancient myths stating that they ate people's dreams, however, they were truly just herbivores. Their interest in people's dreams, and just because it made him feel better, their meat was minimum. More than likely they were just here to examine the newcomers and see what they were up to.

Enma had forgotten the basics. He was busy trying to find out the truth behind the flowers and their pollen, but as a basic rule all myths come from somewhere. There were real-life effects that caused people to think of such myths. These tapirs were the reason behind those myths. While most tapirs were innocent involving people's dreams these tapirs were a unique and nearly extinct species. The prison guards had dubbed them the 'Nightmare Tapir'. The animals apparently had weird electromagnetic pulses that ruined people's dreams. They could essentially cause the most vicious and the most horrifying nightmares. The tapirs were the true enforcers to this prison's hell and unbeknownst to Enma, Sage, or even Zesiro's group. These monstrous creatures had captured one of their own.

**The Trap Has Been Set**

You know how the day before school starts you are all like...relax...its not so bad...you are just worrying yourself over nothing. Nothing can be as bad as it was last year...and then one hour into the new school year you finally realize...its worse than you remember. Yeah, that's the kind of day I'm having. Seriously...bad day...only one hour in. Oh, well, enough about my horrible day since I highly doubt any of you care about my well-being as long as there is a chapter up, right? So, yeah...not in the mood to do anything, but complain about my first class...so I'll just shut up now...


	167. Zenith Gaol 167 The Trap Has Been Set

**The Trap Has Been Set**

Zesiro paused at the large metal door. He hesitated for a moment as he examined the opening mechanisms. He got there first, which was surprising, he was wondering what Hiro-Shu and Enma were doing, but nonetheless he was thankful that he had a chance to get off of this floor. He was starting to feel sleepier by the moment. He had set Maria down on the ground and had Ridley watching out either for the rest of their crew or for the tapirs to come back. Zesiro hoped that the crew would come by first. They managed to escape the tapirs as they lumbered around slowly, but still the fact that they barely managed to get here was a testament to the jail's dedication. Not to mention this door to the next floor was also hard-to-crack.

Zesiro was sure that it was sealed to be airtight so the pollen from this floor didn't drift upwards, but nonetheless, it didn't help him out. The machinery used in it was foreign to Zesiro. Well…half of it was. He recognized plenty of Blue Sea machinery present in the device, but he also took note of several dials and other skypiean technological advances. Unless you had a perfect understanding of both technologies you weren't going to hack your way in. If you had the password it would be easy. However, if they had the passwords that meant they had come prepared to this jail rather than being thrust into it as a result of one of their crewmembers and their captain's short-sightedness. Zesiro sighed as he turned around and took up watch duty with Ridley. They didn't see any prisoners that were still awake and they didn't see any prisoners that looked like Rosa's quick description.

"No such luck, huh?" asked Ridley as he looked over at his down-trodden partner. Ridley's fingers were still anxiously moving about his guitar; Zesiro assumed it was because he was afraid of falling asleep, but then wouldn't playing the thing be the more logical choice? Maybe he was just trying to piece together an old song or something. "It figures that we'd get locked down on this floor. I mean, I enjoy a good nap and all that, but falling asleep here means falling asleep forever apparently." It was an exaggeration the tree's pollen simply leaked into your lungs and made you fall asleep. As long as you stay exposed to the pollen you'll remain asleep, however, once you leave the pollen the pollen would slowly start to leave your lungs and you'd wake up eventually. Sage said at most an hour.

Ridley's gaze drifted over to Maria, who was still unconscious. If they had to fight through the next two floors without her, they would be screwed. The prison was definitely not a place they should try to handle with any crewmembers missing. Ridley relaxed for a second, with a second pair of eyes on the floor he could afford to get comfy. He sat down and stretched back against the wall, using it to prop himself up. Zesiro was a little annoyed at the fact that he was so calm in a situation like this, especially when staying awake was key. Zesiro's hands never left his swords. "We're just going to wait for them I guess." Zesiro's first thought had been admittedly breaking down the door. After all, it was in their way and they needed to get out as quick as possible. But if the pollen spread to the entire prison then they would be just as screwed if they stayed on this floor. They would just have to wait.

Or their decision would be made for them.

The door was blasted off of its hinges and nearly took Zesiro down. It would have actually if Zesiro hadn't turned around and quickly brought his blade upwards, slicing through the metal door without a second thought as to who or what could've done it. He immediately took up his other sword and prepared for the incoming intruder, be a prison guard or another rebelling prisoner Zesiro would have to be ready to defend both Maria and Ridley if it came down to it. Zesiro's eyes flashed back to its animalistic state as he readied himself for the fight.

"What do we have here?" asked the man as he came into sight. He was tall man and well-built and he was dressed in a nice suit. A small cigarette danced in between his lips. "Looks like some fellow pirates. Hmm, then again I guess I'm no longer a pirate now that my captain has become a Shichibukai." Zesiro's eyes went wide, a pirate that was on a crew of a Shichibukai? He took a step back and braced himself. This man was on equal footing as Makada was, possibly even better as he was a pirate that had also infiltrated the prison. Makada was cooped up in the URA forever, so this man may be a force to be reckoned with. "Not going to greet me, are you?" The man cocked his head to the side and smiled. Zesiro almost dropped his guard. The man didn't have any killing intent about him and he didn't seem hell-bent on their destruction.

"Sorry, about that," said Zesiro lowering his guard slightly, but keeping both swords trained on the man. "We're under a lot of stress here. We're trying to take down the prison, you see…" Suddenly, Zesiro was lifted up into the air. Zesiro looked around him only to see smoke, flowing all around him and it was coming from the man's cigarette. "What are you-" Zesiro was flung through the air before he finished his sentence. Zesiro hit one of the walls and slid to the ground immediately, his vision was blurred, but the man had just thrown him across the room using only the smoke from his cigarette! Was that even possible?

"This cigar is a Skypiea specialty," explained the man, "it was made using the fog from Eisen Dials, a once nearly extinct Dial, but they recently discovered a landmine on a different cloud and these cigars are now being mass-produced. It is a shame. These things are the best cigars I've ever had, but you can only use them up in Skypiea." Ridley had sprung into action, leaping to his feet and swinging his guitar at the man. Only problem was the same smoke that had thrown Zesiro was now covering the man. "Eisen Dials release a special cloud called Iron Cloud. It is as tough as iron, but as flexible and free as a cloud." The iron cloud that was surrounding the man suddenly lashed out, spinning rapidly and throwing an iron whip of cloud-like materials and Ridley and knocking him back into a tree. "Too bad you guys didn't encounter me about a month or two earlier. I would've helped you out here, but sadly, my boss is a Shichibukai and we can't go losing that title now…not when we are so close to achieving our goal."

"**Skewer Fish!" **shouted Zesiro immediately leaping back into the middle of the fray. Zesiro rushed forward and at the man. The man chuckled once more as he directed the heavy smoke to his side. Zesiro's powerful forward thrust had proven ineffective. While it may have been able to pierce a shield and armor, the heavy smoke that surrounded the man was too much. There were multiple thick layers that were in between him and Zesiro. Even with Zesiro's monstrous inhuman strength, he could only plunge the sword about halfway into the clouds.

"My name is Hozuma Ichiro," said the man as he lowered his eyelids slightly and looked over Zesiro through the thick smog. "A man should at least know his superior." Suddenly the iron wall that were between them changed. It was no longer just an iron wall, sharp spike protruded from every inch. Zesiro looked at them and immediately knew he had to back off. He tugged at his sword, but it was holding tight. Hozuma didn't want Zesiro backing off. He had shrunk his clouds down in order to use the spikes and in doing so he had made another opening for him. He stepped forward and had grabbed a hold of Zesiro's blade. Zesiro could not longer back off without losing one of his main weapons. "Such a shame," muttered Hozuma. "I believe if we were on the same side we could've become such wonderful allies." The iron spiked cloud roared to life as it snapped forward and shut like a book, its deadly needles all aimed inwards and at Zesiro.

(-With Enma-)

"Of course, this would happen," Enma said as he lowered his head down and shook it in disappointment; he couldn't believe things kept turning out for the worst. Rosa, Hiro-Shu, and Sage were now with him. With Mikoto being 'kidnapped' Rosa and Hiro-Shu believed the smartest thing to do would be go seek help, besides their search for Lily was turning out just as pointless as Zesiro's had. They were ready to move up as well, if only they had their captain then now would be the perfect time to make a move on it. They would even arrive at the scene of the fight in order to help Zesiro defend against the mystery intruder, but…they couldn't, cause they didn't have Mikoto. Enma dropped his tools, apparently if they were going to get ready to leave he wouldn't need them. He let out another yawn as he stretched. He hadn't moved in awhile, he had found this prime patch of the trees that stretched all around him. It was the perfect place to try and conduct research in, but it had already proven be a pointless endeavor.

Enma swore under his breath for a brief second. They needed to get moving, they were waiting for nothing and his own imagination was starting to get the better of him. There were no guards posted on this floor, the entire crew was exhausted and sleepy, and their captain was missing. It may not have been just his imagination, but something was definitely starting go wrong. "We need to head out." Enma said solemnly. "We waste any more time on this floor, Mikoto won't be the only one falling asleep." Little did he know Maria was also sound asleep at this exact moment. Their military might had already been cut down by a third at least. With two floors left to go could they really do it?

"Are you suggesting we leave him behind?" shouted Sage, the outrage obvious on her voice. Sage had been with Mikoto the longest out of their current group, the only person who had been with him longer was Ridley, who had actually left the group for awhile back after they fought Karasu for the first time. So, actually Sage probably had been with him for the longest time. It was evident in her undying trust and loyalty in their captain. "We can't just leave him! He's our captain! We're here because of him!"

"I'm not suggesting we leave him…not forever at least," Enma argued. "We need a break from the sleeping nightlocke. The longer we stay the higher our chances are of losing. We bolt for awhile get the pollen out of our lungs and come back down to retrieve him after we recover." On top of that that would give them the chance to regroup. Right now there forces were halved, they couldn't wait any longer. They were giving their enemies too much time. If they waited any longer who knew who would show up. Another Shichibukai was possible, heck, due to the fact that they were attacking a prison it was entirely possible that even Admiral would show up. "We need to get finished as quickly possible," explained Enma with an exasperated tone. He was tired like everyone else was, there was no strength left in his body, he was feeling himself become more and more agitated just by fighting the urge to sleep and now fighting his own crew. Was this another trap laid down by the prison? Cause dissention in the group? He was already questioning Rosa's loyalty before they had even arrived here, if it got any worse he may just turn on her.

Sage murmured something to herself. She couldn't believe Enma was really going to do something like this. It seemed so wrong, especially to Mikoto. Mikoto wouldn't back away just because of some silly trees. He would've dug his heels in and stayed on this floor until he found everyone. He would've done it for strangers and he certainly would've done it for them. Sage supposed it was time she returned the favor, "I'm staying here and looking for him." The entire group was shocked both by Sage's bluntness and her determination. She wasn't backing down on this opinion of hers. She'd stay here all day if she had to. She had a built-up immunity to this thing. She could stay on here for another hour if need be before she fell asleep, she still wasn't even the tiniest bit sleepy. "Go regroup if you want to. I'm going to spend some more time trying to save my captain."

Sage knew she was doing the right thing. How many times had Mikoto dove into perilous dangers to save her? She could think of a dozen of times at least. Even when they first met Mikoto was already sticking up for her, choosing to go after Oz to save her even taking a hit for her…and that was when they had just met. After that there was the time with Snazzington Pimp, who had kidnapped her. Mikoto had rushed in all by his lonesome in an effort to win and he did win, he saved Sage once again. Time and time again whenever Sage was backed into a corner, Mikoto was there for her. There to save her and anyone else on the crew. She couldn't call herself his nakama if she didn't return the favor at least this one. She was finally being of true use to the crew.

"That was a little harsh," pointed out Hiro-Shu as he looked on at Sage's back as she turned around and walked away. "She's just trying to do what she believes in." Enma growled for a second. He didn't have the same authority as Mikoto did. He supposed some people just made natural born leaders and others didn't. He was trying to usurp Mikoto's throne from him at all or anything of that sort. True, he had originally set off to become his own pirate captain, but he was happy being with Mikoto's crew. His only desire right now was to protect everyone on it. He wanted to protect Mikoto, too, but he had to do so in the most logical and safest way possible. He had to get them to safety and try again when they were ready.

"Let's go," commanded Enma as he turned around and started to head for the exit. He was starting to understand the base's layout. The location of the stairs fluctuated, but they were kind of predictable. He supposed it was to make racing between floors faster since this prison seemed to lack an elevator. He quickly took his small troop towards the stairs, although Hiro-Shu and Rosa both seemed to lag noticeably behind him. Both of them were questioning who was right in this scenario. Enma or Sage? Enma's plan was probably the best in terms of strategy, but it would leave them with a guilty conscience forever. Sage's plan was much more compassionate, however, the question was would it work like she planned? In the end they both supposed Enma's plan was the safest one for everyone, Mikoto included. Besides he was only asleep and no guards had been sighted on this floor yet. What was the worst thing that could happen?

(-on the next floor-)

The prison guards weren't just sitting on their laurels. They were preparing. The entire prison had congregated on this floor, standing around with guns and swords in hands. They were ready for the intruders, the instant the pirates reared their ugly faces they were ready. They had sealed off one of the two main staircases, leaving the pirates only one choice to ascend the path they had left open, the one Zesiro and Ridley were currently fighting at. The instant they dragged their weary, tired, and exhausted butts up here it would be a bloodbath. The Vice Warden, fully cloaked with not even his face showing was in attendance. Along with the Longarm Enma had seen earlier, a tired look on his own face while he spun his trident around with anticipation. Another notable person in attendance was the Head Jailer, a man that was a formidable wall of muscles, and a small black duck resting on his shoulder. Taisho was noticeably absence, taking root on the floor above them to deal with intruders in his best form. They were prepared for anything.

"Why do I got to be here," said the Longarm stretching and yawning at the same time. "Do you really need me? Can't you guys handle it by yourselves for once?" It was obvious he would rather be anywhere but here. The rest of the guards shot him dirty looks after all they all had to be here as well. He was one of the head jailers of this place and yet he wanted to leave. Didn't he feel even the slightest amount of responsibility towards this place?

**A Questionable Charge?**

The trap. The prison's entire force has gathered on the floor above them. If the Infinity Pirates charged...they would be walking into certain death...if they stayed on the current floor? They would be trapped and eventually put to sleep. With what seems like absolutely no escape...what options do they have?

For those of you wondering it seems like my update schedule for this story will be rehashed into being on Mondays or Wednesdays.


	168. Zenith Gaol 168 A Questionable Charge?

**A Questionable Charge?**

The prison guard forces had gathered at the stairs and were looking down the stairs, waiting for the upcoming pirates. They would be swarming the stairs in a matter of moments and they were ready for them. The first group had gathered around the stairway, all of them had guns trained for the door as soon as they saw the first hair of the incoming pirates they would unleash an incredible burst of gunfire. Regardless of the pirates' power an attack of this level would almost definitely finish at least one of them. One of those shots would definitely finish at least one of them off.

However, from what was going on on the floor beneath them it was debatable if there would even be a chance for them to work on it. The smoking invader was single-handedly putting both Zesiro and Ridley in his place. He jumped up again, creating a quick iron platform from his cigar to land on. He quickly tilted the cloud forward, angling it towards Zesiro. Suddenly he leapt forward like a rocket, sending his entire body weight screeching forward towards Zesiro. Zesiro brought his two swords up and in front of his body, preparing to block the full-body charge with all of his strength. The man quickly swirled around and covered his entire body in the thick iron smoke from his cigar. He was completely coated in it, he couldn't be hurt unless Zesiro blew through the smoke and him with one stroke. **"Devilfish Finisher!"** Zesiro crossed his two swords, forming an X and stepping forward at the same moment. He brought the two of them together and struck out, there was a loud clash as Zesiro managed to stop him. Zesiro's feet budged slightly, forcing them back a few inches as he tried to withstand the horrible blast.

Suddenly Zesiro rotated around, bringing his two swords out with a flash. The man was thrown out of the path and was completely and there was nice slit in the iron cloud, but sadly Zesiro couldn't force it in deep enough to make contact with the man. The man was still pretty close to invincible, he was just acting like a cannonball and it seemed to be fairly effective from Zesiro's standpoint. His arms were numb just from suffering the direct blast from that last attack, who knows how many more attacks of that caliber were going to be shuttling towards him at that same speed and power. The man drew in a deep breath, sucking in another quick gust of smoke. Then he unleashed a massive blast of iron cloud forward. The iron cloud quickly transformed into a series of slender sharp needles that came roaring towards Zesiro. Zesiro had no choice, he couldn't slash all of them out of the air in a single stroke. There were too many and they were too small. His only other choice was to get his own attack in. He leaned in and brought his sword swooping around in a circle all around him and throwing a quick sideways slash at full speed at him.

The man spun around and sent a complete veil of iron cloud around him perfectly protecting him from the powerful shot. The sword burned into it, slashing into it at full-power nearly ripping it apart from the force, but the man wasn't bothered by it. Hozuma immediately created another whip-like weapon from his cigar, he sent it flying off at his opponent. Zesiro stepped in and blocked it, he swung his sword around and if it was truly a solid weapon it was entirely possible that Zesiro would've defeated it by doing so, but the weapon was just a chain of clouds. Zesiro couldn't break it or even deflect it through normal means. Hozuma quickly rotated the cigar around and sent it spiraling upwards for Zesiro's chin. The smoke slammed into his Zesiro's head and threw him back. Zesiro managed to dodge the worse of the fall, by digging his sword into the ground and avoided the damage.

Ridley cut in, bolting in at full speed. He wasn't holding himself back, he had to stop the melee of attacks for even a second. He swung his guitar inwards, it was aimed straight for his head. Hozuma immediately sent another puff of iron cloud around his head. He wasn't about to take a direct hit from the swing just because his back was turned. Ridley's guitar squished into the cloud and Hozuma was completely uninjured. Hozuma spun around and launched a powerful roundhouse kick to Ridley's side. Ridley was thrown completely to the side from the force and slid into the ground. Ridley quickly crept back up to his feet, but he didn't have a very good chance as Hozuma shot forward for Ridley. Ridley immediately strummed on his guitar, whether it was out of reflex or a real idea of an attack didn't matter. The cacophonous note caused Hozuma to cringe and hesitate for a brief seconds, giving Ridley enough time to swing to the side and watch as Hozuma screeching on by. Hozuma crashed into a wall bringing it down and around him. Several chunks of debris came crashing down on top of him, but the iron cloud caught all of them and kept Hozuma safe and out of harm's way.

"I do love my cigars, however, I do find them somewhat limiting," the little cigar was starting to burn down eventually he would run out of cigar and once the cigar vanished he would lose the only thing that allowed him to control the cloud. An actual Eisen Dial would give him complete control of it for an unlimited amount of time as long as he held it, but the cigar was slowly disappearing. Hozuma reached into his pockets and pulled out two separate Eisen Dials and attached them to his hands. Hozume stretched his two hands down and pointed them at the wall behind him. The two of Eisen Dials suddenly spat out large quantity of iron clouds, propelling Hozuma forwards towards Zesiro again. The last of his cigar eeked out, covering his body in an iron-tight shell just like before. Zesiro doubted he should risk another head-to-head clash, last time it proved to be a rather useless attempt…at least if he mimicked his last attack. A slash wasn't powerful enough, but a thrust may be.

Zesiro sheathed one of his swords and shifted his weight forward. And brought one of his swords screeching forward with a thrust, his entire weight was behind it. Both of his arms were propelling it forward. The force of the thrust sliced straight into the iron shell. The slender blade dug into the iron shell, peeling away at the hardened exterior all the way to the squishy insides. Zesiro would repent for taking his life for awhile, but it had to be done. His sword would slide right through the iron cloud and right through Hozuma. At least it would've if Hozuma was really that transparent. Zesiro's sword did slide straight through the iron cloud and into the open center, but Hozuma wasn't there.

Hozuma had arranged an emergency evacuation. He had left his iron shell, leaving it to be still shuttling towards Zesiro, but he wasn't in it. He was on the ground rushing towards Zesiro. His Eisen Dials were starting to eject ion clouds that took the shape of staves. He rushed in to Zesiro and brought them circling in, one high and one low. Zesiro's feet were swiped away from underneath him and the other staff came shooting in and striking at Zesiro's head. Zesiro managed to bring his sword in and block the second strike just moments before it hit. He was lucky that he managed even that. He brought his sword around and took up another stance, this one slightly more defensive.

Hozuma buckled down and shot forward once more. This time he didn't bother putting up the iron shell and just remained open, with both staves in his hands. He came flying in at incredible speed and Zesiro stepped in ready to defeat him he was tired of this fight dragging on. His body was starting to sag…he was growing tired. His body was falling asleep on him, he couldn't keep this up much longer he needed to move on. And this man would have to be taken down in order for him to do so. Zesiro charged in. Without that bulky iron shell hiding Hozuma, he may actually stand a chance. The two came together and the sound of metal against metal filled the air. Zesiro's two well-sharpened swords came against Hozuma's iron staves. They clashed loudly as both warriors refused to back down. Zesiro felt his feet budged, Hozuma's had more momentum behind his body from him rocketing himself forward. Zesiro had too far and few options at this point. He had to come up with a plan to deliver a fatal blow.

Zesiro had one idea. He used one sword to angle the path Hozuma was taking to the side, Hozuma followed the curvature of the blade as he continued to propel himself forward. Zesiro lifted his second trusty saber into the air and suddenly brought it smashing back down onto Hozuma's back. The bare minimum amount of iron cloud crept over to protect Hozuma, but it still wasn't enough to completely protect him. The sharp blade was basically reduced to a bash with a shield. However, it may just prove to be enough to turn Hozuma off from the idea of handling them. After all, he still had his original mission in mind.

Hozuma straightened up and stood back up on his feet. He produced a second cigar and placed it in his mouth. He took a second and looked around him. "I suppose this was enough to say I fulfilled my boss' obligation as a Shichibukai," he muttered beneath his breath. He turned around to face Zesiro. His back was badly injured, he needed to see a doctor, but first he had to get his 'brother' out of this prison. That was his original mission, not fighting another soon-to-be Shichibukai's group, besides he saw the rest of the Infinity Pirates growing closer. "We'll finish this soon. My boss is eager to meet your boss. Until then eat well, sleep well, and don't forget to enjoy a cigar every now and then." With that he left.

Truth be told, his boss was really eager to meet Mikoto. They both rose to their current ranks by beating another Shichibukai. However, his boss, 'Ghost Hook' Kraven had really hammered the point in by bringing the pirate's head in to a Shichibukai meeting. Mikoto, though, was going to be promoted before beating a Shichibukai. It was debatable which one was more deserving of the title. And that annoyed 'Ghost Hook'. Kraven was older and more experienced than Mikoto was and yet they tried to lift this pirate up onto the shoulders of the Marines and Shichibukai title. It was insulting to his own ability, something that 'Ghost Hook' wouldn't stand for. He wouldn't allow for some green behind the ears pirate to show him up so early in his job. He'd finish them off for sure, however, Kraven hadn't had any luck in finding them yet. Imagine his surprise when Hozuma told him about finding them here. Their battle was coming up soon, Hozuma just needed to find his 'brother' and a Den-Den Mushi. After he did those two things he would get his chance to defeat them again.

He kept on walking as he glided past the rest of the infinity Pirates who were in too big of a hurry to get to the next floor to stop and chit-chat with him. It didn't bother him that they didn't want to chew the fat. He kept walking forward, a little bit faster right now. He didn't want to think of them as sore losers, but if they sic'ed their entire force on him he wouldn't make it out and in all honesty it was what he would do. He was an enemy and a rival, not to mention he definitely didn't try and befriend them during their first encounter. Taking him out would be the wise decision for the future. He smiled as he continued on his path and no one came after him.

"Just bad luck," said Zesiro as he explained away his wounds. Ridley kept his mouth shut as well, they knew very well that they had no right to complain or anything of that sort. They were pirates to take the hits and keep on running was in their job description. And that's exactly what they would do. They weren't going to stop. They would charge forward with all of their strength to the next floor. They both felt a slightly sick feeling about the thought of leaving Mikoto behind on this floor, but they also knew that Enma's plan was probably for the best. They couldn't lose another man to this floor, so taking their time was of the upmost importance. "No use waiting around here," Zesiro nodded forward and lifted his body up. He wound one of his arms, stretching it out and prepared himself for it. The next floor definitely would be a challenge, they were fighting their own bodies at this point. If the next floor threw opponents at them it wouldn't be a horrible guess to say that they might actually lose. Zesiro shook the negative thoughts out of his head as the group headed up.

Almost immediately they met by a wall of bullets speeding towards them. Hiro-Shu quickly took the lead, transforming to his iron wall form and withstanding the fast and powerful volley. His iron armor took several hits, but he gave the rest of his crew enough time to duck in and go back down the stairs. They were safe for another moment as they could watch the attack cool down. He soon journeyed back down there to catch up with the rest of the crew. "Crap…" he muttered as he caught up. "We're basically trapped on this floor." He turned his head back the stairs to see if the prison guards were going to chase them down, but it looked like they were fine with the way things were going. Why wouldn't they be? They had them pinned down on a floor that meant certain death if they stayed there for much longer. In half an hour or so the entire crew would be lulled to sleep, easy picking for anyone much less the entire prison's staff.

Enma paused for a few seconds. He had his new drug on him, but that would take at least five minutes to kick into effect, possibly even more. He was half asleep as is, his heart-rate would be slowed, and the distribution of the drug throughout is system would also be slowed as a result. Had they really lost this quickly? There were just two more floors up there, but it seemed so far away now. The prison staff had used this time to gather their forces and focus them onto that one spot. A strategy they undoubtedly had come up with just hours into its creation, a sure-fire killing strategy. Hiro-Shu may be able to get up there and lead the charge, take out a couple of the snipers, but by then he would be injured and probably an easy prey for any of the stronger members as if he was also tired from the journey. Then what? Could Enma, Zesiro, Rosa, and Ridley possibly take down the entire prison staff by themselves in their half dead state?

Suddenly the speaker system cut on. "I know you are down there," stated Taisho from his comfortable spot several floors up. "I wish for you to know. I have blocked off all other escape routes. Sealed off even the staircases descending to the floors below. You are trapped on that floor until either you decide to face my men or until you fall into a deep sleep. They are both horrible options to you, but to me they are both luxurious plans I have laid forth and planned out for this precise moment. Impel Down had fallen due to a swelled head. I made several steps again and again to improve upon this prison…you haven't even forced me to show my final hand yet. I hope you understand just how outmatched you small batch of pirates are."

Enma swiveled to the staircase, producing his spear and grinding his teeth. They were being mocked even worse though every word Taisho spoke sounded of pure truth. He wasn't lying. He was still holding something back, a powerful technique that obviously Taisho didn't want to use just yet for some reason. Enma realized that this meant there were out of options. "Let's go," stated Enma as he tightened his fists. "Sage and Mikoto are still out there. If we lose this fight, I'm willing to bet my life on them." He twirled his bone spear around and walked forward. Hiro-Shu sighed and quickly raced to be in front of him. It would be their last-ditch effort, their hail mary. They just had to put their faith in the little coyote who had brought them all together and had forced them to this spot. They would raise cane and hope that they all came out on the other safer side.

**The Prison Guards of Zenith Gaol!**

Ah...I think a sickness is going around around here...so just to warn everyone the future releases will be a little bit...well, off. Anyways, let's hear it for the Infinity Pirates throwing their lives on the line as they charge forward attempting to win once more against the giant iron prison!


	169. Zenith Gaol 169 The Prison Guards of

**The Prison Guard of Zenith Gaol**

The instant their feet had hit the top floor, the hail of gunfire had started. A sheer inescapable blast of metal and fire rained down upon them. Hiro-Shu coated in his protective iron armor, charged forward. He didn't waste a second as he made his way through the crowd. He summoned forth a roar of incredible red, hot fires that engulfed the front roar. The ones who were fast enough to dodge the flames quickly fell prey to Zesiro's swinging swords. They were ready to cause as much trouble and chaos as they could before they fell and they weren't about to stop here. The bad news was that just according to Enma's prediction Hiro-Shu fell early on. One of the elite prison guards, a man going by the name of Kohaku had stepped forward. He left an imprint of both of his fists on even Hiro-Shu's iron hard chest plate. Ridley and Rosa moved out to handle Kohaku, but a wall of prison guards immediately stepped in and charged forward. The wall of prison guards came rushing at them, they did their best to hold their ground, but it was obvious that against a sea of well-trained guards they wouldn't hold out forever. Zesiro charged forward quickly meeting up with the long-armed trident user, Zesiro slid his two blades forward and met the trident's hilt. They were immediately thrust into a dead-lock that could've gone either way. If it wasn't for the fact that Zesiro was in the belly of the beast. Another prison guard rushed up on him, swinging downwards and onto Zesiro's face. While the punch was nothing special, it proved to be a worthwhile distraction. Zesiro's focus wavered for a second and in that second the longarm surged forward, kicking up dust and slamming the side of his trident into Zesiro's abdomen.

The feeding frenzy had begun. The nearly endless wave of prison guards had descended upon the crew, they were too many of them. Zesiro had recovered from the strike to the abdomen and had come back almost immediately, charging at the wave of guards again and again. He was acting rather recklessly, there were too many for him to attack each and every one with a sane amount of power and an incredible amount of focus. Once more it seems like he had given into his primal state of affairs. He had lost any and all sanity and mercy that were holding back his shark-like nature. His swords ripped through a man and sent his body flying straight into another guard. From there he stepped forward and thrust with his second sword, piercing through one, two, three men in a single stroke. The close and cramped quarters made dodging difficult and made hitting multiple people easy. However, the opposite was also true. Almost immediately a group of guards, charged at Zesiro. Throwing their body weight at him, slamming into him in an almost reckless fashion.

"We are the Bodyslamming Brothers!" they shouted, throwing their arms into the air and then snapping them back. They jumped back over to Zesiro, with their shoulder leading the way. All of their shoulders were covered in some kind of metal that protected it from strain or injury when they attacked like this. However, that did not mean they were safe from Zesiro's attacks. He turned around and lashed out at two of them simultaneously. His swords digging into each of their armors, sending them flying back with shredded shoulders. Zesiro was still outnumbered though. The remainder of them continued their anxious charges. One-by-one they smashed into Zesiro, throwing him around like a rag-doll. It wasn't until Zesiro managed to recover in midair, bringing his sword swinging around and its hilt smashing downwards into the man's skull that the assault finally stopped. Zesiro landed on his own two feet soon again. He was grounded once more as he watched the anxious group of insane characters charge at him, leaping up and down as they began their approach. Zesiro grinned, showing his sharp teeth to them all. He readied himself for the attack and dove head-in again.

Enma was in a similar tough spot. A blizzard of hands and feet were coming out at him. He was nearly blinded by the thick curtain of human body parts, blitzing towards, each of them eager to blow his head off. It was a perfect mix of multiple martial arts. There was a boxer's straight, Muay Thai's Kao Loi, Karate's Yamazuki, and multiple other techniques were all blended together as three or even four professional martial artists came charging in for him. They were fast and strong even Enma could only predict and dodge one in every three blows. Dodging each and every blow was out of the question, even with his extended range due to his spear he couldn't push them back well enough. A knee cut through the air towards his head, Enma ducked beneath it, rotating his chest, and bringing his pristine ivory weapon upwards towards the attacker's pelvis. He was immediately brought to a halt as a punch came shooting in with plenty of power behind it. Enma swerved to the side, barely avoiding the shot. He quickly landed well, but he found himself at the receiving end of a karate chop. He stumbled back and into a wall of guards waiting behind him. Several arms started to move forward, wrapping themselves around his body. Enma shook them free, striking each of them with his staff, but once more his guard was forced down during that attack. One of the martial artist practitioners charged forward, throwing his entire body forward at Enma. His knee made clear-cut contact with Enma's skull and throwing him back. Enma was sent flying through the air, incapable of catching himself as he was knocked back into the wall of waiting guards. The guards began clawing away at his body, trying to drag him into the mosh pit that were his enemies. Soon they engulfed him. He disappeared beneath a sea of foes.

"Enma!" shouted Ridley as he swerved around, about to charge over to check on his fallen compatriot. However, as soon as he stepped forward another group of guards had rushed in to meet him. There were just too many. There were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't from the very start, but still at this very moment in time. Ridley wished that they didn't. He was immediately set on upon by the seemingly ravenous group. There were seven or even eight people rushing him. Ridley stepped forward and swung his guitar, but he only made contact with the air around them. The guards were professionals, they weren't just some random people picked off of the streets. And that completely extended to the Head Guard. It was like a wall of muscles and flesh came barreling at him. The man was quicker than the rest of them, he was much more powerful character than his initial appearance had led Ridley to believe. Ridley rolled onto his back and brought his guitar straight up for his chin. Kohaku deftly dodged it and quickly bolted to the side next to the pirate. There was a notable difference in his arm as the muscle mass surged and tightened. This wasn't going to be no half-hearted punch, Kohaku's entire strength was behind this blow as it surged down to Ridley's gut.

There's only one thing more powerful than a predator's urge to kill and that is a predator's urge to stay alive. Kohaku backed off just in time to dodge a wicked fast thrust from Rosa. Kohaku was driven back, but Kohaku was only one out of fifty. Even with him temporarily taking a break from the high-octane action there was still other guards ready and roaring to take his place. They charged in on Rosa, several of them drawing their own weapons unlike Kohaku who opted for his bare fists. One of the firsts one to approach Rosa was an axe-user. The hefty weapon was swung around with sheer unimaginable amounts of reckless abandon. The guy swung around, cleaving the air. The powerful, yet slow blows were no match for Rosa. She bobbed and weaved through them until she got close enough to the man. She leaned forward and shot her weight into a swing for the man's gut. Her speed was out of the man's reach for a moment at least. The man quickly swerved around and using a combination of his own momentum and the axe's weight, created a last-ditch swing…with enough power to fell a tree in one blow. He brought the axe around, aiming for Rosa's head. Rosa pushed herself forward with one more and almost final umph. She sent herself soaring forward with another burst of speed. Rosa brought her sword swinging around, gouging out the man's side with a triumphant and definitive blow. The man stumbled for a second as his face went a pale white out of pure fear. He mumbled something quietly before collapsing into a puddle on the ground. Rosa allowed herself a brief moment of happiness in such a swift defeat.

Her celebration was short lived. She felt her body move by itself. Her short celebration had temporarily distracted her, opening her sixth sense up to the world. Her body was already moving by itself in anticipation of the next attack, however, while the Colors of Observation Haki was incredibly powerful it was highly dependent on one's own speed. You had to be faster than the incoming attack, usually Rosa had no problems with it. She was faster than most people, she traded strength for speed, but this attack was blinding fast. Even if all of her attention had been turned to the attack, even if she was fully aware of it both with her eyes and her body she couldn't have dodged it. Its speed was beyond hers. And if that wasn't enough to drive home the point of how screwed they were, the attack's power was incredible as well. The Vice Warden had unleashed a kick of dazzling power and speed onto her side with one mighty and hefty kick. Rosa was sent tumbling backwards, unable to catch herself before hitting the wall. The Vice Warden's leg had vanished back into his cloak just as quickly as it had come out.

"Good job," blared Taisho's voice as he came back on over the Den-Den Mushi. Everyone's eyes directed upwards to the ceiling. Taisho didn't have to lift a finger, the Infinity Pirates were just that outgunned and outnumbered. They had no real chance of victory. They had known that stepping up to this challenge and yet being here now under the heel of their enemies' just reiterated that fact. The pirates had lost, the guards had won. Their perfect defense record was no mere bluff. "Let's lock them up and repair any of the damages they had done." Taisho straightened himself back up and relaxed. The Infinity Pirates had caused a general nuisance of themselves by running amok here, they prisoners on the fourth floor were 'free', the gate separating the second and third floor had been broken, and some of the animals on the third floor were dead. He'd need to spend some money and time fixing these problems. In order to do that he would need to immediately get a hold of the Marine Headquarters and that was usually an all day process of getting re-routed over and over again, building up an encrypted signal. It wouldn't be an enjoyable use of his time, but it had to be done…and quickly. The prisoners may just feel rallied enough by the aspect of the break-in that they would have to re-trained to this perfect state of lethargy and inaction. It was a pity, but once more Taisho's desire to create the perfect prison was more important than his desire to spend a day at the beach. He had everyone set out, all of them going to their own respective stations. This wasn't the first time they almost experience a prison break-out.

(-On the third floor-)

Mikoto dozed off lazily. He was still asleep, the rough gas of the Sleeping Nightlock had seeped into his lungs. He would be out until he got away and have been away for awhile. Luckily he had been bought some time just being on this floor. The fact was that the tapirs had taken him away to their nest. The tapirs had gathered around him, successfully hiding him from view of any security. The next reason he had lucked out was that the prisoners on the fourth floor were still causing a ruckus, just by being out of their cells and unchained. They warranted an investigation more than a captain who they did not know even existed within their walls. Someone else besides the tapirs was there with him though. And it wasn't Sage.

It was a raven-haired beauty. And beauty was the key word. She had an ample figure, tanned skin, and a dark brown eyes that were absolutely magnificent. She had short wings sticking out of her back, indicating that she was a Skypiean. She wore black tights with the top of them concealed by blue jean shorts. Her pink low-cut t-shirt had white edges with holes for her wings. She kept a constant watch on the things going around her. Obviously her interest in Mikoto and tapirs was not to cause a ruckus. She seemed content just to keep an eye on her temporary bunkmates. She rested comfortably besides them, every so often glancing backwards as if checking up on Mikoto to see if he had arisen yet. He probably wouldn't wake-up for awhile, but she wasn't going to risk carrying him (more like dragging him since she lacked the upper body strength to completely lift him) yet. She could still hear the footsteps pounding the pavement above her.

Avoiding going to sleep was easy for her. She knew about this level and made the appropriate counter measures. Borrowing a Flutter-kick coating from the blue sea, she had coated herself in her own air bubble and was safe for the time being, however, soon her air, too, would run out and she would have to leave the sleeping coyote alone to fend for himself. It seemed like until then, though, she would stay here and keep a watchful eye on him as if following some sort of order.

Suddenly there was ruffle of leaves nearby. Somebody was coming to them. The girl shot up, anxious to make herself invisible. She turned around and disappeared into the mass of fuzzy tapirs, watching from her new safe spot as the person approached the nest. It was the Vice Warden. He was walking around here, mainly because he was tasked with rebuilding of the other stairway, Taisho had sealed off in order to force the Infinity Pirates up one specific staircase and into their trap. His entire body was still hidden beneath his cloak. Even here where there was no one around to see him he kept his entire body hidden from plain sight. He paused for a second as if sensing the presence of someone. It was clear he wasn't certain of the location of the person as he paused and glanced both to the left and then to the right.

The girl panicked for a brief second. Rather than confronting the man, she leaned forward and pulled Mikoto into the mass of furry tapirs as well. It was obvious her #1 fear was being discovered and the chance that this man in particular would discover them worried her all the more. She shied away disappearing into the tapir-wall where the man had no chance of just accidentally finding them. The man seemed satisfied that there was no one around except the sleeping prisoners and the tapirs. The prisoners on this floor were all racked with horrible nightmares and some of them had horrible sleeping fits where they spasmed uncontrollably in tune to their nightmares. He guessed that it was just one of them that had caught his eye. He soon started to move once again.

It looks like for the time-being the duo of the mysterious woman and Mikoto were safe and out of harm's way. However, they weren't the only two people that were on this floor.

(-with Sage-)

Sage didn't shout or scream as she moved through the forest. The slightest action from a prisoner having a night terror to a tapir popping up out of the blue, caused her heart to skip a beat, but nonetheless she stayed quiet. An overreaction or a scream could lead to her demise. The prison guards could be pouring onto this floor as she thought. She had heard the prison warden's booming announcement awhile ago. She wondered if the fight had ended yet and if the rest of her crew was alright, but that just reaffirmed her desire to find Mikoto. Rushing to the scene of the fight all by her lonesome was silly, stupid and all around reckless. She was sure once she found Mikoto and woke him up, it was exactly the kind of thing he would do. It would still be stupid when he did it, but for her to do it now and all alone was even stupider. She'd just have to find Mikoto first.

She'd just have to stay out of sight until then.

**After Being Caught**

Kohaku is the work of Sasaui102.

Also, this is a bonus update! It has been awhile since I did one of these...or maybe it just seems that way since I was planning on doing one like eight times, but I just could never find the time. Nothing more of note because this is pretty much basic, the crew is royally screwed with the majority of their major players being in jail (it is kind of odd that Ridley is having such a nice time though), Mikoto is knocked out cold, but he had found a new buddy who should seem familiar to all of you. Oh, and Sage is the only actually Infinity Pirate who seems to be having a productive time.


	170. Zenith Gaol 170 After being Caught

****Semi-important message located in the author's note at the bottom of the page. Relevant to bonus updates.

* * *

**After Being Caught**

"HEY!" shouted Ridley at one of the guards, trying to get him to come over. The guard lifted his shaggy eyebrow and looked at him. The guard had a tell-tale bruise on his left cheek, indicating that he was in the brawl just moments ago. However, unlike Ridley he was on the winning side. Nonetheless it was his job to see to the prisoners. If they died before their execution it would mean an unpleasant reprimand from his boss. "Can you get me a harmonica?" asked Ridley with a smile on his face, "I just don't feel like a real prisoner without it." The guard twisted his pale lips into an ugly frown and rolled his eyes turning away from Ridley and continuing down the path. "How about a cup I can bang against these bars? Come on, man, level with me here! I can't be a proper prisoner without them!" The rest of the prisoners chuckled a bit at the new guy. High morale and new guys like him were what gave them hope and entertainment in a dark and dreary place like this. The prison guard had decided to move on without paying attention to Ridley's pleas.

Ridley grumbled beneath his breath as he leaned back against the stone wall. For the time being they had been quarantined off on the second floor, separate from each other. Ridley was absolute clueless as where the rest of his allies were. He had a pretty good guess that like him the rest of them had been moved to this same floor. It was big and spacious and they were just barely beneath the clouds. The small window of his room gave him a perfect view of whenever a massive sky beast flew on by. From what Ridley had overheard these arrangements were just temporary, they would be moved up to the first floor when they were done fixing everything up that they caused.

"Hey, pssht," whispered a nearby prisoner, perking Ridley's attention. He walked up to the front and popped his head out of the bars. He quickly looked left and then right, trying to locate the source of the sound. Ridley turned his head to the side to see a bulbous slimy brown substance leaking out the side. Ridley gently prodded it with his finger. "Fu ha ha ha!" laughed the man next to him and Ridley nearly had to jump back from the sound. It was louder than some of his own music. Ridley paused for a second as he waited for the mass to respond. "Don't touch me there! I'm ticklish!" It was weird hearing both a voice that deep and that loud admit to being ticklish, but all-in-all Ridley had heard stranger things.

"Uh…" began Ridley, not sure on how to respond or even if he should. His mother always warned him about strange guys in prison and he was fairly certain this man qualified. "How are you?" Ridley figured he'd be here awhile. Zesiro had caused quite an awful lot of damage on the fourth floor by slicing up several of the cells, chances are they wouldn't be done for awhile. He may as well get to know his companions.

"I'm doing great!" shouted the man. His statement was clearly contradictory to his current predicament, it was almost as if he didn't know he was in jail. "Sure, I'd like a bigger prison cell than this! Maybe one with a nice view as well, but I'm doing fine, my young friend!" The man let loose another bellowing and ear-splitting laugh. Ridley cringed backwards and into his cell, he noticed several of his fellow inmates doing the same. "I'm Suzuki D. Monsuta! I'm a Kraken Fishman! Who are you newbie?"

"The name's Ridley Blackwell," Ridley said. Suddenly the entire prison let loose a gasp. Similarly to when Monsuta laughed, they all cringed and jumped back, pressing themselves against the walls of their cells, all of them with frightened looks on their faces. Ridley could hear some of the passing comments going between them. 'Did he just say 'Blackwell' as in 'Karasu Blackwell'? The king of the Blackmarket?' 'Ridley Blackwell? As in the member of the Infinity Pirates?' 'This guy's gonna kill us all!' Ridley smiled and immediately took up a pose to intimidate the rest of them, however, his posturing was soon interrupted as Monsuta bellowed out another laugh causing him to cringe and hide.

"The Infinity Pirates, huh?" bellowed out Monsuta, "I heard of you guys before I got locked up! However, I only really remember hearing about 'Shark Bite' Zesiro and 'Kid Coyote' Mikoto." Ridley supposed that was fair, they got their bounties first. It was only suiting that they became famous before he was. "Oh, I also heard of 'Plant' Sage!" Ridley was thrown back into his own corner of the room at that. She was more famous than he was? How was that possible? "Anyways, forget about your past life. You're trapped in here! The Second Floor of Zenith Gaol! The 'Torture Floor'! We're lucky, we got the backseats. Rumor is the torture chamber is in the center of the floor, where those prisoners close enough get a full view of it! We can still hear the screams though. However, we should all thank you. Since the Infinity Pirates broke in and caused a ruckus the torture sessions have been delayed."

Ridley smiled, thankful that some people appreciated their work. "However, chances are you guys will be the first to try it out when they finally do get everything back up and running! Fu ha ha ha ha ha!" Ridley cringed, not only at the man's obnoxious and loud laughs, but also at the fact that he brought up a very good point. Ridley frowned and shrunk back down in his cell. Then again it probably would be Enma, Zesiro, or Hiro-Shu. One of the pirates with a high bounty amongst them. He would be safe for awhile. "Don't worry, I've been here for awhile and they haven't broken me yet. I'm still hanging onto hope. Somewhere there's someone who will break us out of these cells and lead us all to a brave new era! And when that day comes we'll be as happy as can be! Fu ha ha ha ha!"

Ridley smiled and quickly flashed Monsuta a thumbs-up. "Don't worry about it," bragged Ridley, "I am working on an escape plan as we speak! After all, I, Ridley Blackwell, son of Karasu Blackwell as well as First mate of the Infinity Pirates am going to break every last one of you out of here!" Ridley pumped his fist up into the air and immediately a roar was summoned up from every pirate around him. Ridley nodded with a small smile of satisfaction on his face. He assumed either they would break the people out of here or they wouldn't, in which case he wouldn't have to worry about them anyways! It was a win-win no matter how the situation went down. Ridley let out a small laugh as went over to the corner and sat down.

Now was the hard part. The crushing, deafening, mind-destroying boredom. No weapons, guitars, or even piece of paper and a pencil. Ridley was stuck in the cell with no more than four walls to keep him occupied. He sighed and scratched the back of his head. He wasn't good with staying occupied without his guitar. He was already starting to feel the quiet aches of boredom. He needed something to do, some instrument to play. It may have been a sign that he was going crazy being cooped up in this small chamber, but he didn't have any other choice and started beating out a quick rhythm with just his knees and hands.

(-With Enma-)

Enma was in solidarity. No other prisoners all around him, completely blocked off form anyone else who could even possible want to talk to him. He had seastone cuffs on both his arms and legs. He was close to passing out from the strain and old wounds from the fight. He was stretched over his strone-cold and uncomfortable cot, trying to calm himself down. But the fact was that he was still tired from the fight and the floors, he couldn't stay like this for much longer. He rubbed his eyes wearily, maybe a quick nap would do him good. He rolled over onto his side and tried to sleep it all away.

He couldn't calm down though. His brain was racing as he thought everything over. He was trapped and he was sure Zesiro and Ridley were both in the same situation. However, his thoughts drifted to the other three. Rosa, Maria, and Hiro-Shu. Maria was asleep when they got here, not to mention she could be literally disarmed. They may have separated her body from her arms and legs, leaving her completely helpless in a prison with horrible pirates surrounding her as he laid here, struggling to fall asleep. Hiro-Shu had suffered most of the attacks from their men. He had several gunshots embedded in his armor and chances are some of them went through or at the very least left sweltering blows on his body were very high. Hiro-Shu needed immediate medical attention and Enma doubted the prisoner guards would be very forth-coming with it. After that Rosa entered his mind. She was probably shaking with fear, ridden with self-doubt, and beating herself up while she was at it. She had failed her only sister. It was possible that she was banging her head against the wall right now, breaking her skull and rattling her brain. Enma just hoped that Sage and Mikoto could make their way up here until it turned that bad.

(-With Sage-)

Sage sighed as she walked through the third floor. The place was infested with the tapirs, most of them gave her a wide-berth apparently not interested in someone who was awake. They stayed clear of her and then would munch on the grass while keeping a close eye on her. They didn't bother her per se, but there was definitely something unnerving about constantly having their beady little eyes on you at all times. She was the only moving figure on this floor to her knowledge so it made sense that they would be drawn to her and be naturally wary of her. They kept a constant watch, but Sage trudged onwards through this sleeping hell.

She could feel her own consciousness starting to sleep away. Her built-up immunity to it meant nothing after several hours on this floor. Her feet were starting to lag behind her. She needed to get going, maybe Enma had the right idea about leaving rather than staying on this floor. She needed a break from this problematic area. The Sleeping Nightlocke trees still extended to the sky all around her. She couldn't believe that she would ever get out of here. IF she found Mikoto she would have to drag his body over the cold ground and to the stairs, heft his body up each and every step until he woke up again. If she could manage to get him away from this floor…and then what? It would still take at least twenty minutes for him to wake up! She couldn't protect him all by herself for that long! The prison guards were here, they'd be defeated in a matter of seconds before Mikoto even had the chance to wake-up! She would fail in seconds…really it would be that quick…she needed some help getting out of here.

Almost on cue a man appeared in front of her…well, running at her. The man didn't look like a bad-type of person, he wore a grey T-shirt with torn off sleeves along with jeans that were obviously one size too big for him and a pair of sneakers on his feet. From what Sage could tell at this distance he had brown hair and fair skin. "Hello! Pretty lady!" Sage's eyes widened. Like a lot of girls she had some kind of built-in sensor when it comes to perverts, some call it 'women's intuition', and Sage's was telling her to run away at breakneck speeds as quickly as possible. Sage turned around on her heels, burning up the ground as she went. Quickly she bolted off in the complete opposite direction of the wackjob.

"It's a beautiful day for a run, isn't it?" asked the man as he quickly caught up to Sage. Sage gasped as she looked at him. He had quickly caught up to her, despite the fact that just moments ago he was quite a distance away. "The name's Aaron Steele! I'm a friend to women everywhere! It is a pleasure to meet you!" He extended his hand to her, trying to seem like an ally. It didn't seem like he was all too concerned with their current location, it seemed like to him even a prison was a good place to pick-up chicks. "Don't worry about it I'm not a prison guard or anything of the sort!"

"That means you are a prisoner and that isn't any better!" Screamed Sage as she picked-up her pace. She had a sinking feeling it was hopeless as this man took his own speed up another notch and caught up with her. Sage turned around, pressed her hands against his chest. If running away from this pervert wasn't doing her any good then she'd have to stand her ground and fight, "**Pressure BALL!" **The small sphere of pent-up pressure emerged from Sage's hand and erupted into Aaron's chest throwing him back and clear over the lush fields. However, it was apparent that this man was no mere prisoner, if he even was one. He struck out with one of his feet, using it as a pivot of sort and used the momentum from him flying back to turn. He swished around, turning the momentum from the throw into a full circle and catapulting himself back forward. Within moments he was back up next to Sage and running right alongside her.

"Prisoner of love perhaps, but not of this shoddy jail," Sage was rather surprised at how quickly he recovered from the shot, it was surprising seeing as how not even Mikoto would recover that fast. The guy smirked and quickly burst into the space in front of her. "Anyways, what is a beautiful young lady like you doing in this dump? Surely no Marine in their right mind would have the audacity to cage such a lovely bird! Keeping it out of the light of society where she rightfully belongs?"

Sage couldn't quite put her finger on this guy. He seemed rather…insane, was that the right word? She had heard of people doing insane things out of infatuation, but this guy seems to have fallen in love rather fast…and she was afraid he had fallen on his head…at least once. Nonetheless, if being on the same crew as Mikoto had taught her anything it was that you could trust idiots or at least some of them. Besides as said before she was in a tough spot and she doubted she could escape from it all alone. "I'm a pirate. We're here to save a friend."

Aaron's head swiveled to both sides as he looked around. "We?" It seemed to unnerve him slightly, knowing that the person he was talking to and potentially harassing was actually a part of a bigger, more powerful gang. However, he seemed to soon calm down as he noticed that she wasn't necessarily with anyone at this precise moment, but still her comment meant he had to keep an eye out for someone else. "So, you snuck into the prison, too, huh?" Aaron said with a smile.

Sage stopped running. One, she realized that outrunning this idiot was impossible. He hadn't even broke out in a sweat and two, his words intrigued her. "What do you mean 'too'?" Sage asked catching the small and almost unimportant detail. The bottom line was he was in jail, how he got here was of little to no consequence of her.

"Hah ha ha ha!"laughed Aaron, "well, it's a funny story see. I was stowed away on a pirate ship belonging to some big shot and we docked here. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to move on. I didn't particularly like the guy in charge of the ship, so I figured I'd hop off of that ship and onto a new one here! Now I'm just looking around for a new crew to join up…for a little while at least!" The guy seemed a little brain damaged if he thought a prison was the best place to try to stow-away on a ship, especially a prison in the sky.

Speaking of ships for the first time since they got in this prison, her mind drifted back to their ship. It was still tethered to the ship below them, wasn't it? She knew Hiro-Shu made some kind of precaution and reservation for someone to come by and take care of the ship in their absence, but this was the first time she wondered if they had actually shown up. Her plants could be dying down there! The ship could be destroyed! They could be Grand Line Pirates left completely and utterly without a ship! It was a shocking truth and it made Sage shiver a bit.

"You just shivered," pointed out Aaron, an obvious tone of concern on his voice. "Want my jacket? Or would you prefer just cozying up and sharing our body heat?"

"**PRESSURE BALL!"**

**Captured...and Tortured**

Aaron is the work of Shadow40000 and boy is he smooth as silk! I mean, seriously, if I tried to hit on a girl it would come out like a walrus choking on a harmonica...anyways...onto less of my social awkwardness...

I have decided to do a slight 'contest' within Saga. As you all know I got A LOT of backlog (35 chapters). Now I could be a nice guy and just upload them for no good reason, but...I want to have you guys work for it (I'm evil...but I'm also an evil genius!) So, here's the plan for every...let's say...10 reviews (subject to change) Saga gets a bonus update. Sounds good? Well, let's throw in some rules. First, I'm only counting reviews from Chapter 160 on and Review # 1087 and up. Second, anonymous reviews don't count as you can cheat the system with them. Third, I will not update every day. I will update every other day if you guys manage to get to review that much. Finally, to help discourage/encourage you guys. You're currently averaging 3 reviews per chapter or per week (so you're on the track to get a bonus update a month). Also, this is a test. If it goes well I'll keep the idea around, if it sucks I'll scrap and try to think of a new idea.


	171. Zenith Gaol 171 Captured and Tortured

**Being Captured...and Tortured**

"I still think it was rather rude of you to send me flying like that again, especially after I made such a warm-hearted and kind gesture," stated Aaron. Sage gave him a devilish look, which immediately told him to shut up. He was a look-struck fool, but he wasn't just an idiot. He knew 'the look' and he knew what often followed the look, a stern slap, a gunshot to the head and with this chick apparently a blast to the chest with some mysterious power. Nonetheless, his family wasn't big on staying quiet, "sooooo, what's the rest of your crew like?" Hopefully this question would be nice enough to try and edge his way back on to her good side…if she had one.

Sage smiled for a brief second. All this time in the prison, worrying about them and putting up with this new guy, she had forgotten the reason why she was looking for them. Why she considered them her crew. It was a moment of weakness, a moment of happiness, but it did not go unnoticed by Aaron who beamed at her while he waited to hear about the crew of his latest and unreciprocated 'friend'. Sage sighed, deciding that it appeared that she was stuck with this man, no matter how mad he drove her. "They're all good guys…except for one of them." Sage looked away, immediately turning to disgust at the thought of Ridley. Nonetheless, she didn't feel like delving into his her crew's positions. If this guy wasn't a friend, then she could accidentally be telling him their secrets.

It didn't seem like that thought bothered Aaron as he wore a broad smile and continued on walking. He was in a good mood apparently and he wasn't about to let Sage's secrecy bother him. He kept up a steady pace as he looked around. Apparently even being half-distracted wasn't enough to slow him down. Suddenly he stopped, he turned his head to the side. He noticed a mass of tapirs standing around a small area. Suddenly it seemed like something went off in the top of his head, almost like a little light. He sensed something else, other than the tapirs. He walked forward towards the nest. The tapirs didn't take to it that well, they all bucked up, kicking their front legs into the air and uttering a war cry as Aaron approached. Sage didn't move from her spot. She didn't quite get why Aaron was moving forward what reason possessed him to continue on his path, despite the tapirs who were obvious ready to defend whatever it was behind them. He stopped short a few feet away from them, neither side seemed willing to make a move. Suddenly Aaron twisted his body around, sticking one foot out towards them, but twisting his entire body in the opposite direction, building up tension throughout his entire upper body. "**Impact." **Faster than Sage could blink Aaron untwisted his body, releasing a mass of built-up tension in a short burst.

There was a legend of an attack called Rankyaku, which allowed people to create powerful cuts that could traverse air with just their legs. Aaron's so-called 'Impact' worked in a similar manner. After building up all that tension, the 'snap' as he came back to the original position was basically the kick, as a result it allowed him to fire fast, concise bullets of air.

And that was exactly what happened. The bullet of air was thrown forward at nearly imperceptible speeds, the tapirs who were of average or possibly even below average intelligence for animals didn't even notice it flying at them. The blast of power smashed into one of them right above the left eye and sent it tumbling up and through the air completely out of control. The rest of the tapirs were distracted watching one of their allies fly through the air at incredible speed that they didn't even notice that Aaron was already on the move again, rushing towards them at high speeds. Sage had to note that the speed was similar to that of Mikoto's although the technique definitely appeared different. Mikoto's basically just ran, this man's pace had a different kind of look to it.

Aaron disappeared beneath one of the tapirs and, using a similar method as to when he was blasted by Sage, he slammed his foot into the ground and rotated his body around and launched a devastating kick straight upwards, traversing all of the momentum from his short sprint into it. The kick hammered into the tapir's underside and lifted even its massive bulk off of the ground. The tapirs let out a grunt, as if finally understanding the situation and the fact that they were under attack. They bucked up, lifting their front legs into the air and uttering a war cry. Suddenly they started to move in on Aaron, however, he proved to swift for their bulky and overweight bodies. He drifted backwards for a split second and then brought his leg snapping to the side, imitating the form and speed of a whip. The tapir's head was smashed in by his ankle as he drove the point home, flipping the beast and putting his foot back down on solid ground. The tapirs weren't discouraged by two of their friends being sent flying with such ease, if anything it just mean they had to redouble their efforts. Once more in frenzying war dance they began to throw themselves at Aaron, who didn't seem the least bit discouraged. He pivoted around and launched several kicks, most of which landed squarely on a tapirs face, causing them to temporarily halt their advance. Once the animal's approach had been stopped Aaron moved in, diving down beneath their attacks and finally pressing his two hands together, releasing another short-lived, but incredibly powerful burst of speed forward. His hands shot forward, shooting into the tapir's chest and squishing its flabby fat in between him and the beast's hard rib cage. Suddenly all of the strength and speed of the attack was dispersed forward, crashing into the animal's rib cage and beyond. The shockwave of the attack shook the tapir's entire body as it made its way through, eventually winding up at the heart. All of this transpired in less than a second. The tapir gurgled out a mass of blood, spitting it forward and staining the fresh green grass and a little bit of it landed on Aaron's shoes. The rest of the animals were finally beginning to understand how outmatched they were. They slowed their approach, becoming almost cautious, as they took another half step for Aaron. Aaron pivoted towards them, his attention seemed to set off alerts in their heads now as they cowered backwards. One of them wasn't quick enough and Aaron had set off, bringing his body towards with a kick, but stopped short. He turned around; feeling like the beasts had learned their lesson. Causing a stir wouldn't do anything to help him it would be best for him to just leave the beasts be. Besides they weren't what he was after.

He shifted through the nest, the tapirs easily moving out of his way as he wandered through the mess. Finally he stopped. He crosses his arms, apparently not too pleased with his discovery. However, when Sage managed to push her way past the tapirs and to his side, she was delighted. It was her comatose captain, the 'Kid Coyote' himself, Mikoto, snoozing on a comfy bed of sticks and leaves. He looked so comfortable there, snoozing away his worries that Sage felt like kicking him a good one for the teammates up above who were without a doubt going through hell. Nonetheless she expressed her gratitude to Aaron for finding him and quickly tried to pick Mikoto up by herself.

Aaron would've offered to help, just to get on Sage's good side, but he was otherwise distracted. He did not rush through and expend his stamina for some unconscious punk, he could've sworn he had detected a pretty lady in this area. He sighed and shook his head. Something must've been broken with his radar. He turned around and noticed that Sage had opted out for carrying and instead decided to drape Mikoto's arms over her shoulders and drag him, it would prove to be an uncomfortable journey up the stairs for Mikoto. Aaron sighed, "Well, if it is for a lady as pretty as yourself, I'll carry the kid." Sage frowned for a second, did she really want to trust this guy? He seemed like a stand-up pervert, but nonetheless, she didn't just instantly trust him because he called her pretty. However, that being said…she also didn't want to drag Mikoto about.

"Fine, muttered Sage, obviously not thrilled with having to play the damsel in distress card to a complete and total stranger. Aaron smiled, taking this as a small personal victory. He graciously accepted Mikoto from Sage. Sage sighed and started to walk towards where the doors to the stairways was. She saw it awhile back in search of her captain, but had turned it down in order to continue her search for Mikoto. After a few steps, she started to hear something weird. She turned around to face her 'temporary companion', Aaron. Instantly she came to understand what the sound was. Aaron wasn't carrying Mikoto per say. He had chosen to adapt a similar approach as Sage, dragging him along on the ground. "ACTUALLY CARRY HIM!"

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro rolled over and onto his back. His entire body hurt from the fight, he may have been a bit premature with his charge. He was now injured and stuck in prison and looking around, he couldn't possibly break out of the jail on his own. He walked up to the bars and placed a solid hand on them as if testing them out. He muttered beneath his breath as he realized these were stronger than the ones on the fourth floor that he easily sliced open. The heat from the forges combined with the fact that on those levels all of the fighters had given in to the prison's strange hold must've made the bars weaker and the upkeep on them rarer. It looked like Zesiro would be stuck in here for awhile especially without his swords. He walked into the center of his cell, if he'd truly be stuck in here for so long he would need to keep training.

Even without his swords he'd train. He took up twin imaginary blades as he stood there in the center of his cell, all alone. He missed his own blades. The first two he ever had were gifts handed down from his parents. Daimyo broke one of them and he replaced that blade just recently at the URA, Nito and Ichi had given him a blade nearly the same in weight and power as his old one. The prison guard had stolen those from him leaving him weaponless once more. He won't be leaving this jail without them. They were good swords. He worked hard, heading back to the corner of the cell as he made several quick cuts at the invisible enemies. He sighed as he brought his hands back to his side, it just wasn't the same.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," echoed an empty, hollow voice from nearby. Zesiro stopped his training and looked towards the wall on his left. The voice was clearly that of a man. Zesiro sighed as he walked over to the wall. He was bored to say the least. A nagging boredom welled up on people in places like these. Talking, training, small things like this were the least you could do to keep yourself occupied. Zesiro walked over to the wall and knocked. The voice came back in a hollow and deathly dry voice. "Training is a bad idea. It shows your strength and this place exists to pound out your strength. Doing something like that is like asking for the warden to drag your butt to the torture chamber and slowly wring the life out of your body."

"I'll be out of here soon," muttered Zesiro in response, pounding on the wall. It felt just as sturdy as the iron bars did. It looked like he couldn't even break down the walls to get to someone interesting. The man in the cell next to him sounded like a veteran and Zesiro would be wise to take his advice. However, for the time being the torture cell was locked down. It didn't matter to Zesiro. He would be out of here soon…he just had to believe in Mikoto and Sage. Trust that they'd get him out of here before the torture chamber was back up and running. Zesiro took a deep breath, trying to calm down as the thought that his fellow prisoner had implanted in his mind wriggled around.

(-With Rosa-)

"Come on out," muttered Kohaku, the martial arts expert who managed to deal decent damage to the Infinity Pirates as he went and called Rosa forth. Rosa looked up, her entire body was still sore from the beat down. She struggled up to her feet and went forward to the prison bars. She turned around and slid her two hands between a small slot. Kohaku quickly slapped a pair of handcuffs onto her. This was one of the few floors that handcuffs weren't required to be on prisoners all the time. Rosa supposed it was just supposed to help impose the feeling of helplessness. Their freedom was freely taken from them as they were lead forward. With the seastone handcuffs locked in place around Rosa's hand Kohaku slid open the door and led her out.

Rosa paused for a second as she took her first step out of the cell. She looked left and right, there was only Kohaku around. The other guards were busy elsewhere. Kohaku was going left, if Rosa wanted to she could dodge right. Take off as quickly as she could…she could probably outrun him. Rosa thought about pivoting to the right, but a quick look at Kohaku's body told her it wasn't wise. Kohaku was not like other pirates or even the guards. He was well-built, his physique was quite tank-like and that extended to his calves, which bulged out of his legs like basketballs. He obviously didn't neglect his body in this world. Nonetheless Rosa couldn't help, but flit her eyes to the right. Kohaku was apparently watching her as he choked out in a fairly gruff voice, "don't even think about it." Rosa shrunk back thinking about how it was too late for his stern warning.

Rosa was marched through the prison, several of the prisoners letting out whooping catcalls as they saw her walk by. However, even more interesting to Rosa was that some of them hung their heads and sighed, muttering to themselves something that she couldn't hear. She looked ahead and at Kohaku, watching him as he directed her along the way. Rosa only had a pretty basic idea of how the prison was set-up, but she was certain that they were headed towards the center of this massive floor. Rosa was right. She soon laid eyes on the massive contraption in front of them. It was a torture device. Rosa swallowed hard as she was lead forward and into the room. Kohaku shoved her down and looped her handcuffs into another device, forcing her in place. Rosa looked around and noticed that besides the huge contraption there was a cage with thin iron bars that surrounded them. Even without these handcuffs restraining her she couldn't escape. There was another row of prisoners on the outside all of them waiting and watching the exhibit going on in the center. Rosa clutched at her chest as her heart began beating faster. She wasn't ready for this, she wasn't ready to be tortured. She had only been out at sea for a few months and with the Infinity Pirates for a couple of weeks. Was this really going to be another chapter in her life story?

"Relax," said a young man as he walked in and cleaned his hands free from some bloodstains. "Vat machine is not meant for vu. I've got a different prisoner in mind vor today." He snapped his fingers and two of the guards who had been standing outside just moments earlier walked in with a young girl in between them. The young man walked over to the prisoner and brought across a vicious slap across her face, the sound was so loud that Rosa cringed from it. Was this just some sort of scare tactic Rosa wondered. At least she did until the young girl managed to find the strength to lift her head up…it was poor young Lily. Rosa screamed a completely primal scream, she lunged forward all of her power against the chains, but she didn't have superhuman strength and even if she did she doubted she could've just broken out of the handcuffs. "Oh, do vu two know each other? Vonderful, vis makes things so much easier. No silly introductions!" He said clasping his two hands together and leading the prison guards along with Lily to the machine.

"STOP IT!" shouted Rosa, straining once more against the handcuffs trying to surge forward for the man. "YOU LAY ONE SINGLE STINKING HAND ON HER AND I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL SLAM YOUR OWN FACE INTO THAT TORTURE MACHINE! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY ONE MILLION TIMES OVER!" The man sighed and it was completely inaudible over Rosa's screams of pure rage. He snapped his fingers and motioned for the guards to go over and stop her. The guards immediately set upon her, pinning her to the ground and sliding a gag into her mouth to make sure she stayed quiet.

"Please vuiet down everyone, this is not meant to be viece of work vere the audience participates! Vis is a vork of art! Vetween a man! And vis passion!" He said as he bent down, picking up a pair of hedge clippers and moving in for the bound Lily.

**You Touch Her And I'll Kill You!**

Right now I'm pondering whether or not I should jump to the top and add a word of warning 'Warning: Insanity, dark, gore occurs in this chapter. This is one of the chapters that may net this story an M rating simply because it is impossibly cruel'. The next chapter should probably get this warning as well.

Also, Monsuta from last chapter was the work of Labyrinth-Designer. I'm horrible at remembering who submitted who and who is my character and who isn't. IT seems to happen most often with Labyrinth's characters.

Oh, well! Another update! I got seven reviews, so if I get three more reviews to this chapter expect a bonus update...it'll probably come Wednesday just for the heck of it to make it fit into my schedule the best. Also is the number to high? I mean is ten too much to ask?


	172. Zenith Gaol 172 Touch Her and I

**You Touch Her and I'll Kill You!**

"YOU TOUCH HER AND I'LL KILL YOU!" those words seemed to echo throughout the entire second floor of the base for an entire thirty minutes. The entire prison seemed to feel the weight of those words, several of them backed away hiding into the corners of their cell, trying to keep themselves out of harm's way. They knew what was going on, but none of them wanted to attract attention to themselves, knowing full well that they would be in her place if they did. They shied away into the corners, covered their ears, and started telling themselves of fantastical places where dangers like this didn't exist.

"YOU TOUCH HER AND I'LL KILL YOU!" Ridley, Zesiro, Maria (who had recently woke up from her slumber), Enma and Hiro-Shu were all gathered at their cell doors, they were all far away from the each other, nowhere close enough to hear each other's voice, but they all could hear Rosa's desperate screeching. Recognizing the torn voice of their ally screech across the floor. They all wore the same look on their face, a face that showed that they were clearly done with this place. It was no longer a matter of getting in and freeing their friend's sister, no, now it was a war. A war that would end only when their enemies' heads were on a silver platter.

"YOU TOUCH HER AND I'LL KILL YOU!" The voice continued to ring out through the prison, only being cut off by the occasional blood-curdling scream one could only assume was coming from Lily. This was not a pleasant place all of the prisoners knew that and this only proved it further. Just moments ago the person screaming that same mantra over and over again was a vicious invader, working her way through the prison to free her sister, a noble act that even the most cold-blooded pirate couldn't mock and now here she was, screaming her head off in a fruitless act. The prison guards had no reason to listen to her and they wouldn't for any reason she could give them.

"YOU TOUCH HER AND I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I'LL STRAP YOUR HEAD INTO THAT MACHINE OF YOURS! I'LL USE THOSE HEDGE CLIPPERS OF YOURS AND I'LL KEEP YOU ALIVE FOR AS LONG AS POSSIBLE TOYING WITH YOUR HEAD JUST AS YOU ARE DOING! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!" Rosa screamed at the top of her voice, surging forward again and again, trying her best to break her unbreakable bonds. She surged forward, tears rolling down her face as he shot him the evilest of looks. If looks could kill this look would've fulfilled Rosa's promise many times over. The man simply shot her his own evil look as he went back about his business. He moved the hedge clippers away from Lily's hair which was now cut and a little bit too closer to the scalp, obviously he had 'missed' a few times and had got the skin, causing small wounds to open up. He brought the hedge clippers back down moving them to Lily's fingers he placed the pinky finger right in between the two sharp blades. He smiled sending another fit of rage coursing out of Rosa's body as she leapt forward for him. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

(-With Sage-)

They had made it to the second floor and luckily for them due to all the damages the guard detail had lightened up and Sage and Aaron managed to take out the few guards that were still standing around and make a small bunker for themselves in one of the side rest rooms. Since most of the guards were down below fixing their damage, they didn't have to worry about being discovered just yet. They laid Mikoto out on one of the benches and tried to relax, however, only Aaron seemed successful. Sage was pacing about as a nervous wreck, she would crinkle her hands together trying to figure out the best way to handle this. The giant steel doors around them seemed to freak out and she couldn't quite calm down while in them. She turned around, nervously checking on her captain, the sooner he woke up the sooner they'd get out of here.

Aaron was hunched over Mikoto's face with a black marker in his hand. He was sitting around, endlessly doodling a large mustache and beard on his face. Sage delivered a quick and deft slap to Aaron's face, sending him sprawling back into one of the lockers. Sage shook her head with disbelief, she would never understand this guy. She returned to the window and looked out, trying to keep a careful watch on things to make sure nobody sneaked up on them.

Unbeknownst to Sage, but the little room was soundproof that meant that they couldn't hear anything that was going on outside. Very few of the prison guards liked hearing the tortured wails of the prisoners, so people would come in here to relax and get away from it during the sessions. This meant that Sage didn't hear the painful shouting of Rosa as she watched her sister. Whether or not it was a good thing was something else entirely. She wouldn't be tormented by her ally's screams, but it also meant she wasn't there to support her. Rosa was doing this alone and Sage didn't even know about it.

Sage wandered a little while longer, moving back and forth, trying to clear her head. Aaron was no sulking in the corner of the room, obviously bored and trying to think of something to do to keep himself occupied. He was currently fingering some of the keys he stole from the prison guards they had knocked unconscious. It was a fun thought about unlocking some of the cells, surely there'd be no real harm in that. He paused for another few seconds as he further thought of it, letting the key dangle down and into his fist. He quickly clenched and unclenched it.

Suddenly Mikoto stirred. Mikoto rolled over, trying to get into a more comfortable sleeping position, unbeknownst to him he was moved from the fluffy and large tapir net onto a small bench. Rolling over was not a smart idea, he shifted his weight to the left, rolling over just once…and crashed to the floor. Luckily, this crash seemed just what was necessary to wake him up. His had shot up above the bench and looked left and right, unsure of how he got here…or even where here was…it seemed like that was starting to become a bad habit for him. "Mikoto!" shouted Sage as she rushed up to him and embraced him in a hug, thankful her captain was still alive and not doomed to an eternal sleep. Better than that though now they could work on leaving.

"Hey, Sage," said Mikoto sleepily, still not one-hundred percent awake and almost about to doze off again. He lightly patted her on the back as he managed to climb onto his own two feet by himself. He looked over and saw Aaron Steele still sitting in the corner, twirling a set of keys around. "Who are you?" questioned Mikoto, finding it odd to wake up with a complete stranger sitting by his bedside. Aaron chuckled for a moment, before patting off his pants and standing up, figuring decent introductions were in order.

"I'm Aaron Steele," he said with a half-cocky, half-coy smile on his face, although not nearly as friendly as the one he shot Sage. "I'm the guy who saved your butt." Mikoto lifted an eyebrow unsure of how to take such an introduction, but in the end Mikoto thought nothing of it. The rest of his crew was obviously still missing and besides something more pressing was going. Mikoto's ear perked up as he heard the faintest of sounds, not even the soundproof room was completely soundproof from his heightened sense of hearing. He walked over to the door and opened, officially undoing the seal the room had if only for a brief second cause after hearing the first few words and the person who was screaming it all became evident.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Mikoto closed the door behind, a slightly innocent look on his face. He was out of it for awhile and he had heard those words directed at him enough to know that hiding was the safest course of action until he was sure it wasn't directed at him. Sage looked shock and Aaron was a little disappointed, he didn't know who it was, but he knew it was a girl and treating a girl like that…well, some things just didn't fly in his book.

"Ro-Rosa," muttered Sage as she looked out the window, trying to get a good look at what was going on, but sadly they were too far away to handle it. "I had no idea! Mikoto, we've got to go help her!" Mikoto nodded, although he may have just been nodding off, soon after that he stumbled unsteadily on his feet. The Sleeping Nightlocke's effect clearly hasn't been completely washed out of his system yet.

However, Aaron seemed to have perked up. Apparently he wasn't in the mood to wait around any longer. He swung the keys around his fingers once more and then immediately locked his fist around it, a confident smile on his face. "We're wasting time," he said as he strode openly for the door. Mikoto hesitated for a moment more, he looked over to the door and paused waiting a few seconds before he shook his head free of his drowsiness and moved forward, letting loose a little yawn. Sage grimaced at the thought no matter how she looked at it, it didn't seem to wise to suddenly charge out there, but then again she had a feeling that when Mikoto woke up he would act like this. And apparently Aaron wasn't a very good influence on him they both had 'leap before you look' personalities and having them together apparently amplified it.

"Let's make it a race, huh?" joked Aaron as he took up a classic sprinting position. "Last one there is a rotten egg?" Aaron laughed at his own private joke, still able to derive some pleasure despite the insidious screams that were still going on. He looked over his shoulder to see his 'worthy' competitor only to see the punk had already bolted. Aaron looked a little deflated at that proposition. He had apparently been left behind in the dust before the rules were set. Nonetheless Aaron supposed it just gave him time to take things at a slower pace, and with a quick look at the palm of his hand and the key that it held, make some new friends. With that thought in his head, he too, took off although he'd probably take the more scenic route.

However, in the two of theirs rush it was apparently that they had forgotten something. Something that was actually rather important, Sage. The young woman who was admittedly the one who had fought to save Mikoto and ad attracted Steele's eye for the time being was left behind by herself at the small guard shack. She felt like shouting at Mikoto to come back, but quickly remembered exactly where they were and decided that it would be best for her just to catch up to him at Rosa. She sighed slightly as she lifted her feet up, muttering quietly to herself as she walked forward. So much for good ol' fashion crewmates, huh?

Aaron had actually already arrived at his first destination, a row of cellblocks extended before him and many of the prisoners had their heads dejected and their ears covered trying to block out the rampant screaming. Aaron smiled as he twirled the key around in his hands. Some of the prisoners, mistook him for a prison guard and shied away further into their cells, believing it was their turn to test out this newfound kind of torture. However, a few of them stayed near their cell doors, whether or not that had put together that Aaron was here to liberate them or if they were just frozen in fear was still undecided, but nonetheless when Aaron strode up to the cell doors and fitted the small key into the doors, their faces lit up. The key turned and the lock popped open. It was no longer a sealed iron door, the pirate pushed forward, knocking the door open and taking in a breath of fresh air.

"Ahhh! It doesn't compare to fresh sea air, but it does a man's heart good to be out in the open!" The first one shouted as he pounded his fist against the bars. "I was a goner there, I could feel it! My entire body was starting to cave in on me. I was doomed to head down to the next floor soon. BUT NOW! I'm free!"

"You're not free yet," pointed out Aaron. They were still in the prison, the biggest obstacles were still laid out before them. If it came down to it, escape may not be possible for everyone. The guard detail had indeed lightened due to the repairs going down below them, but at the slightest signal everything could go downhill. "Let's not waste any time! We free people and then we get out!" Aaron said with a confident smirk as the rest of the prisoners, whooped and hollered at their hero. This didn't serve Aaron at all, he knew already that all of these people were probably second-class pirates, but nonetheless this would make things a little more fun around here. Aaron quickly pivoted in place and moved onto the next cell, unlocking them all as he went along.

(-Two Floors Higher-)

Taisho was sitting in his large chair, he had just finished the damage report for the day and was hoping that this would mean increased funds for the prison. If anything it proved that the guards here are capable of handling any outbreak in a quick and efficient fashion. They didn't get paid much, not that it mattered much to Taisho. He wasn't in it for the money or the glory, he just wanted to punish the living daylights out of the horrible pirates. He wasn't a sadist or anything, he just believed that pirates were the scum of the earth and he was out to purify it. 'All Pirates Belong in Prison' was a sign he had posted outside his door. It was his personal belief and his dream.

He moved his hand away from his Den-Den Mushi and checked on the all important 'soon-to-be' prisoners posters aka Wanted Posters. He picked them up and flipped through the stack quickly. He didn't necessarily have the time to be wasting here, but nonetheless he wasn't quite in the mood to go help with the reparations. Besides too many people working on too small of a thing would only result in confusion. Still basic surveillance was something that he decided to keep up. "**Plant," **he murmured as he gazed over the wanted posters for a few more seconds.

Taisho was a Devil Fruit user. The secret to his superior surveillance lied in that. He was the man who ate the infamous Ruto-Ruto no mi. He was a 'Root Man'. With it his body is capable of spreading out root-lie appendages. This roots of his act very much like real roots, they bury themselves into the earth and spread out from there. Of course, he could extend them into the air as well given the proper supervision. With these roots, he can tell the going-ons of all the floors beneath him. They act like an extra set of eyes, ear, and hands. With these he was not only the Warden and executioner of this infamous prison, but the surveillance system as well. However, at this moment his heart was into it as he scoured the Wanted Posters, sure, he was keeping an eye out, but most of his attention was focused on the stack of papers.

He passed over several sheets of paper, ignoring several of the pirates as they didn't quite pique his interest. Certain ones of note included the infamous 'Ex-Marine' Kenage, whose mere existence was a thorn in Taisho's side. A Marine who had turned over to the side of pirates, too many of them were doing so lately. What did they see in those scoundrels? Other than him there were a few of the lower bounties like 'Blood Monster' Nathan, 'Dragon Fang' Van Niko, and the woman still lacking a correct bounty poster, Satomi.

He mumbled something beneath his breath as he moved the stack of papers to the side. The pirate business was booming if nothing else. He felt disgusted with how things were going lately in the world. His prison was almost the last threshold of true humanity in the world now. The Marines were crumbling and everything was going down the drain now. The fall of Trevor only proved his point, he sighed, hefting the pile of papers to the side and dropping them into the wastebasket. It didn't matter, he supposed. As long as he lived no pirate would ever escape from this prison. THAT was his solemn promise to the good people of this world. The people who still believe in a simple thing called 'Justice'.

Little did Taisho not only was his own will and prison were going to be put to the ultimate test, but 'Justice' was as well.

**Approaching the New Era**

****I decided to do a shout-out to fellow fanfiction authors (all One Piece in this chapter about the second full paragraph from the bottom. Here's my opinion on those stories.

'Ex-Marine' Kenage is from Will of Dragons by Sasaui7: She's a reader and reviewer of this story, she has made several shout-outs to Saga in her writing, but don't think that's what got her in here. She has good writing, good suspense and overall is a fascinating read (oh, plus I like dragons).

'Blood Monster' Nathan is from The Blood Pirates by Death's General: Good writing, good update speed, he's got another story going up which is going good as well (I think the new one might be better, but its too early to tell.

'Dragon Fang' Van Niko is from (the now canceled) Romance Dusk by Shambles X: This is what got me inspired to start writing Saga. It is fantastic all the way through.

Satomi (who currently lacks a Wanted Poster at this date) is from The Freedom of Being a Pirate by Rirry-Chan88: I think her writing trumps Saga's. Its only 12 chapters in, but good god! The characters are all so enticing I love them all! If you don't read any other of these fanfics I still say read this one.

Anyways, yes, I get the first half of this chapter was a little...eh, repetitive, but I think it got the point across. Anyways, since I used this space up as advertising I think I'll cut it short today and just leave you with this...a big reveal and an even bigger return occurs next chapter!


	173. Zenith Gaol 173 Approaching the New Era

**Approaching the New Era**

"Cut the newsfeed this instant!" stormed one of the many workers at the Sabaody Archipelago as he rushed into the conference room. He soon found that the room was just in a big of a mess over this simple broadcast as he was. It was obvious that no one in here had any idea of how to stop this. The world was soon going to be shaken by some of the worst news it had ever received. The worker pounded his fist against the table, knowing that despite his complete innocence in this matter the weight of the blame would be against him…and his neck. He couldn't stand it. The fact was just something that couldn't be true, no matter how much he shook his head and blinked his eyes the face on the screen was not going to change.

The man on the screen was called many things. Prodigy, king, leader, and now here he was before the entire world accepting a new title, 'Leader of the Revolutionaries'. It was a disgusting thought, the man felt like vomiting. Ordinarily he would ignore it, no man was worth this much ruckus, except this man was special. He was so special that if a human being ever even touched him the Marine Headquarters would send an Admiral out to hunt whoever did so…indeed, the man before him becoming the leader of the most hated, best organized group of rebels was a Celestial Dragon! He pounded his fists on the table, he was true-blue believer in Justice, but this right here shook him down to his very core. Was it a trick? Was the descendant of one of the heroes who founded the World Government and brought peace across the four Blues really abandoning all of that on national television? He felt scared for a second. If this was indeed true the world was heading into deep turmoil…a new Era of sorts.

His eyes went wide as he dropped his pen to the floor. 'New Era'? Where had he heard that before? It was in one of the Marine's reports about a new prisoner they had just obtained at the URA assault. He shuffled through the reports until he found it. A man by the name of Armani Dove, he was being transported to Impel Down as he read through this here report. Was Armani Dove some sort of prophet? Was a new Era really upon them? Would this Era mean the end of life as they knew it? He needed more answers, this certainly was going to be the scoop of the century! He rushed to the Den-Den Mushi. Armani Dove was still on the ship being transported, but he had its number a simple call would be all that was necessary. He rang him up, a face-to-face interview was what was needed, he'd arrange a meeting and grill this man for everything that he knew. He waited for the click of someone picking up. Finally it came and like an eager schoolgirl talking to her crush, he gushed out, "may I speak to Vice Admiral Sazkach?"

"I'm sorry," said an insidious voice as it crossed over the phone lines, "but the good Vice Admiral is currently tied up at the moment…and our prisoner, ku hu hu hu, but I'd be more than happy to pass on a message." The worker of the Sabaody Archipelago's mouth dropped open, he was absolutely speechless, he mumbled something incoherent, but he was soon interrupted before they became real words, "fine, since you don't want to talk let me." The man on the other end was sitting in complete darkness, but some parts of his body still shown like the two over-sized guns resting at his waist labeled 'Cerberus' and 'Anubis'. "The name is Dominic Renvont, remember it, punk." The reporter's face turned pale, that name was almost as feared as any Shichibukai's. He had earned his first bounty of just 22 million within months, that bounty soon shot up to 40 million before he had even set foot in the Grand Line, but now with his supposed 'alliance' with the Revolutionaries…his bounty was no less than 180 million.

"As I'm sure you've heard I'm on the side of the Revolutionaries for now…I'm not interested in this new world order crap they spout, but, hey, anybody whose willing to let me shed a lot of blood is okay by me," Renvont continued, his voice haunting the Den-Den Mushi. "Tell your bosses, the Marines, the Gorosei, the Fleet Admiral, anyone of any 'supposed' power, of any 'supposed' rank, that _we're _coming for them and when we do…it ain't going to pretty." *click* the Den-Den Mushi was turned off and the frightening voice disappeared just like that. The man's eyes were wide with terror as he fell backwards and into his seat. If the Revolutionaries did attack that ship…that meant that Vice Admiral Sazkach…a man whose sheer physical prowess rivaled that of the Admirals was defeated…it meant that the Revolutionaries were truly a force not to be messed with…it meant the New Era might be coming faster than he had thought.

He paused for a second as he tried to remember everything he heard about the ship. Wasn't the 'Siren' Melanie D. Stars on it? Was she defeated, too? Or did she leave before the attack started? Was she a part of the attack? Wait…wasn't…no…the worker's entire body shivered as he fell to the floor, a new sense of dread welling up in him…wasn't Trevor on that ship? Did two Shichibukais just defect over to the Revolutionaries?

(-At Zenith Gaol-)

Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, but a third catastrophic event was occurring at that exact moment. A raid on the unbreakable, flying prison, Zenith Gaol. Taisho grunted, he had already called the Marines and told them the attack was over, calling them again and telling them that it wasn't would make him look like a fool and incompetent! He roared with anger as he quickly decided the stairs again, a new force propelling him forward. He would just handle this himself and leave the rest to the guards' own imagination when they were asked what had happened.

Everyone in the prison were unaware of the news circulating the Blue Seas, Den-Den Mushi's communication network was weak up in the level of Skypiea so-massed produced TVs and Blue Sea news rarely played up here. So, the two tragic events that were soon to be played all over the Blue Sea would be left unknown to Skypiea for possibly several more months. The prison was facing its own dilemma anyways. If this prison were to fall now all of Taisho's hard work would be for nothing. His goal would be destroyed instantly.

Mikoto had no idea he was just about to be branded as the third catastrophe to hit the world, he didn't even particularly care his entire attention was on one thing and one thing only. Saving his crewmates. He rushed through the prison at incredible speeds, paying no heed to the rest of the prisoners who shouted at the young brown blur to slow down and free them. He knew where he was headed, he was headed straight for the screams his powerful ears had picked up. Whenever a prison guard stepped forward to stop him, he didn't hesitate. A powerful left hook would send them flying to the sides. His nakama was screaming, everything else was inconsequential. Sadly, this included the rest of his nakamas who were locked behind bars, he would come back to save them later, surely he'd be able to find them when he needed to.

Finally Mikoto had arrived, the large dome of metal bars stretched out in front of him. He looked inwards at the scene. The expert torturer noticed him first and shrugged him off, pointing to the other two guards, the ones currently holding Rosa down to handle him. Rosa was still locked into her handcuffs after all, she was stuck there for the time being. The two guards quickly nodded and walked over to handle the kid coyote. As soon as they got within arm distance Mikoto reached out, grabbed a hold of both of their heads and brought them together like a pair of cymbals. He then crouched down and started to search them for the keys, albeit it was fairly hard as they were on the other side of the dome.

The torturer just simply smirked and sighed. He reached down to his waist and pulled a gun free and took aim, a sinister, yet happy smile was plastered on his face. It was obvious he was going to enjoy this. Suddenly his entire body bucked, blood exploded from his mouth and chest at the same time. The cause? A sword to the gut. Rosa was up on her feet, one hand on a rust old pipe she had found lying around, the other was a broken bloody mess. It was obvious that she had fallen on it, smashed it with her knee, numerous times in order to manage to wriggle it loose from the cuffs. She was on him and she slowly pulled the rusty pipe out as she watched him gurgle his own blood. He dropped his gun to the floor and soon he, too, was dropped.

Rosa didn't care, leaving him for dead; she immediately threw the weapon to the side. She may need it later at least until she got her own sword back, but she didn't care. She didn't even care that Mikoto was still struggling to unlock the large metal dome. There was only one thing she cared about, "Lily!" she screamed, jumping up and undoing the handcuffs that held Lily in place. She caught her younger sister as she lightly fell out of the harness and into her arms. "Lily! I'm so thankful, that you are all right!" She gushed with absolute happiness, she had found her sister. She was here, safe and in her arms. The torturer didn't do too much extensive damage, a little bit of bleeding here and there, a horrible hair-cut, and other fixable things. Luckily he was saving up the removal of limbs for last. "Lily, I'm here, I'll protect you. I'll get you home safe and sound, nobody else will hurt you."

"Who…who…who are you?" asked Lily, barely finding the strength to push herself out of Rosa's arms, she timbered backwards, obviously unsteady on her feet. She wavered there for a few seconds unsure of how to move, finally she collapsed backwards against the machine and slumped to the ground, she took ragged breaths as she stared Rosa in the face and asked, "where's my sister?" Mikoto was still fumbling with the key, but even he took pause at that question. He looked over to Rosa, who was still on the ground, her two arms were hanging lifelessly by her side as she looked up at her younger sister.

"Wha-what do you mean?" she asked as she stood up, lifting a hand up and moving it over to Lily's eyes and lifting the hair away. "I'm your sister." Lily flinched, shirking away, fear temporarily rushing into her eyes. "I'm your sister!" she shouted, apparently giving up on the kind and calm approach. "I'm Rosa! I'm your sister!" she shouted, as her hands shot forward and grabbed onto her sister's tattered clothing and pulled her closer. "I'm your sister!" Lily's eyes looked glistened over, covered in some form of impenetrable oil. She paused for a second and Rosa knew looking into those eyes, she really didn't recognize her. She really didn't believe that she was her sister. Rosa paused for a second, unsure of what to say, she stepped back and let go of her. "I'm your sister…" Rosa choked out the next few words, "I'm your sister's friend. She turned me you were taken to this prison…and I was close-by I'm here to save you." Those words were acid on her tongue. She was lying to her, she was telling her a blatant lie…about how she wasn't her sister.

"I-I…" Lily stammered out the word a few times as she tried to decide what to do. Her brain was still fuzzy from the torture, this was her…third, fourth…maybe fifth? It was all a blur since she arrived on this floor. The memories of the first floor of this…prison, yeah, she was in a prison…the memories were still pretty vivid. The prisoners on that floor were paraded, degraded, and forced to go down and see the other prisoners. They did simple task like fix food, place mouse traps, clean up…from the torture. One day while you were sentenced to clean up you were lead to this very room. Innocent enough, you've been here before to clean up. You get a bucket of soapy water and a sponge, you get on your hands and knees and you clean. Some guards watch over you and every so often they'll prod you with their long spears as if to remind you whose boss…sometimes they'll even cut you. They'll claim it was an accident, but after more than twenty or so 'accidents' you stop believing them and fear for the next moment they bring the spear into your skin and draw blood.

However, that was just what usually happened. One day, they suddenly do things differently. They call your name and like a good prisoner, you stand straight-up, salute, and await orders. That's when you shove you forward. From there the lock you into place, you have touched the cold metal before…you've cleaned other prisoner's blood off of it before, but this…this is the first time you've experience it like this. You quiver, hoping it is just one of the prison guard's cruel practical jokes, but instantly a sharp pain is sent up your body. You gasp in pain, it is like a pain you've never felt before. You melt into a fearful puddle, still holding out hope. A practical joke that has gone too far, you beg, you whisper, you pray. And you keep it up, you keep praying that that is all it is…you do so for the whole thirty minute torture session. You feel hot metal get dragged across your back, burning its indentation into your back. Following the metal is a painful jab with a sword, you hope you pass out from the pain, but dull slaps keep you awake. Awake and in constant pain. Finally your session is over and the device you've worked so hard to clean is now dirty again, the guards chuckle and unhook you.

Rumors circulated that some people upon being freed feel so mad, so upset that they fly into a berserk rage and try to take the guards out. However, you are weak, weak from lack of sleep in this horrible place, weak from lack of blood, weak from a lack of hope, they easily knock you down to the ground. Your clothing gets covered in your own blood, they through the sponge and bucket at you, commanding you to return to your task and stop…stop…stop relaxing. Lily collapsed forward, the haunting thoughts that will never leave her were now in front of her mind. She broke down, crying into Rosa's chest, heaving out heavy sobs and blubbering, "thank you! Thank you, I thought I'd never see a friend again! THANK YOU!" Despite being apparently forgotten, Rosa couldn't help but smile. It was nice to feel completely needed by her little sister again, to be thanked so fully and to have the little girl cry and confess her feelings to her.

"I've heard it come from over here!" shouted guards, apparently they were just getting wind of what was going on in the metal chamber. Mikoto was honestly surprised. This entire floor was designed to carry the screams of the prisoners throughout the floor, so it stood to reason that Lily's blubbering and the torturer guy's agonized death would be heard as well. The prison guards looked rather capable, both of them had some armor band around their bodies as well as metal plates strapped around their hands. They stopped when they saw Mikoto standing out there, looking back at them…and admittedly even more disconcerting to the guards, he was over the bodies of two of their comrades. "Get him!" they shouted rushing towards Mikoto. Mikoto disappeared right before eyes, his speed was way out of their league. The next time they saw him, one of the guards were looking at his abdomen.

"**Gigant Wolf Fang!" **Mikoto shouted as he brought his elbow downwards and his knee upwards simultaneously. The two hard bones came together with the man's head right in the center, if it wasn't for the guard's armor, there was no telling what kind of damage would've came out of such a vicious pincer attack. Even with the armor, the man screamed in agony for just a second before collapsing. The other guard didn't waste a second, drawing his sword and charging in at Mikoto. A random storm of slashes pursued Mikoto. However, Mikoto didn't seem the least bit worried. He bobbed and weaved through the entire storm, the man's arm speed was in no way a match for Mikoto's leg speed. **"Beast Hammer!" **Mikoto unleashed a series of quick, yet powerful punches straight to the man's gut. At first the man had a confident look on his face, he trusted his heavy steel armor to survive any punch…however as Mikoto revved his speed and power up that confident look soon vanished from his face. The power of the punches began vibrating through his chest, shooting through the armor and shaking him. He could feel the armor start to break apart as the punches intensified only being fed by the agony on the guard's face. One final punch came shooting in, breaking through the guard's armor, shattering it all the way through and landing a clean hit on the bulbous belly beneath. The man was thrown back into a wall from the insane punching power that he had just witnessed.

"That was for Lily."

**Mikoto's Escape Plan**

**And the Jail's Final Strategy!**

Man...am I a jerk...I mean tormenting poor Lily like that. But thankfully Mikoto soars in and puts the villains in their places. Also, in case you guys can't tell I like Revolutionaries. They will probably be the big bad for Saga overall...after all, how could they not!? Seriously, I have eluded to Jugo's massive power over and over again without showing it! Renvont, the man who slaughtered Zesiro's entire home town, is in it! And now Trevor, the man who was on Ridley's father's crew, may have just joined along with Melanie another Shichibukai? On top of that they have just pulled the Marine's line of sight directly on them! These guys are exactly everything I like my villains being (which is kind of given as they are my villains).


	174. Zenith Gaol 174 Mikoto

**Mikoto's Escape Plan...**

**And the Jail's Final Strategy!**

Mikoto turned his head upwards ignoring the four guards at his feet and the other three or four charging at him now. "HEY! CREW!" If Rosa's voice had carried throughout the prison then so will his. "LET'S BREAK OUT!" the entire crew reacted to this news along with several of the prisoners who were on the crew. They jumped up and grabbed a hold of the bars and started to shout like monkeys. Zesiro smirked, a little bit amazed by his captain's personality once more. It was bound to come down to something that was this stupid when you put his mind to something like this. However, in the end wasn't that why he had joined up with him in the first place to see how far that crazy kid could go?

Hiro-shu shuffled forward. He was a little bit sore from the heavy onslaught of gunfire he had faced when they first entered the floor, but he was ready for it. He moved towards the iron bars and readied himself for the break-out, whatever was Mikoto's plan was bound to be complete and total trouble. It would make a mess out of his prison and whatever else they planned on touching, but Hiro-Shu just chuckled and laughed. This is what he had signed up.

Maria was relaxing, the guards had took extra preventive measures in removing her limbs, but that was how they had met in the first place. She was locked up with her limbs removed after some stupid fight and they came and rescued her, so once more she found herself placing her trust and her life in these guys' hands, however this time she knew they'd pull through. There wasn't any doubt in her mind about that. She had lost count the number of times she had come to rely on these valuable friends of hers.

"Hear that?" Ridley boasted to the rest of the prisoners, "my escape plan in action!" He nodded proudly with his eyes only slightly open, where he can see the faces on the prisoners around him. They all looked very impressed, although some of them didn't seem to be completely buying Ridley's posturing. However, in the end they didn't want to risk not being accepted in the prison riot by turning him down, so they all cheered. Ridley paused for a second as he noticed one bellowing voice was strangely absent from the raucous cheering. Surely if he had been cheering Ridley would be in the corner of his cell, cringing in pain from the loud laugh. "What's the matter, Monsuta? Don't you wanna be free?"

"It has been awhile…since I've dreamed of freedom," he said as he shifted uncomfortably to the side, his massive bulk made it impossible for him to get out of the small confides of his cell. "But now I can see it…WE'LL BE OUT OF HERE BY SUNRISE!" His loud voice shook the entire prison as he let it out running at full blast. "FU HA HA HA HA! I look forward to getting out of here and seeing how much the sea has changed."

"How long have you been locked up?" asked Ridley walking over to the side of his cell to listen to Monsuta's story. He sat down and just started to relax, not much else he could especially not until Mikoto gets his butt in gear and starts going. He suppose it was worth his time to hear somebody else's story.

"Well," began Monsuta, "it has probably been half a year to a full year." Ridley nodded, Monsuta had mentioned earlier he had heard about Zesiro and Mikoto, but no one else. Mikoto and Zesiro had had bounties for about that amount of time now. It made perfect sense that he would've heard of them, especially since their bounties were fairly impressive for two newbies. Unlike his which he admitted didn't showcase his full talent, but who knows with him beating Karasu now his bounty would probably take an unexpected jump. He smiled as he thought of that. "Before that I was trying to walk in the footsteps of the heroes! Fisher Tiger and Jimbei! I freed many slaves and amongst the Fishman community people even started calling me the 'Freedom Giant'. Imagine that...me, someone that people actually look up to…you know, figuratively rather than literally, everybody looks up to me literally. Fu HA HA HA!

"I suppose though, I wasn't necessarily doing this to become famous. I just wanna free my fellow brethren, become like my hero, and also there is a very special person I want to meet out on the seas," Monsuta's voice fell solemn at that last notion. "Some people say it's just a dream…a kid's fantasy, but I say that man does exist…the man who will become the next King of the Pirates. He's out there somewhere and when I meet him, I'll be able to return home with my head held high. My title and bounty means absolutely nothing to me compared to that dream." Suddenly the entire prison floor erupted in laughter.

"Ha ha ha!" the laughed in unison, the pirates all getting up to get the bars and jabbing their fingers at the dreamer. "Listen to this bloke, man! The King of the Pirates! Hah! Why don't you tell us about unicorns next!?" Monsuta's face fell, he was apparently used to this kind of bashing and just reclined himself to take it. "I swear every so often there's a dreamer like you out there, who plans on seeing the next King of the Pirates. Here's the thing in case you haven't heard. There is no future for the King of the Pirates! The One Piece doesn't even exist! Remember the last pirate king's ship, it was a wreck, if I were them and I had my hands on the ultimate treasure I would've replaced that wreck the first chance I got! Conquering the entire seas like the last crew did was just a rumor cooked up by the Marines. They found some high-priced Pirate, called him Pirate King, and then executed him as a show of force. Believing in fairy tales will you get killed out here, man! HA HA HA! The sea's no place for dreamers!"

Ridley smiled and laid back looking up at the ceiling. "Anyone who just laughed…just stay in your goddamn cells." The prisoners around him shut up instantly and looked over at him, even Monsuta rolled around a bit forward to try and look at him. "If the One Piece doesn't exist, then we'll just make it ourselves. If our dream is impossible, we'll make it possible. The title of Pirate King exists only to those who have never stopped believing, not even once! You say that 'the sea's no place for dreamers'? I say this sea is a pirate's dream! And I challenge anyone of you to say differently!"

"What the?" asked one of the pirates, "what makes you think that you are so high-and-might?!" The pirates suddenly turned on their would-be savior, walking up to the front of their cells and reaching for him in a futile attempt, but they did appear to be an angry mob the entire cell who once thought of him as their friend, suddenly found him as their enemy.

"He's my Musician!" shouted Mikoto as he rounded the corner and up to Ridley's cell. Ridley mouthed the words 'First Mate', holding on to his imaginary title. "In other words," Mikoto turned to face the pirates within their cells and shot them a beaming look that could only be found on someone who hadn't given up on their dreams, "He's the Musician of the next Pirate King's crew!" The prisoners growled and sneered at them. They waved them on muttering about how they wouldn't want to be saved by some lily-livered boys any way. That is until they heard the sound of their jail cells being unlocked. Mikoto had apparently nabbed the jail cell key from the torturer after Rosa 'knocked him out'.

With that the first prisoner stepped outside of his cell, he bent down and picked up the nearest chunk of stone he found. "King of the Pirates, eh? Let's see if you can withstand this!" He shouted as he brought the stone down, aiming to break Mikoto's skull open. He swiped air. He brought the stone down and hit absolutely nothing, he stood there a few more seconds, wide-eyed and mouth agape. "Where did he-?" a small brown blur came crashing in from the side, smashing into the prisoner's jaw and sending him flying right back into his jail cell.

"Like I said the next King of the Pirates is ME!" Mikoto proudly jabbed his own thumb at his chest, puffing it out while he was at it. The rest of the pirates quivered back into their cells, suddenly deciding that they probably shouldn't continue to badmouth people like these guys.

"That's why he's my captain!" laughed Ridley as he stood up and walked towards the door. "By the way the guy in the cell next to me is someone you would like so he's cool to let out as well. The rest of these suckers can just stay in here!" Ridley stuck his tongue out at them, apparently still upset at them for suddenly changing their minds and betraying. The prisoners' faces immediately fell, looking down to the ground with agony as they realized this meant another several years in this prison.

"Nope, sorry," Mikoto said as he fumbled with the keys once more, despite his quick hands he certainly seemed to have a tough time working the keys, "We need them." The prisoners' faces lit up again, happy that this just proved that there is a kind and benevolent god out there. "I figure they'd make decent cannon fodder." C-cannon fodder? The prisoners' faces fell once more, it proved that instead of a kind and benevolent god out there there is certainly is a devil. The term cannon fodder meant having them march in first to tire out the enemies, find traps, and force them to waste their ammunition. "Now we just need to find a cannon to shoot them out of." Wait…he meant to use them as cannon balls!? That was even worse!

Ridley shrugged. He didn't particularly care how the prisoners were used as long as they didn't enjoy it, they had laughed both at him and his captain's dreams! Finally the lock broke off and Ridley stepped out of it. "Any idea where my guitar is, cap?" Mikoto paused for a second and looked back up at him.

"Did you drop it somewhere?" Mikoto's question was fired off with a completely serious expression on it apparently he didn't quite understand that the prisoner's wouldn't be allowed to actually keep their weapons on them just in case of a break-out. Ridley didn't even bother replying to that message and instead just shrugged and moved out of his cell. Mikoto went over and started working on Monsuta's cell door with the keys.

"It's probably over in the guard quarters for this floor," explained Monsuta as Mikoto finally found the right key and twisted it the right way. "You guys did a pretty big job on the prison from what the prison guards had said, so they probably didn't move your weapons from this floor due to lack of hands." Ridley nodded said a quick 'thank you' and rushed off in direction of the guard quarters that Monsuta had kindly pointed him in. "Now, you might want to stand back little buddy. This won't be pretty!" Suddenly the bars on the front of the prison cell started to bulge forward as Monsuta's entire body started to return to its regular and uncompressed size. Mikoto dashed away as quickly as he could, choosing not to be in the way of the impossibly large Fishman as his entire body exploded onto the floor. "Finally…" Monsuta said as he started to stand up, "I CAN STRETCH!" Monsuta shot up, hitting the ceiling and stopping against it, forced into a hunched over position, that probably wasn't even equal to half of his true size! He expanded his arms all the way, revealing eight massive branches of arms on each side of his body. A slimy substance slid down his pure brown body as he looked around and breathed some semi-fresh air. "Man, talk about your itty bitty living space. Although I suppose it is not so itty-bitty to you normal folk. I should introduce myself again, I am Suzuki D. Monsuta, a Kraken Fishman."

Kraken Fishman? Did those things really exist? The kraken is a mythical gigantic beast that dwelled at the bottom of the sea in other words a Kraken Fishman's strength, size, and all around power level must be on a level normal beings couldn't experience. A regular Fishman's strength is said to be at a level 20 times that of a normal human. However, factor in that this man was about the size of eight hundred Fishman and you had to figure his power was thousands times greater than most regular human beings would ever be able to achieve. "Well, I suppose I ought to let you all out now." He readied a punch, surely with all this new room he may actually be capable of exercising his full-power. And at full-power…he may be capable of smashing the entire cellblock.

"WAIT!" shouted a single voice. Monsuta seemed to have barely noticed the cry as he stopped his punch and looked down at Mikoto, who was giving him the 'stop signal'. "I let you out because Ridley said you were a good guy, but the rest of these guys got to pay a price." Mikoto stated matter-of-factually. The rest of them paused, was he really thinking of money at a time like this? He really was the devil! "Okay, the price for your freedom is…one good riddle!" The entire prison block immediately fell face first to the ground at the sheer stupidity. Not only was their savior the devil, but he was idiotic devil.

"This isn't the time for you nonsense!" they shouted all of them reaching through the bars to tear apart the idiot devil. "We don't want to be a part of your stupid game!" They looked up to the gigantic Fishman, "hey, Monsuta, buddy, just forget about him! Let us all out of there like you were planning to do! Come on!"

"Actually I wouldn't mind hearing a good riddle either! Fu ha ha ha!" The prisoners once more looked depressed as none of them could figure out how to get out. Even if they did they would get stuck with these two guys leading them and which one of them wanted that?

Out of nowhere the entire ground shuddered. Mikoto managed to get his balance just in time for another shuddering shockwave shot through the ground. "What's going on?" Mikoto shouted as he looked up and at the ceiling. Something was going on, but Mikoto had no idea what and from the look on the other pirate's faces they were all clueless as well. They turned their attention to the left and saw the small window that certain cells had that gave them a clear view outside. And what they saw on the other side of the window was definitely not very reassuring.

"We're falling!" shouted the entire group of prisoners who could see outside. Mikoto quickly bolted towards the window and pounded on it. It was hard to be one hundred percent certain as the only thing on the other side of the window to base their judgment on were clouds, but it was fairly obvious. They could see the clouds drift upwards above them. And those with a decent knowledge of Skypiea's qualities knew better. The clouds didn't just suddenly shift up especially not this fast and the prison definitely wasn't placed in a danger zone like that. Which meant that they were falling!

(-With Taisho-)

Taisho, the large imposing prison warden, smiled. He stretched back and let his body let up off of the lever. There were five levers placed all around the first floor of Zenith Gaol when flipped the second floor of the prison actually descended down a few miles using thick chains to keep it tethered to the first floor where it can be recalled at the slightest whim of the prison warden. However, while the second floor was dropped it made escape impossible. Now that the second floor was completely submerged beneath the clouds they were trapped. The main staircase between the first and second floor had been severed. There were emergency override cranks located on the second floor just in case, but in order to do so they needed his, the Vice Warden's, and the Head Jailer's key cards to be pressed into the cranks. If all three of them weren't placed than the emergency override couldn't be activated. In other words, they would remain his eternal prisoners.

Taisho turned around and went to the escape pods…however, this one was made for someone like him to transfer from the first floor to the second floor in a case like this. He could just wait here and let them die when they run out of food and water, but there was no telling when that would be. If this prison came under review in that time his reputation would be tarnished and he couldn't run an efficient prison with a tarnished record. So his option was obvious…he would defeat them.

**The Jailhouse Party**

Oh, you guys were expecting an actual strategy and not just something that Mikoto would think of which is basically nothing, but a wild helpless charge. He's just that kind of guy. Also, um...I'm running out of things to say here. Read the chapter, review, make me a happy fanfiction author!


	175. Zenith Gaol175 Jailhouse Party

**Jailhouse Party**

"Let's rock!" shouted Ridley as he put his guitar onto his back. If the warden wanted to throw a party then Ridley would meet him halfway. With his guitar back on his back he definitely felt up for a quick music session he would just have to find someone to dance with. He continued to scour through the valuables in hopes of finding something worth taking and possibly selling, they were still broke…he paused for a second as he moved forward and checked on the weapons. He picked them up and looked it over, they looked like Zesiro's blades. He guessed these were worth keeping. He quickly swung them around his waist in Zesiro's sheath…the belt was a little big, but it was adjustable so he decided to keep it on anyways. Suddenly a loud sound boomed through the floor and caught Ridley's attention. It sounded like…wailing? Well, this was a prison. Ridley stepped out into the open floor and immediately found the force of it as it felt like the ground was swinging beneath his feet. He hoped everything was alright with everybody else. He looked over to Sage, who had stayed behind at this guard station while both Aaron and Mikoto carried out larger missions. "Well, guess it's now or never. Let's dance!"

Sage smirked nervously at her partner. Was it really just going to be the two of them for the time being? Even with Zesiro's swords at his waist, Ridley didn't inspire any confidence from her. But still her only other option was to wait around for Mikoto or Aaron to show back up. "O-okay," her voice wavered for just a second, "but as soon as I find another dance partner, I'm trading up!" Still this was it…this was what she wanted since they had left the URA, a chance to prove herself as a valuable crew member. If she was stuck with Ridley it just meant that it was her time to shine.

"I'd trade you for a wooden chair," replied Ridley, pulling his bottom eyelid down and sticking out his tongue. He picked up one of the spare keys they had left waiting around in the prison guard's quarters and hastily stuffed it into his pocket. "I'm just glad I got out of there before they started giving out prison haircuts!" Sage shook her head, wanting to blame him for leaving both her and Mikoto on the floor below, but in the end she supposed she didn't have any room to say anything. In all reality it was five of the crew that left, so that would make her and Mikoto the deserters, wouldn't it? Ridley nudged her to get her act together, "we can't let Mikoto have all the fun, can we?"

The two of them shot off and immediately found their way to one of the prison cells. Ridley took out his key and went to one of the cells and started unlocking it. He quickly swung through them all unlocking several notable faces. Spider Murphy, Little Joe, and even the Purple Pirates! By the time they were done, Ridley had unlocked over 47 cells and they had a combined bounty of over 500 million! Ridley felt fairly confidence in this act and nodded to Sage, who had her own troubles. Apparently not many men in prison got to see many females so several of them were swooning over her and calling the 'cutest jailbird they ever saw' to which Sage responded with several pressure balls. Ridley just laughed and said, "sorry, fellows, she's my delightful company." The prisoners griped briefly, but realizing that these people possibly just saved them from some of the most excruciating torture ever they all raced out and began roaring, eager to get back out into the world.

This was a prison riot! The prison guards soon landed on this floor, apparently they had also been startled by the rather shocking drop in the prison and had raced up to see what was going on and since they prison guard's quarters were right next to the stairs they were surprised to immediately find themselves face-to-face with the entire group of escaped convicts…who seemed rather pleased to finally meet the men who locked them up face-to-face. They charged forward and a brawl begun. A few of the pirates were obviously out of their elements without any weapons and hung back, but a few more of the pirates reveled in it. They charged forward and brought their fists forward and bashed in the heads of the incoming waves of prison guards. The guards fought back furiously. They had the weapons that were made in this prison on their side, sharp swords, well-balanced swords, and throwing lances were on their side. The fight while powerful and attracting didn't particularly attract either Sage or Ridley and they both shrunk out of the mess and headed off to find the rest of their crew, leaving the wild prisoners to make do with the well-trained prison guards. From the looks of it they might be in luck, the prisoners were slowly starting to out-power the guards. It was obvious that without Taisho's commands and advanced tactics they were lost in battle.

"Now this is my kind of a party!" shouted Ridley as he skirted past another group of pirates who rushed into the battlefield. Ridley smirked, but his eyes quickly widened and he ducked beneath an incoming stray spear and immediately with a Cheshire cat-like smile slinked away into the rest of the prison and away from the fight. Once out of the mess, his smile still hadn't disappeared it was things like this that Ridley enjoyed, pure and utter chaos really seemed to make him happy. "So," he said, looking over and finding Sage, "what do we do now?" Their options were either look for their remaining locked-up nakama, go find Mikoto, or shout and hope Mikoto hears them and comes running. Obviously for the both of these two the last option was out this was their time. They weren't going to be considered the weakest two crew members anymore before they always had some kind of excuse, especially Ridley. They lacked the combat orientated Devil Fruits of Enma and Mikoto, no magnificent vessel powers like Hiro-Shu, no genetic superiority from Fishman traits like Zesiro, and no robotic arms and legs like Maria. But if Rosa managed to fight on equal grounds with them, then should would they! And here is where they start!

"Let's go find the rest of the crew!" smiled Sage, actually thankful for once that she had Ridley on her side. He was somebody who thrived in these conditions, who was used to the most completely screwed scenario and would be able to live through it, no matter what. Not only that, but since they were kindred spirits in a way, a thought that still disgusted Sage, but nonetheless offered a slight glimmer of hope for them both, it made her feel a little less overwhelmed in such a situation. Especially after seeing the fact that they had hundreds of allies in a prison! They were pirates after all!

They took off in one distinct path, both of them shouting for the rest of their crew members and offering up an ear to see if they were getting any responses. The floor seemed to be more built to channel noise outwards rather than just around, it hurt their strategy, but in the end it was something they probably should've expected so it didn't bother them as much.

"Ah cha cha! We're under attack by pirates, that was a good joke! Ah cha cha!" laughed a voice as he came up and was slowly catching up to the duo as they ran away from the mess. They paused and turned around. The guy was definitely a prison guard as the man in his hand and being dragged around was a prisoner, one of the ones they just let out. "Ah cha cha! It is almost as good as that one I heard about last week…how did it go again? How many prison guards does it take to quell a prison riot? Just one, me! Ah cha cha!"

"Eh, not the worst joke I've heard," mentioned Ridley, but Sage looked completely unimpressed. The man before them wore a dark blue silk suit with thin light-blue stripes running all the way down it. In his right hand was a small yellow cork hat. He quickly flipped it around and set it on his neatly kept black hair. His hat had a small red ribbon running around it at the base. "What happened to all the prisoners we let loose back there?" asked Ridley, supposing a simple question like that was worth his time.

"Those weaklings?" he said, a creepy smile similar to the ones he wore when he told a bad joke began to cross his lips. "I took them all out. They were like a bad joke, weak, pathetic, and…" suddenly he jumped up and his feet were revealed, they were encased in some kind of skates. A rush of wind appeared behind him and propelled him forward. The man was forced over and was immediately in front of them. He swung around, shifting his entire weight all around and sent a kick spiraling up and into Ridley's chin, sending him flying into the air, "and without a strong punchline."

"**Pressure Ball!" **shouted Sage as she created another condensed ball of pressure and let it fly, but she was just too slow. The man had already vanished, his skates giving him a near superhuman speed. He dashed to the side of the man and quickly brought his hand forward and pressed it against Sage's head.

"That attack was laughable," he said as he pressed something firm into Sage's forehead. She couldn't see what it was, but she already knew whatever it was it wasn't good news. "This is a real attack! **Impact!" **Sage's feet were ripped off of the floor and she was sent flying through the air and backwards, spiraling into one of the stone walls. Her entire body was then forced off of the stone wall as she slowly slumped forward and onto the ground. "Ah cha cha…the joke of how many Marines does it take to defeat an army of prisoners is answered by '1, me'. But the joke of how many pirates does it take to defeat me is answered by ' impossible. No pirate has ever defeated me before.'"

(-With Aaron-)

"Hello, there little miss, now may I be so kind as to inquire your name?" asked Aaron as he swooned over the latest damsel he had found. While she may have been lacking in certain areas like arms and legs, he didn't discriminate towards people like that. Any silver-haired beauty like herself was definitely deserving of the same treatment as any full-bodied girl.

"My name?" questioned Maria, a little taken back by the man's rashness in asking for her name, they had just met and definitely not under the most suitable conditions. She was in jail and he was the man trying to break her out. "My name?" she repeated as if still trying to ascertain as if this man was actually serious. He nodded his head and seemed genuinely and completely serious that in this dark and dreary setting he was still in it for the girls. "My name is…none of your business!" she shouted as she somehow managed to use just her upper body to spin herself around and turn her face away from the jail cell.

"Oh, come on, for heaven's sake! No one is looking! They won't know you got my help, come on! Now's your chance to make a break!" Aaron dangled the keys in front of her for a moment and quickly undid the jail cell. "Come on! It is like a party out here with all of these prisoners out and running around! What do you say?" Aaron swung the door open and held it open for Maria to walk out of…or, er, worm her way out of.

"Nah, I'm going to stay her for a little while longer, you know, get my kicks," she reclined back as much as she could despite not having her limbs. It was obvious that she wasn't in the mood for his help. "I'm just going to wait for my crew if you don't mind." This seemed to have caught Aaron's attention as not only did he wear a look of surprise, but he quickly reached into his back pocket and took out a small book with a heart on the cover and a broken open lock on one side.

"Oh, you're one of Sage's crewmembers, right?" he said as he quickly began to flip through the pages of the book. "Ah…um, Maria, is it?" He stopped when he came to a certain page and spent a few seconds flipping through it even more. Maria just paused as he looked through the pages. What was this guy reading…and why did it look so familiar to her. "I should've guessed that you were one of her friends. Good-looking birds tend to flock together or something like that."

"That's Sage's diary, isn't it, you brat!?" shouted Maria as she turned around managed to do a single jump for the cell door and at Aaron, but without her arms and legs she couldn't do much to him. He was at a much better negotiating point than she was. "Give it back!" Aaron snapped it close and stuffed it into one of his pockets.

"I'm sorry, but I need it," he said simply as he looked her in the eyes. "I'm a friend of Sage and I decided to take special care of her crewmates…only problem is she didn't tell me what they looked like…and she should've if they are all as gorgeous as you!" The cyborg didn't seem very impressed by Aaron's attempts to make her swoon. "Fine, I'm just trying to cause some trouble and have some fun, and so far your crew, namely your coyote and your beautiful Sage definitely seem like the kind of people that will make such thing easy." He was right about Mikoto, trouble seemed to follow him and while the fun part was debatable she couldn't exactly say she was with Mikoto because he was a boring person.

However, there was still one question Maria had to ask and it hurt her to the bone to ask such a thing, but…she supposed at this exact moment she didn't really have much of an option. Mikoto had already declared his intent to attack the prison a few moments ago and now she met this guy and he was letting her out. She supposed she was supposed to work for her crew. If it meant she had suck in her pride once or twice in order to better serve them…she would handle it. "Could you, er…help me out of here?"

(-With Mikoto-)

"If you had just gotten me my swords I probably could be out already!" moaned Zesiro as he looked over his captain as he was fumbling with the keys. Despite being so quick on his feet he didn't seem particularly talented with keys. The rest of the prisoners had gathered around behind Mikoto and keeping an eye out for prison guards. They weren't an incredibly large amount of pirates around, apparently not all of them had passed Mikoto's 'test'. "Speaking of which have any idea where they could be?"

"Maybe you dropped them?" said Mikoto, offering up the same lame excuse he gave Ridley. Zesiro just shrugged and ignored him, there were more important issues to be worrying about than Mikoto's lame excuse, namely where were his swords. "Ah, screw it Monsuta mind breaking my friend out?"

"Sure thing!" boomed Monsuta as he brought his massive arms forward and wrapped his massive fingers around the jail bars. Suddenly with a massive grunt he managed to pry the jail bars apart. While he was in his own tiny cell he could never manage such an act, but outside with full range of his arms it was child's play. Zesiro stepped out and looked up at his fellow Fishman brother. It was a rather shocking thing to see, Zesiro had always thought of himself as a big guy, bigger than most humans and probably above average for a Fishman even, but…this guy's pinky finger made him look small.

"I'm kind of upset how easy this has been," Mikoto laughed, "I was expecting a lot more trouble from the prison, but from the looks of it we've basically just walked in, caused trouble, and got off with a slap on the wrist!" Zesiro felt a little annoyed by the captain's comment after all when they really got in trouble he was sleeping down below, but he had to admit something did seem fairly odd. They so well prepared for them the first time with an excellently executed ambush and now this. It's like they weren't even trying to come up with another powerful strategy. Then again Zesiro supposed that's what made it so worrisome. If they weren't acting right now were they just holding back for the big reveal?

"I wonder if the grub joint is on this floor," questioned Mikoto as he put his hands on his belly as if signifying his hunger. Monsuta laughed and agreed that he was alos hungry, the rest of the pirates and Zesiro didn't seem all too interested in the prospect of a meal right now either. Their main concern was escape and it appeared that Mikoto's and Monsuta's weren't quite the same as theirs. Apparently food and riddles come above all else.

**Ridley and Sage...**

**Working Together!?**

Credit to anyone who got the joke hidden in this chapter. Um...I got no other jokes for now.


	176. Zenith Gaol 176 Ridley and Sage

**Ridley and Sage...**

**Working Together!?**

"Shit!" swore Ridley as he brought his large guitar streaming through the air, cutting nothing but empty space. Their opponent had already jumped back completely avoiding the attack and landing safely out of harm's way. The man spun his hat around again and laughed. "I guess he's just another user of Colors of Observation Haki." Ridley was trying to figure out some way to beat this guy. He had already proved that he was more than a match for them by landing the first blow on both them as well as dodging all of their blows so far…the pile of defeated pirates behind him helped his case as well.

"Uh uh uh!" stated the man as he wiggled his finger at Ridley, "Colors of Observation Haki is the Blue Sea term for this super power. Up here it goes by the name of Mantra. However, you are right to assume that you are in deep crap, not because of my Mantra, but because I am an all-around superior fighter to you and your teammate." The man took a half-step back before powering up his shoes and Ridley immediately understood what they were. He had seen a few pictures about them. Dial Skates or something or the other, they had recently become a fad down on the Blue Seas as well as the White Seas. They were sleek skates with a black-rimmed almost crescent moon-like shape slapped onto the bottom. On each side was a Dial, Ridley assumed they were Breath Dials, but they could also be the rarer Jet Dials. Anyways, whatever kind of Dials they were they shot air out behind him and basically pushed him forward. It cut back on his own fatigue while at the same time making him go faster than an average human. And with this improved speed he managed to once more worm his way beneath Ridley. "And! **Axe!" **Ridley barely managed to squeeze his guitar in between the two of them in time before the small dial he was holding shot out its sharp blade. Ridley was forced back, but luckily his guitar had suffered the brunt of the attack.

Ridley managed to land on his own two feet rather falling on his back, but his own small boost in confidence from that was soon wiped out as the man jetted forward again and this time, decided not to bother with Dials. He slammed the black crescent base of his skate forward and into Ridley's jaw, sending the man skidding backwards from the force. Ridley didn't fall though, his pride as a pirate and First Mate of the Infinity Pirates wasn't quite allowing him to appear to be that weak. However, all the posturing in the world couldn't save him from the very real fact that his legs were already starting to buckle. The prison guard wasn't just posturing…he was really strong! Ridley looked over to Sage to check up on her, make sure she was doing alright. She didn't seem to be scared until the man turned around and faced her.

"Ah cha cha!" laughed the man as he took another few steps forward, "Your earlier attack as well as your thought pattern…it seems like you ate a Devil Fruit power. I say I better take care of that meddlesome ability before I do anything else." The man reached into his suit's pockets and produced twin Dials. "Let's go, **Nimbus!" **He flipped them up and let them spray out a dark, gray-toned cloud that soon settled at about chest level all around them. Sage took a deep breath and watched her chest rise and fall, the clouds didn't really seem to affect her breathing. She supposed they were just clouds after all. The man leapt into the air, above the clouds and quickly redirected his weight downwards, his entire body was soon spinning on its axis becoming a buzzsaw-like entity.

Sage looked up and caught his eye. While he was in the air he couldn't dodge a easily the other fact was that his spinning around like that meant he couldn't activate his Dial Skates to propel him forward if he went now he would just speed up his rotation in other words he couldn't escape this attack. **"Pressure Ball!" **Her body was kicked back as she fired a quick burst of energy forward…or that's what should've happened, but she didn't feel anything come out of her hands. No, it was like her Devil Fruit power wasn't working! The man didn't seem too concerned with his opponent's state of affairs. He brought his skate digging into her shirt and her shoulder beneath it, ripping the sleeve off as well as some skin from the attack. He jumped back and took his distance. Sage gasped for a second and clung onto her shoulder, but like Ridley she refused to fall. She stayed standing and glared over at her opponent as he landed safely on the ground near her, "what did you do?"

"These are Milky Dials," he said as he caught the two falling Dials that he had previous thrown up and into the air. "Milky Dials can contain and release clouds. Of course, these include man-made clouds which are made in factories by following certain recipes. These recipes as you can guess change the qualities of clouds to nearly anything, including the quantity of its humidity or moisture levels. In other words I can produce clouds with a high enough moisture content that it'll cancel out Devil Fruit powers. It is difficult and it takes the perfect recipe, but ever since we've connected with the Blue Seas our research fund has boomed so we've managed to perfect this recipe and create Nimbus clouds. In other words up here in the sky islands you Devil Fruit users are completely-"the man vanished once more and only reappeared inches in front of the faltering Sage. He suddenly spun around and sent the heel of his skate striking upwards and smashing into her chin and sent her entire body jerking skywards, "useless."

"Hear that Sage? He says you should hang back and let me handle this fight!" mocked Ridley as he walked forward and towards the man. "**50 Decibels!" **Despite the earlier attack his guitar was still in working condition and so with a quick strum on it the music came shooting through the air. The man's eyes widened, undoubtedly his Mantra was telling him there was no way to completely avoid sound after all this entire prison floor was designed to channel the sound. However, he didn't seem too fazed. He jumped forward and his Dial Skates rocketed him forward. He passed through the sound, gritting his teeth as he applied another burst of air outwards and moved in closer. He braved through the treacherous sound storm and quickly brought himself face-to-face with Ridley.

"Milky Dials, Breeze Dials, Axe Dials, and Impact Dials," said the man as he brought his right hand forward and pressed it against Ridley's chest. "I have at least one of each placed somewhere on my body and in my right hand is…my Impact Dial!" Suddenly an immense force was blasted out of the man's hand and into Ridley's body sending him flying away. "Ah cha cha! So weak. Not even worth my efforts...hmm? I guess I accidentally messed up on killing one of you. Oh, well, my mantra can't even detect your friend's inner voice anymore. So it is just you! Ah cha cha!"

"I can deal with that…I'm not a fan of him anyways," said Sage as she straightened her back out and took up an offensive stance. Then again she didn't even possess her Devil Fruit powers anymore. She needed to get out of these clouds if she couldn't do that then she couldn't win. She turned around and looked behind her and then in front of her. The clouds stretched for awhile in both directions, but if she had to guess there were less clouds in front of her than behind her. She would have to go forward…even if meant running past him…without her Devil Fruit. She would beat this man and be on her way. She took off running forward for the area beyond the clouds.

"Ooh, coming at me, I admire your tenacity…you know, what I still haven't told you my name, yet have I? How rude of me! My name is Arkin! Ah cha cha! The thought just completely skipped my mind! May I be so bold as to ask you of your name?" Sage gritted her teeth and dove forward, ducking beneath his arm and escaping from that point. It was the middle of a fight it wasn't the time to exchange pleasantries and even if it was she wouldn't be giving her name to a freak like him. "How rude," he pouted as he brought his leg forward, cutting her off and then bringing it around full swing and cutting into her, sending her flying backwards and into yet another wall. "Ah cha cha! So laughably weak! Ah cha cha!"

Sage stumbled forward for another brief instance, temporarily falling just below the clouds. Some of her head was still barely gazing the bottom of the clouds so she had sinking feeling her Devil Fruit power was still canceled out. The clouds were just too thick to completely avoid. If she had full-range of her Devil Fruit powers she would win, so she just needed to get pass him! She strained herself just to stand up again and then race forward attempting to break free. As long as she stayed beneath the clouds he couldn't see her, she could easily avoid him! She kept her eyes on his legs and quickly swerved to take the long way around him. She bolted around, diverting her entire body like a whip and trying once more to get past her opponent. The man's legs vanished as he covered the ground and quickly appeared before her with one hand sticking out beneath the clouds, "**Impact!"** Sage's entire body was thrust back as the force of the small dial was emptied out into her body. Sage laid there on the ground beneath the thick clouds, her back against the cold stone floor.

"Crap," spat out Sage as she felt a dribble of blood escape from her lips. She barely managed to drag her body back atop her wobbly feet. She was starting to feel faint and the guy didn't seem to have any weaknesses. The impact dial gave him a pretty powerful attack, his mantra gave him a near perfect defense, and the humid nimbus cloud cover nullified her Devil Fruit powers. Three separate yet powerful parts to this man called Arkin. She had lost sight of Ridley as well, she hoped he was just knocked out, but she couldn't see where his body was due to the blasted clouds. If she had her opponent's mantra than she could find out where he was. She supposed she would be on her own until Ridley made himself known! She turned around bolted to the back resuming her previous plan. She had to get out of these clouds and Arkin already made it perfectly clear that she wasn't going to do that by charging past him. She had to get out of the clouds and sadly due to the fact that they were in the hallway there was only two ways of doing that! So she chose the second option.

Arkin shook his head, "Ah cha cha! Did you forget girly, you can't outrun me! Not with my Breath Dial powered skates!" Arkin jumped up and landed on top of the clouds an ordinary person would've fell through the, but Arkin had spent his entire life up here above the clouds and with those skates he knew how to balance himself out and skate on top of them and straight towards Sage. He rotated around and snapped his leg forward like a whip aiming for Sage's head. Arkin hooked the crescent-shaped skate around Sage's neck and slung backwards and into the air. Of course, Sage would be considered lucky if the attack ended there and nobody on the Infinity Pirates were ever lucky. Arkin applied another burst of Dial power behind him and sent himself flying up to meet her. He wrapped his legs around her arms to hold her steady and make sure she didn't get sent flying and that would force her body to absorb all of the impact. "Ah cha cha, talk about a bloody shame, you actually managed to stay standing for awhile…too bad your body had accumulated way too much damage there is no way you can survive thi-" a moment of fear took hold of Arkin's face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came and he returned his attention to Sage. "Like I was saying you can't survive this!" He pressed his right hand up against her bosom. "**Impact!" **Sage's entire body jerked back, but it was stopped sort due to the hold Arkin had on her. A new burst of blood splattered out of her mouth and onto Arkin's suit, but he didn't look annoyed by the stains instead he wore a gleeful smile that he had won another battle. Arkin let go of Sage and watched as she dropped to the floor meanwhile with his Dial Skates he descended more gracefully.

"How many pirates does it take to take out an overly cocky Marine?" said a dark voice. Arkin twisted his head around and saw Ridley's Mohawk peeking out over the cloud like a shark's fin. "The answer one, just me. You've screwed up you've been too busy focusing on Sage, aiming all of your Mantra at her while she tried to skirt past you. You've given me more than enough time to prepare my ultimate attack."

"Ah cha cha!" laughed Arkin as he turned his entire body to the side to face Ridley. "Don't make me laugh! You're at the end of your rope, you're weak, your partner is down for the count! Even if I did overlook you, so what! I overlook cockroaches all of the time."

"Your Mantra or whatever it is you call it, it allows you to read people's minds right? Then read my mind and tell me if I'm just some sort of cockroach…cockroaches don't think these things do they, especially not in this vivid of details," Ridley smirked as he noticed a slight change in Arkin's demeanor. "I grew up under the watchful gaze of the Kingpin of the Black Market, I'm on the crew of the Infinity Pirates! We turned down an offer to be a Shichibukai and for some reason you still think you have the upper hand. I have news for you, you are the cockroach here! An insignificant bug that isn't even worth my time. Alas you have had the poor unfortunate luck to run into me when I have no capable of people around to deal with you. Come on, I'll show you what I can do. If you can last long enough that is."

Arkin's eyes flashed with a temporary bolt of rage. He jumped forward and applied a quick burst of Breath Dial power to his skates and it sent him reeling forward. Apparently the fool didn't understand the extent of Mantra it gave him a perfect ability to completely see through all of Ridley's attacks no matter what traps he had laid out in expectation of him! A flash came over Arkin as the latest news came over from Ridley's inner voice! A trap to the left! Arkin swerved to the side and turned around, expecting a large stone pillar to appear out of the ground…but nothing came. Arkin was bewildered he was sure he had seen such a trap in Ridley's mind. Suddenly Ridley's guitar came swooping in with all the intent to take Arkin out in one blow. Arkin barely managed to swerve to the side and dodge it, quickly jumping up and into the air, separating himself from his opponent.

"Again you fell right into my trap!" shouted Ridley. Arking swerved around, reading his mind and quickly directed all of his attention upwards. According to his Mantra Ridley placed a Tone Dial there, which was set to go off he needed to get rid of it before it did so. Arkin's face went pale when he noticed that nothing was up there. "And that's what they call…A FEINT!" Ridley shouted as he jumped up, using one of the walls as support he kicked himself up into the air close to Arkin's body. Since Arkin was directed upwards, turning on the skates would send him upwards and straight into the ceiling. In other words, Arkin was trapped. Arkin flinched as the guitar came swinging up and smashed into his right ribs. He twisted and fell to the ground while Ridley landed with a little more grace, but in all honesty his body was still injured and he couldn't quite hide it.

The method Ridley had been using was simple. He thought something and of course Arkin would read his mind and expect it to happen, especially if you thought of it with as much vehemence as Ridley did. Arkin was all shook up from the deadly thoughts that he couldn't think straight. He had fallen for the same trick twice, however, even so he still had one thing on his side. Something that Ridley still lacked.

Sheer, undeniable power. If it was Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, or Mikoto when that opening was created in Arkin's perfect guard from the feint the fight would've ended. However, Ridley lacked that one final piece to make this into the perfect win. He was at the limits of his power, he couldn't end it in one blow like they could…or like Arkin could with the Impact Dial. "Damn," cursed Ridley, realizing his own short-comings, however, he still wasn't down and out of the count yet, "I still haven't worked all the bugs out of this technique yet, but I suppose you are as good of an opponent as anyone else. I'll just have to compose it as the fight goes on, but let's go! **Devil's Orchestra!" **

"Devil's Orchestra?" Arkin said standing up, uneasy on his own two feet, "I've heard of that song before. Apparently a great musician from Gol D. Roger's time had constructed a phantom symphony that could kill anyone listening to it. It was an amazing tale…however, just like all fairy tales from that bygone era not a single shred of it rings true." Arkin swung his head between his shoulders. "And even if it was true, it wouldn't have survived this long. Countless wars were fought; countless civilizations had disappeared into the dust. The Devil's Orchestra is in the same veil as the Boogeyman and unicorns!" Arkin's Breath Dials started up once more and propelled him forward. He readied his arm for another high-speed blow, his arm was starting to tear itself apart, but that didn't matter. He wasn't about to lose to this man. No pirates have ever defeated him before! He didn't much care for the prison's record of being inescapable; no, he just wanted to prove his own record! He readied himself for the moment of attack as he narrowed in at the doofus just simply sitting there and tuning his guitar, he readied it…the Impact Dial was going to soft on these fools apparently he had one final weapon in his arsenal. The Reject Dial! He could only use it once per week and during that week his arm would be in pain while the shockwave worked its way through, but he couldn't stand the thought of this man beating him.

"I suppose you would think that," muttered Ridley as he took a quick test strum on his guitar, watching as Arkin began circling at high speeds all around him, apparently awaiting for the perfect moment to strike. "You would think that something as scary as the Devil's Orchestra or the Boogeyman didn't exist. It probably helps you sleep at night. Truth be told, I met the Boogeyman and I sent him straight to the gates of Hades." Ridley quickly retuned his guitar. Truth be told, what he was planning wasn't quite the same as the Devil's Orchestra from back then, but it was built on the same foundation. "Music is said to be a key to a man's soul, music can control a man's mind, it can throw him into a blind rage, bring him to tears…and even kill him. If you don't believe that this is true, then you have never experienced the true magic of music." Ridley slowed nodded his head as he plucked another string finally satisfied with his configuration. "That is until today. From this point until your defeat I am the conductor and you are the rhythm section!"

"Oh, yeah?" shouted Arkin as he zoomed in from the air, arcing high above Ridley's head before finally twisting around and bringing the brunt of his body down, aiming for the very tip of his Mohawk. "**Reject!" **Arkin pressed the button and felt the power ring out of the Dial and the recoil shoot back up his hand, running through his entire body like electricity…but Ridley wasn't there anymore. No, Ridley was in the air right behind him. Arkin's eyes grew wide he had sensed Ridley's intentioned with his Mantra, but he didn't think the kid was actually capable of it. Was this the real power of the Devil's Orchestra? An augmentation of one's skills? Music was known for being able to stir a person's rage, could it really be taken as far as to create an increase in adrenaline and hormones to create a boost in speed and strength? Arkin's answer to that came in the next second. Ridley swung wide, but even with all of the build-up it was impossible for Arkin to accurately dodge. The swing built up tension and released it all in less than a second. Arkin's body was twisted and sent shooting to the side as if he had been hit by a gorilla. Arkin remembered the last thing he saw as the face of the devil. Ridley's entire body flushed with a dark red hue, his pupils had dilated to the point that his entire eyes became a pitch-black, he was only missing the horns and the tail or else Arkin would be certain it would've been the devil that knocked him out with one move.

Ridley landed on the ground, but while the increase of hormones was still flooding his body and blocking out the pain he knew it was only a matter of moments before that wears off and he would feel the full effect of the fatigue wash over his body. His body wasn't used to going that fast or exerting that much power, there would definitely be repercussions for his actions…he just managed to cuss as he took another step forward. It wasn't even at full-power yet and he already felt like it had him beat.

**The Head Jailer**

**And a Little Black Duck**

The guy is definitely not your run of the mill opponent. I've bee talking about giving Ridley a power-up for weeks now. It was supposed to happen all the way back in the URA arc, but I decided against it. It was still being hammered out at the time and I finally decided to introduce it, true, Sage kind of got stuck taking the back burner, but oh, well...my story.


	177. Zenith Gaol 177 The Head Jailer

**The Head Jailer**

**And a Little Black Duck**

"Here we go," said Maria as she slid on her metal arms and legs, ready at last to go at full blast. "We can't waste too much time here so let's go!" She was ready to meet the rest of her crew and get rid of this Aaron character. She can't imagine the rest of them were having all that sweet of a time here. "We can't waste a single second just prowling around here. Let's find a way to undo the drop." Maria knew the rest of them were tired and probably broken. They weren't used to be locked up like she was. She had been detained before, this was nothing.

"Right!" shouted Aaron flashing her a thumbs-up sign. Truth be told he didn't have too much of an interest in her crew. Sure they would be nice to find and all that, and if they were anything like Sage and Maria or even Mikoto he was sure they'd get along, but he was first choice was pretty ladies and having fun came second. The rest of her crew…was probably ranked third or even fourth on his list of priorities. "Let's not waste any time!" The duo raced off to find something worth their while be it Maria's crew, a hot girl, or secretly they both wanted a really strong foe to appear.

(-With Enma-)

Enma didn't know if he should be thankful or annoyed that a run-of-the-mill pirate had broken him out. He was thankful because he wanted out, solitary was indeed probably the most annoying thing he had ever put up with, but still the guy who rescued him was so annoying Enma had knocked him out as soon as he had gotten out. There was no honor among thieves and very little among pirates. "I suppose I shouldn't just stand around and wait for something big to happen." He paused as he debated on what was the most important thing, escaping or finding the rest of his crew. He wasn't planning on escaping without them, but surely just running around like this made them all look like fools. If they couldn't escape from the prison then no matter what else they did, nothing would come of it. He had decided that it would probably be best if he found the way as he doubted anyone else would even concern themselves with it. Of course, to be fair the solitary cells were also completely cut off from any and all sounds so he had no knowledge of Rosa's torture. His attention was just on the betterment of the crew…especially considering that they had a time limit imposed on them.

Hiro-Shu knew better to tell the rest of the crew, but of course Enma had known something was wrong with the plan from the get-go. The rest of the crew would've either just have ignored him if he had told them the problem or would've refused the plan when this was the best one they had. The problem was…their ship.

Their ship was still left down in the Blue Seas…or it was left down there. They knew better than to attack the Marines and then leave their ship waiting there like a sitting duck. They needed to move their ship to a safe haven first, but since the entire crew was here who would do such a thing? Hiro-Shu and Maria managed to call in a few favors to get the ship moved to a different island, but it was still questionable on whether or not their 'favors' pulled through. If they weren't…they would have to switch ship, which was something they should've done a long time ago anyways. The favor was simple the people would take the ship and drop it off at a nearby Sky Island…that was it. After that their ship was open game. Enma estimated it would take about a week at the latest. With the improved connections between the Blue Seas and the White White Seas things new pathways connecting them were in the works. One of them should be enough to get their puny ship up here. However, like Enma said if they were too late in getting out of this prison…their ship could've been destroyed. He had to hurry! He may have lost track of time in the small solitary cell, but he estimated three days have passed since they left their ship. They had four left if Enma's guess wasn't faulty…

(-With Mikoto-)

"Still not a single good sword amongst them," said Zesiro as he tossed another blade to the side. He was tired of spending so much of his time inspecting new blades. He just wished he would be able to get back his old blades. "How are the guards coming along, Mikoto?"

"They're pretty weak!" boomed Monsuta in place of Mikoto. The giant Fishman was definitely a plus to their side. Zesiro was surprised the guards really seemed to be falling so easily. He still had an uneasy feeling to it, but he suppose some things were to be expected. Then again was it possible that they were really this easy? The thoughts kept jumping around in Zesiro's mind, but he couldn't care less. However, he was soon to be proved right. A cloaked figure stepped out in front of them, Zesiro and Monsuta instantly recognized it as the Vice Warden. Mikoto stopped in his tracks, apparently feeling the sinister aura leaking out of him. It didn't take Colors of Observation Haki to tell his intentions. "Don't worry about this, I got it covered! **Left Iceberg!" **Monsut brought all four of his arms there were on the left side of his body back and prepared to fire a simultaneous punch. His four arms shot forward all of their power concentrated behind one point as they came shooting forward.

The Vice Warden disappeared for a split second only to instantly reappear in front of Monsuta's face. He swung around, his cloak fluttering around his body like a pair of wings, right before he brought his leg down and smashed it into the peak of Monsuta's cranium. Monsuta's entire gelatin-like body shook from the impact, ordinarily he would've absorbed it by doing so, but this man's power just proved to be too much. Monsuta's head jerked back and blood spewed out of it as he felt the entire shock of the attack shoot through his body. "Monsuta!" shouted Mikoto as he began to race towards the giant, but he was cut off by Monsuta's own voice.

"GO!" Monsuta gurgled out from beyond his own blood. He sounded almost distant as he gave the command. "I'm just a little out-of-shape from being imprisoned for so long. You understand, right? Keep going! I'll take care of this little guy!" Monsuta straightened his entire body out as he stood tall once more. "In all honesty my right's stronger than my left so go! **Right Iceberg!"** All four of Monsuta's arms on his right side stretched out aiming for the Vice Warden, but once more he missed. The Vice Warden just proved to be too fast for him. The Vice Warden appeared by Monsuta's face and his leg whipped out, carving out a chunk from Monsuta's right cheek.

"Monsuta!" yelled Mikoto as he pulled back his sleeve and stepped forward. He would be much more fit to fight against a fellow fast fighter, Monsuta's body was just too bulky in order to fire precise pin-point blows against him. However, rather than Monsuta stopping him Zesiro barged in and grabbed Mikoto and took off down the hallway.

"Think!" shouted Zesiro. "That guy is not the strongest person here! He is only the Vice Warden! Get it, vice?" Zesiro barked loudly trying to pound the information into Mikoto's head. "I'll find my blades and get back here in time to stop him, but you need to conserve your strength for the real fight again. The real Warden is coming down here! I can sense him! I can smell his blood-coated shoes even from here! We waste any time, any strength against this Vice Warden and he'll make short work of us for sure! Do you understand?" Mikoto grumbled, but nodded his head. "Good!" shouted Zesiro and he all of a sudden threw Mikoto forward and down the hall. "Me? I'm going to go back and stop him! Find me my blades and come back, okay? I'll hold out until then trust me!" Zesiro turned around and charged back to help Monsuta, surely two against one they stood a chance even if he didn't have his swords.

Mikoto rolled for a few precious seconds before sitting up. He was a bit dazed, but otherwise he was good to go. Go back and fight! Mikoto stepped forward and turned to go down the hall before pausing. He realized something in that one instant, something he had known all along. Something that made him turn around and leave his own comrade behind. He could trust Zesiro. He could trust them to fight their own battles and come back! He would find Zesiro's blades and return to him! With that thought, with the knowledge that his nakama, his friend was back there fighting for his life it was possible that Mikoto ran a lot faster.

(-With Hiro-Shu-)

"You okay," asked the Infinity Pirate's very own iron golem as he looked at his savior, young Rosa. She looked…deflated. Sure she was smiling and even gave Hiro-Shu a reassuring nod, but he could still look past that and at what she was truly feeling. She wasn't okay. Hiro-Shu felt stupid for asking and even stupider when Rosa put on a brave face. She was truly hurting. He looked over at little Lily, the tiger who had saved them back at the URA and her confused look was enough. Hiro-Shu understood that she had no idea where she was or why she was here. She definitely didn't know who he was and from the dejected look on Rosa's face, who she was either. "Let's get going and get out of here." The faster they got out of here, the faster these two got some quality time together and they could actually rebuild their relationship and put this defunct one behind them.

"Right!" Rosa said, this time sounding a little more confident. With Hiro-Shu and Enma out the entire crew was free at last. Creating a prison riot would be easy. The three of them set out, unlike the rest of the groups they paid no heed to the prisoners. None of them particularly wanted to help out prisoners.

"Look out!" shouted Hiro-Shu, sensing something coming. He quickly turned around and wrapped both Lily and Rosa in his massive arms and coated himself in his iron armor. At first Rosa didn't notice anything, but when Hiro-Shu's entire body jerked forward towards them. She knew immediately he had been hit by something big. Hiro-Shu body began to rapidly jut forward as if multiple blows were being landed on his back and Rosa could hear each blow land with an extreme amount of force. Lily couldn't handle it and fell to her knees letting out a cry.

The attacks let up for just a second, however, that didn't mean anything. The man who had launched the ferocious assault on them appeared in front of Hiro-Shu and behind Rosa. Rosa twisted her head around to look at the man who had unleashed such a devastating assault on her ally. He wasn't necessarily tall or even all that big, but he had muscles on top of muscles. And since he wasn't wearing anything even remotely close to a shirt they were all on display for her. "Supreme Kung-Fu Style! **Duck Kick!**" Kohaku rotated around and brought a massive kick cutting the air upwards and right towards Lily. Hiro-Shu grabbed onto Lily's and Rosa's collars and pulled them out of harm's way, accepting the devastating kick himself straight to his jaw. Hiro-Shu stumbled backwards and his grip on the two of them weakened and he accidentally wound up dropping them to the floor. Rosa gripped her long pipe she had been using as a replacement until she got her sword back. She knew it was now or never! She stumbled to her feet and strode forward for her enemy brandishing the make-shift blade in an instant. Kohaku swerved around just in time to meet with her face-to-face. He lifted both of his arms up into the air and pointed them both downwards, "**Tiger's Fang!" **Kohaku brought both of his arms down to the Rosa's shoulders forming two powerful thrusts similar to a tiger gnashing its jaws together through its prey. Rosa had no time to think she either had to complete her attack or back off in that instant. In any normal situation Rosa would've backed off, she relied heavily on her speed after all she could easily dodge this attack…however, this was no normal situation.

It was unknown whether or not it was just her trying to prove herself against a strong opponent like Maria would've done or if it was just her resolve from that point forward not to back down. Perhaps it was the painful shock from having Lily forget who she was, but for some reason she didn't back down. She refused to back down as a matter of fact. She planted her foot on the ground in defiance and charged in, thrusting her small pipe sword forward with all of her strength and letting out a primal war-cry that even she herself did not was in her. Kohaku wasn't one to feel fear from his opponents. And even this girl screaming bloody murder right at him didn't faze him one bit. Kohaku's left arm shot down and grabbed a hold of the pipe, holding it in its place, completely blocking it from moving forward. All of Rosa's strength had been behind that one blow, she had intended to skewer him, so him the same pain and torture her sister had been through all of those emotions had been pumped behind this attack…and he blocked it with one hand? Rosa knew she didn't have the same strength as Zesiro or Hiro-Shu, but she never thought of herself as weak…is this the end? Kohaku's right hand hadn't been stopped, he had only used his left hand to block her attack. In other words there was still one deadly attack coming down on top of her! Rosa flinched, closing her eyes as he prepared for the incoming attack. It never came.

Instead Kohaku slapped his hand onto Rosa's shoulder, smiled and laughed. "Hey, miss, I have a question for you." Kohaku lowered himself down just a little bit until he was at eye level with Rosa. He still hadn't let his iron hard grip on either the pipe or her shoulder go. Rosa swalled nervously, she had heard of people who like to ask their victims one last question before they killed them. It was usually something about a moral question or what they thought was on the other side. If they answered wrong it was a certain and painful death. Rosa steeled herself, readying herself for any question. "Do you like ducks?" Rosa's face went blank unsure of how to answer that question. Was it a trick question? Did it have some greater meaning? Was it an invitation to some weird cult?

"Ye-yeah, they are okay, I guess," answered Rosa, her voice quivering a bit, hoping that that was the right answer.

"JUST OKAY!" roared Kohaku stepping back and screaming to the ceiling. It was obvious that Rosa's answer just upset him.

"I mean, they are really, really cool, the best animal there is!" Rosa quickly covered up her answer and hoped that Kohaku would accept such a hasty and poorly designed cover-up.

"Oh, okay! A lot of people seem to make that mistake around me!" laughed Kohaku throwing his head back. "So, what is your favorite thing about them? Huh? I like everything, the beak, the wings, the feet…they are just the best! Unlike stinking eagles."

Rosa just blinked unsure of how to answer this question. Didn't he just try to kill her? What was up with the sudden personality change? "Kohaku!" shouted a voice from another prison guard as he continued to watch the fight with a small magazine in his hand and looking through it, "you are getting side-tracked again. She's a prisoner you are supposed to take her down."

"Right, right, right," said Kohaku waving the man off and shaking his head, obviously used to be told what to do…and ignoring it anyways. He sighed as he looked around, noticing several empty jail cells. "Fine…" he huffed as he turned around and faced Rosa. "I hate to do this to another duck lover, but I'm afraid you are an escaped prisoner so I got do everything in power to hold you here and out of the free world's feathers. **Leopard's Pounce!" **Kohaku leapt into the air, soaring above Rosa for a brief second before landing directly behind her. Rosa turned around trying to keep up with him, but as soon as she found him, he immediately sprang free from his position and jumped to another place in a circle around her. With each and every single bound he seemed to be going faster and faster. Rosa was having trouble just keeping up with him. Whenever she found him, he was gone in the same instant. He was slowly starting to become a blur. Rosa was starting to worry as she watched him bounce all around her, he was going faster than she could…possibly even faster than Mikoto could! She couldn't keep up with him! She only got a brief glimpse of the palm flying at her before she was knocked back flying through the air. She hit the ground once and bounced off of the ground, gasping in pain. However, soon even that became difficult to do as Kohaku rotated around from there and brought the heel of his foot into her gut and slammed her back into the ground. "A duck would've survived that," Kohaku said slapping his two hands together as a small black duck jumped up and rested on his head, fussing up his dark green ponytail and letting out a brief, but happy quack.

**Scarlet Rose Versus Black Duck**

Okay, even though Kohaku is crazy he is not my creation. He's the work of Sasaui7.

Why am I late? I was sick yesterday. Like ill...not sick in the head...although I suppose I was like that too...or well. Other then that I really like the upcoming fight. I really think Rosa versus Kohaku is one of my favorite fights this arc (only Zesiro's) may trump it.

Also, I am planning a big arc (like the URA) again soon. So if you have any powerful pirates, marines, or Revolutionaries (oh my) feel free to send 'em in...I'll probably use them.


	178. Zenith Gaol 178 The Scarlet Rose

**The Scarlet Rose Versus the Little Black Duck!**

Rosa's mind was floating, she wasn't sure of what just happened. She wasn't even sure if it was real…her body had seemed so disconnected from it. Her body had just been yanked off of its feet and then immediately pummeled down into the ground. Her vision had nearly disappeared and her eyelids felt strangely heavy. What was that? She managed to strain her vision just enough to see Kohaku still standing above her, giving the duck on his head a high-five. She grimaced as she realized that she had just lost to that man. How many times did she get hit? Twenty times…no, not that…just…just twice…she had only been hit two times by that man with a mountain of muscles.

"Kohaku," stated the other guard there as he flipped through his magazine, checking the recent issue, "it looks like there is still one left you forgot to completely dispose of." Rosa's head was swimming…one more? Who…who was that? He had done taken out Hiro-Shu and now she was laying on the floor. Was someone else really with them? Rosa remembered now…somebody else was with them…but who was it? Her head was still pounding and though her blurred vision could make out a person's outline she couldn't see anything about them. It looked like a little girl…she was shivering. Her head darted between Rosa and Hiro-Shu's collapsed bodies, scared.

"Si-," mouthed Lily as she collapsed to the ground, scuttling over to the wall as Kohaku walked up to her. Kohaku wrapped his hand up around his neck and had a goofily happy look on his face. "Sister…" mouthed Lily once more until she finally found her voice. "SAVE ME, SISTER!" Lily's voice burst forth in great sobs. The prison floor was designed to send sound echoing all over the floor, so her voice carried all throughout the floor. However, nobody paid it any heed. Everybody had their own problems in trying to escape from this prison. It was possible the only person whose her voice actually affected was the girl closest to her. Rosa's eyes shot open as she remembered the third person with them was her sister…her little sister…who Kohaku was about to attack her!

"ARRGH!" shouted Rosa shooting up to her own two feet, almost unsteadily on them, but she rushed forward regardless. Her hand shot down to the ground and picked up her sword pipe and she continued her charge letting out a primal scream, covering the ground quickly to Kohaku's back. Kohaku was just barely turning around to see her coming at him when she started to thrust the pipe forward. Kohaku smirked and let a wild punch shoot out from his side and aimed at her head. Of course, there was one trait completely unique to Rosa that Kohaku couldn't have possibly known. It was something that Rosa herself wasn't even aware of. Whenever Rosa became completely absorbed into one thing, be it reading, laughing, or anything else her body innately read and dodged all of her opponent's movements. And right now, Rosa was entirely absorbed in one thought. Ramming her pipe all the way through Kohaku, no other thought was present in her mind. Her head ducked beneath Kohaku's brick-breaking punch as she shot in even close. She compressed her legs down deeper into the ground only for a split second before she shot forward, a flash of light beaming off of her pipe as she rammed it upwards, its target clear. She was going it ram upwards, entering the bottom of Kohaku's chin and sending the blade upwards piercing everything in its way until it came out the top of his skull.

"**Snake's Strike!" **cried out Kohaku as he brought his leg up in a weird, nearly serpentine pattern until it came right into Rosa's side, causing her attack to stop a few centimeters short of Kohaku's chin. Even if Rosa's entire body had tried to avoid such a strike, even if she knew exactly how it was going to come in and strike, Kohaku deserved more praise and worry than that. Kohaku wasn't slow. The bottom-line was that Rosa couldn't have dodged that strike…nor could she dodge the next one. Her body was still reeling from that last strike and all the built-up damage from all of Kohaku's previous strike so she couldn't recover fast enough to see Kohaku's winding elbow come crashing in from the side and into Rosa's head, making it shudder and the entire world through Rosa's eyes vibrate fiercely. "Ducks don't give up so easily either. That's another thing I like about them."

"Kohaku," said the prison guard finally lifting his head from his book and looking over at the man who was actually fighting with his life on the line. The guard was noticeably shaken up, his entire body including his index finger that he was using to motion towards Kohaku's leg, were shaking. "You're…you're bleeding."

Kohaku raised an eyebrow and followed his finger to his right leg where Rosa had fallen. Apparently when his first attack had halted the blow Rosa's hands had fallen as well when he had knocked her down she had fell down and somehow through pure luck or pure skill managed to drive the pipe straight through his leg. "Oh, so, that's what I was feeling!" laughed Kohaku, kicking his head back with a hearty 'ha ha ha ha'. "I thought Kuro just pissed down there, but nope it was blood!" His fellow guard just had a look of disbelief on his face, however, that soon turned into a look of fear as Rosa immediately stood back up and charged at him, brandishing her bloody pipe once more. Kohaku easily skirted around her first strike, but while he was doing so Rosa twisted the pipe around and took his other leg as well. "Crap. Now both my legs feel like Kuro has peed on them…"

"You've got bigger worries than that Kohaku," explained the guard. "If you don't take some stress off of those legs immediately they may actually cease to function."

"Ah, okay, I'll remove the fifty pound weights from them then," Kohaku said he bent over and quickly took off some silver cuffs that were attached to his legs over his martial art pants. He threw them to the side carelessly and let them make a loud pound as they hit the stone floor. He took a moment and murmured something to himself before turning around to the guard. "Do you think I should remove the other hundred pound weights from them as well?"

"JUST REMOVE THEM ALL!"

Kohaku sighed and took them off of his body. "I guess if I'm going this far to take you on. I may as well go all the way." Suddenly Kohaku's entire body crunched in half as his arms slowly began to widen and take the shape of huge wings. A large beak began to sprout from his face and even his feet began to change. I feel like I should make apologies for assuming such a hideous form in front of you. It disgraces myself to even think that I'll look like this, but it truly does give me a huge boost to my strength. If only it was a duck," suddenly he unfurled his magnificent wings revealing a large wing span. He had a curved predatory beak on his face, and razor sharp talons on his feet that looked like they could gut a human, "INSTEAD OF A STUPID EAGLE!"

A little siren rang out through the prison as the Head Warden's voice came ringing out. "All prison guards I am coming down as we speak! I expect you to have cleaned up half of the riffraff before I get there. I'll take care of the other half." Was the Warden really that strong?

"Dang, it looks like I haven't made any leeway apparently…I've only taken out a couple of weaklings so far…guess I just can't hold back against these two, huh," Kohaku shook his head as he flapped his wings and took off into the air. "This sky is my domain as long as I have enough room to flap my wings, I can't be stopped! Let's go! I'll finish this in one go! **Cheetah Rush!" **Kohaku took off, shooting around the nearby corner as if completely forgetting about Rosa.

"Heh," laughed the other guard as he stepped aside getting close to one of the walls. "In terms of speed Kohaku is the second fastest person in this prison, however, he is the physically strongest man around. And these two facts combined with this one move is why he is the Head Jailer. He grew up learning martial arts on a mountain so even in this thin aired environment this is nothing but a simple walk for him." Kohaku was still streaming around the prison, without stopping he brought his talons screeching through a stray prisoner that had escaped during the mayhem and brought him down. He continued to do as he jetted around the entire prison, growing faster and faster with turn and straight away. "He was originally in a different prison, a shoddy one that had a horrible record, but during a surprise visit our Warden, Taisho, had seen his marvelous talents and demanded that he join his prison. And of course, they agreed. Taisho, the Vice Warden, and Kohaku. In this prison these three people hold more authority and inspire more fear than even the Admirals."

Rosa struggled to get into the center of the hall. Her entire body hurt like hell, but that didn't matter. She used her small pipe and dragged it through the ground making a small line in the dust. "Lily…get behind me…no matter what…I won't let him…get past this line…I won't let him…hurt you." Each and every phrase came out of Rosa with a heavy breath. Her chest would rise and fall, showcasing her own extreme fatigue. Lily didn't know who she was. Rosa believed that every cloud had its own silver lining, that no matter how bad things were there was always something good that would come out of it. Lily would go back home after this to the rest of their family. She would go there and live the rest of her life happily with them, she would hear stories of how her big sister Rosa went out on a grand adventure…she would go out to sea and look for her, of course, just like she did before…completely unaware that she had already found her…and watched her die.

Kohaku came circling around a nearby corner, nearly at double the speed he was when he first took off and he quickly came crashing forward aiming his beak right for Lily's forehead, ready to smash into it and carve her a new hole. Rosa's chest sagged, her heart felt heavy. She wanted to do so much…she wanted to write the best adventure story ever…she wanted to fall in love and get married…those were her dreams. They weren't much, but they were hers. And she was ready to throw them all away for this…she admitted it, she felt upset, cheated, lied to…but she was ready for it. She wore a frown on her face as she thought back to all the things she would never get to do…she had just found herself a crew…some great people to travel with…forget completing her dreams…her biggest regret? Her biggest regret was going to be not being able to travel with them. She stepped forward, accepting her fate and bringing the pipe around, wielding it like her favorite blade. She looked forward, her eyelids felt heavy as she looked forward, she wanted to sleep, but she would force herself to stay awake through all of this…she wanted to see her last moments. "COME ON YOU STUPID DUCK LOVER!" She cursed with all her might, practically spitting out the words. Kohaku zoomed in and readied himself for the moment of impact. He had no worries, she couldn't possibly muster up the strength to ram that pipe into any place vital. He would survive this attack, he might get a scratch, but that was it…she couldn't even touch him! He shot forward, a vicious look flashing in his eyes as he zoomed in. His curved talons had been turned a blood red from all the pirates he had pierced on his way here.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting the moment of the finishing blow took, but an instant. Rosa had indeed rammed her pipe into Kohaku's body, barely managing to force it into his shoulder blade. 'Scarlet Sword' Rosa watched as a scarlet rain of blood came down upon her. She didn't back down, she didn't freeze. She stayed there defiantly trying to hold him back and away from her sister…but…

Kohaku was right. She couldn't quite summon enough strength to keep her ground and pierce him all the way through. Her body had been through too much, it had been taxed to the extreme…the mental anguish and the physical punishment she had faced in this prison was too much. She couldn't hold him back any longer! She was going to lose! Her grip on the pipe weakened until it was gone altogether, nothing else was holding Kohaku's incredible forward rush back.

Just as that thought flashed through her mind she felt it. She felt the force on her pipe suddenly disappear as if Kohaku was being pulled away from her. Her blurred vision was slowly coming back to her and she was able to witness the moment. The moment Kohaku had been ripped away from her. His face a panicked mess as he slowly came to the realization of what was happening. "We pirates…are notorious for being hard to kill," said Hiro-Shu, a smirk crossing his face as he heaved Kohaku all the way around in a circle, arcing through the air and then right back down and into the ground, smashing the eagle-human hybrid face-first against the cold hard ground. "We are also notorious for sticking to our friends in their time of need." Hiro-Shu cracked his knuckles as he looked down upon their fallen foes.

Rosa smiled, thankful that her fight was finally over. Thankful that she didn't have to push herself any more…thankful to have an ally like Hiro-Shu on her side. She tipped over, falling to the ground, collapsing onto the stone floor herself. "And the doctor is nowhere in sight," muttered Hiro-Shu as he hefted his fallen friend onto his shoulder. He smiled as he looked at her face and felt the slow rise and fall of her chest on his shoulder. He had to admit it that last attack of Kohaku was too much for him, he needed Rosa's help to stop it. He didn't plan for it to happen like that, but when he saw Kohaku take off he knew instantly he couldn't catch him. Kohaku was too fast…he needed to be slowed down, brought down a notch just for a second for him to grab his leg and throw him. Hiro-Shu didn't think it was possible, but Rosa did it. Hiro-Shu looked at the bloodied pipe jutting out of Kohaku's shoulder and wondered if that was what did the trick or was it the look in Rosa's eyes. The look of a human being on their last leg, but still putting it all down on the line in a last-ditch final effort that they had accepted…and all for someone else. A look like that was deadlier than any rusted over pipe or even sword on these seas.

(-With Mikoto-)

"Now where could Zesiro have dropped those swords?" asked Mikoto to no one in particular. All the prisoners had disappeared somewhere else and he still hadn't found any of his crewmates. He was too busy trying to find his crewmates swords. You'd think with how often Zesiro lost his swords he would just attach a rope to them so he could just find them following the rope. Mikoto smiled to himself, happy that he had come up with such a great idea and made a mental note to tell Zesiro the next time he saw him. Suddenly Mikoto remembered that he wasn't supposed to be thinking of great ideas on how not to lose one's swords, but finding someone's swords instead! Mikoto nodded with confidence as he headed out in search of the swords, he took a deep breath of the air around him trying to locate the swords through scent, but the entire floor was too badly bathed in blood for him to tell his way around here.

"Hey Mikoto!" shouted Ridley as he walked up to Mikoto he was being followed by Sage, which Mikoto found surprising as he didn't really think the two of them got along…he must've be wrong! They must actually like each either. "I'm sorry for not catching up to you sooner, I got stuck with Miss Terror-gon here," laughed Ridley at his own play on the words tarragon.

"He meant to say that we had to take a quick detour because his huge ego wouldn't fit through most doors."

"She meant to say that we couldn't make it here any faster because she's as fast as she is strong."

"He meant to say that we were slow because his bad taste in music…and hairstyles equates to a bad sense of directions."

"She meant to say that we didn't make here sooner because she had to do her hair."

"YOU USE MORE PRODUCT IN YOUR HAIR THAN I DO!"

Yup, it was obvious that they got along great! Only true friends can joke around with each other like that! Suddenly Mikoto noticed something strange hanging from Ridley's hips. "Hey, Ridley," Mikoto said pulling Ridley out of his current mudslinging contest with Sage. "What are those?" He said motioning to the swords and sheaths at Ridley's waist.

"Oh, these," Ridley said, clearing his throat and taking on a slightly more diplomatic approach with Mikoto than with Sage. Ridley undid the swords and showed them to Mikoto. "They are Zesiro's swords. Have you seen him anywhere?" Mikoto didn't waste any more time than that. He yanked them out of Ridley's hands and bolted down the hall leaving both Ridley and Sage alone with each other once more. They shared the same, slightly annoyed look, before quickly taking off.

"Mikoto, slow down!" shouted Ridley, "it is your turn to babysit the weakling!"

**Overcoming Prejudice!**

**The Burden of Being Strong!**

I was soooooo ho-humming about posting an update today. I hate updating two days in the row...I prefer it when a break is involved (both updating and reading)...but here it is. Hope ya'll liked it, like I said I really like Rosa's fight. Next up is Ridley versus Sage...nah, just kidding...another back-breaking fight which is probably my second favorite fight (but my favorite ending).

Also...I hate to say this...I really, really do...but I decided that Saga is going to start winding down. WAIT, WAIT WAIT! Its not ending, not yet! Honestly...I'd say another 100-200 chapters left (with my updating rate like two-five years, yeah, this story is L-O-N-G). First, I wanna say thanks to whoever has managed to stick with such a story for such a long time. I mean 200 chapters...geeze...what kind of ego-maniac would right something THAT long...oh, right, me... Second off, OCs are still accepted...but please try to limit them to high-grade ones (and guys strong enough to exist in the Grand Line at this point). Finally, if there is any scene or plot holes you want to see me write for this story or fix, please PM or leave a review and I'll see about it.

P.S. the title for the next chapter has very little to do with the next chapter...I just think it sounds cool and sort of fits.


	179. Zenith Gaol 179 Overcoming Prejudice

**Overcoming Prejudice!**

**The Burden of Being Strong!**

"Zesiro!" screamed Mikoto as his feet hit the ground, he was nearly running on air in effort to get to his teammate faster. He had left Ridley and Sage behind in his dust, in terms of speed even together (or alone for that matter) they were no match for him. His feet were hitting the ground like a machine gun, each step so close in succession they happened at almost the same time. He wasn't going to let Zesiro down, he had been with him through thick and thin. He was the fourth member of the Infinity Pirates! The smell of blood as well as the setting of this fight sent shivers down Mikoto's spine. Something definitely wasn't right! Mikoto's hair stood on end as he continued to rush forward towards his teammate in mortal peril! Please, just let him get there on time!

(-With Zesiro-)

Zesiro rushed in even without his swords he still had his overwhelming inhuman strength. He charged in, making several quick punches. He never had the formal training in Fishman Karate like most had. He didn't grow up on Fishman Island, but rather some puny island in the East Blue where Fishmen were treated as monsters. He had learned swordsmanship so it was very little surprise when the Vice Warden flew about him without resting for a moment, moving from one spot to the other, his feet barely touching the ground as he went. Suddenly the Vice Warden twisted around, apparently unsatisfied with this prey and instead set his eyes on the larger prey.

"**Fishman Karate! 4000 Brick FIST!" **screamed Monsuta as he brought all four punches forward, entwining them all together to form one large and solid punch with all the strength of his four arms behind it. The Vice Warden didn't seem bothered by the incoming attacks and instead just shot up to the skies above Monsuta, a feat which should've been impossible for any normal human. After all Monsuta was at least a few stories tall, but this man made it look like a cake walk. The Vice Warden twisted around, bringing all of his weight and force behind his leg and slammed it into the side of Monsuta's face, just below his right ear. Monsuta's body flinched from the impact as the world seemed to twist before him. Monsuta stumbled for a few seconds his balance completely shot from just that one attack. The inner ear controls our balance if it takes a direct and powerful enough hit then we lose our ability to stand for a few seconds. Monsuta had lost his ability to stand he waver around, his feet not seeming to move just right. They tangled themselves up as he tried to move forward, backwards, to the side, but it all seemed to be in vain as he slowly tipped forward right for the floor and right for Zesiro and the Vice Warden.

The Vice Warden wasted no time. He darted out of the way, his cloak fluttering in the wind of his own incredible speed. Zesiro, on the other hand, looked up at the falling mountain and said one word, "crap." Zesiro twisted around and tried to take out for the space outside of Monsuta's falling zone, however, he was soon met with some interference, the Vice Warden. The Vice Warden had safely skirted to outside the range of the falling giant. This didn't mean he was going to let Zesiro out of it. He zoomed in quickly and fired a powerful right kick straight to Zesiro's gut and sent him flying in, slamming into the wall of soft octopus-like flesh. Zesiro had just the briefest of moments to look up at the darkening sky and repeat himself, "CRAP!" The loud thundering slam of Monsuta's body could be heard all over the prison.

The Vice Warden paused for a moment from his spot just a few feet away from the goliath's fallen body and looked upon his vanquished foes. He didn't move from his spot as he kept his eyes on the monstrous human mountain's body as if waiting for something. This fight left a bad taste in his mouth. It wasn't that he felt like his opponent had won through unfair means, it wasn't that he felt like his opponent hadn't been up to his level, it felt more like…he missed out on desert…like there was something his opponent wasn't showing him. He felt…cheated out of something great. He turned around, about to leave, deciding that whatever was left wasn't worth for him to stick around anymore, but suddenly a rumbling came from behind him. The Vice Warden froze where he stood and threw a glance over his shoulder and at his fallen foes. Through some miracle Monsuta was starting to muster up the strength to stand. He supposed it shouldn't be unexpected after all he was the size of a mountain, but surely his many months here have broken his will and left his body to rot. The Vice Warden's eyes started to expand as he watched on, a fearful look shot through them. It wasn't Monsuta who was still up and kicking! Zesiro was up…hoisting the mountainous Fishman up with his own two hands. Zesiro huffed, but managed to throw the huge man to the side and free himself from the crushing weight.

"Definitely don't want to do that again," said Zesiro, his chest heavily sagging and a slight burn running down his back from the immense strain. His opponent looked shocked however, which Zesiro suppose was a small victory. Then again Zesiro's entire body now ached and he was certain that if fought for too much longer the strain would definitely become too much. However…Zesiro clenched his fist and looked at it, he knew he had the power to end it, but he wasn't used to using his fists in a fight. He had fought so long with his swords without them everything felt strange. His attacking range was shorter, his defense was weaker, even his footsteps seemed off without having to support the extra weight of his blades. It was odd his entire life he had been supported by his blades to suddenly be stripped of them was weird. He suppose he only had one option…and it wasn't a good one. He just had to stay alive until Mikoto got here.

The Vice Warden cocked his head, turning his full attention to his latest prey and just his body language spoke tons. He was not going to be holding back anymore. He stepped in, sending his weight charging in with enough force and a good sense of direction. Zesiro had no choice without his blades at the ready he couldn't counter attack. He brought his two arms up and place them in front of him, squeezing all the air out from in-between them until they were as tight together as they could get. No attack would be piercing this defiant Fishman's last-ditch shield. The Vice Warden seemed more than confident in his own strength. He struck out producing a flashing strike straight at Zesiro's arms. Zesiro remained confident in his strength, confident that he could survive this blow. However, as he felt the Vice Warden's foot rake across his arms he realized something was wrong…and that this fight definitely wasn't in his favor. He barely made out the Vice Warden twisting his body around, readying another powerful strike from behind his arms, but as soon as Zesiro did, he booked it back. He took several steps at once jumping back and carrying his body away from him. It was just a flash of it, but Zesiro was sure he saw it. A bird's talon. The Vice Warden wasn't human!

"What are you!" barked Zesiro swinging his arms, demanding an explanation. His arms were bleeding. The talon had raked across his arms and drew blood when he had attempted to guard the attack! The more Zesiro thought about it the more it made sense. A bird. The man didn't jump up above Monsuta, he flew up there. Zesiro chuckled. He had never fought someone who wasn't human before. Most of his fights had actually been rather boring before. It looked like Zesiro might actually enjoy this fight to its fullest…once he had his swords back! Zesiro twisted around and took off, attempting to outrun the Vice Warden. Without his swords random punches were all he could rely on. He wasn't about to put his life on the line here. They were both expert fighters and his opponent was much more accustomed to fighting without weapons. In the end Zesiro was still at a huge handicap! Suddenly he slammed on his brake, but he didn't do it fast enough.

He ran full speed into one of the Vice Warden's oncoming kicks! Zesiro's body was sent flying backwards for a brief instant before he felt something tug on it. The shock traveled up his back and to his neck where it shot upright to see what had grabbed him. The Vice Warden's bird-like feet had gripped onto Zesiro's leg and Zesiro had a sinking feeling it wasn't about to just let go. The Vice Warden yanked him back and Zesiro felt his entire body snap forward from the force of the swing. However, the real problem laid in front of him. One of the prison walls and he was approaching it fast! Zesiro grimaced, preparing the moment of impact and he felt the entire wall shudder into him and around as he hit it full force.

Zesiro felt several of the large heavy building bricks slam down on top of him as he slid to the ground. He couldn't do anything against this man. Even with his swords, he doubted he could've won easily, without them though he was equivalent to a ragdoll. "Crap…" Zesiro tried to stand up and push the rocks off of him, but they felt too heavy. His arms were still losing blood as well, he felt them draining out beneath him. He felt like he could pass out from the weight pressing against his chest. He felt completely like a dead man here. He could hear the footsteps of his opponent drawing in closer…no….that wasn't the Vice Wardens. They were faster and more human than his would be…not to mention there was something else about them. As if they were carrying voices labored by a heavy breathing. He heard the voices!

'ZE-SHI-RO!'

Zesiro's eyes shot open. He wasn't done! He heaved his entire body up and stood up, shoving the rocks up and off of him, standing tall. The Vice Warden just shook his head, the Fishman didn't know when to give up…however, Zesiro's gaze went past the Vice Warden and down the hallway. Zesiro caught sight of him…the little coyote captain of his. "ZESIRO!" shouted Mikoto as he raced faster, trying to undo the straps that tied the sheaths to his body. Mikoto struggled another moment trying to break them loose, but finally decided it wasn't going to work. The straps wouldn't come loose! Mikoto did not race all this way here not to hand off the swords! Mikoto reached down and pulled the two swords free from the sheaths and tossed them with all of his might sending two spiraling swords straight to Zesiro.

"_What was the guy doing!" _thought the Vice Warden as he watched the two swords buzzsaw their way through the air and over to Zesiro, _"Was he trying to cut his friend's arm off!?"_ The Vice Warden watched the sword fly towards the sluggishly moving Fishman. The Vice Warden had to commend his challenger the ability to stand up again and again after all that was commendable, but now he was going to be killed by his own friend! How sad was that?

"These swords," said Zesiro as he looked up to the Vice Warden, completely ignoring the twin blades swerving for his head, "would never hurt me!" Zesiro's two hands shot up into the sword's path as if reading where they would be going. Even more impressive though, was that he was right. The swords didn't hurt him. His hands caught the swords' hilts! Most men would say that there was a million to one chance that such a fluke, such a miracle could occur here and now, but the truth was it was only natural.

Zesiro heaved as he brought the two swords around and in front of him taking up his fighting stance. The first sword was a gift from his parents who had passed away long ago. His mentor had given it to him and taught him how to use it. The second sword was a present from his brothers…they weren't blood brothers nor was there any official document saying that they were, but they were and this sword was all the proof he needed. They didn't make the blade nor did they ever use, they just touched it and handed it off to him and right now Zesiro could feel it. Their souls and spirits pumping through the treated steel and into him. Zesiro knew it right then and there…this fight was over!

"**One!" **shouted Zesiro releasing a monstrous upwards slash the reached to high heavens and nearly blew the Vice Warden's right foot off. "**Two!" **Zesiro leapt into the air, following his slash upwards until he was at the same level as the Vice Warden. Suddenly he let loose a powerful sideways slash that cut all the space around him up, including where the Vice Warden was. He felt the sword breach through the Vice Warden's heavy cloak, but the cut was nothing, but superficial. The cloak was all he had cut. Zesiro suddenly clasped his two swords together having the hilts lay across each other as well as having the two swords butted up close to each other. Zesiro gripped both of the two blades now with both of his hands, applying all the power of his arms to this one slash. "**Three!" **Zesiro brought the two swords down with a gargantuan swing. The Vice Warden once more managed to skirt to the side of the powerful swing, but once more his coat had gotten sliced up revealing his right arm…or, er, wing. It was a beautiful black wing akin to a raven's wing. However, Zesiro was in no mood to admire his opponent's body. Zesiro hit the ground with a tremendous force and immediately shifted all that power forward, shooting himself forward like a rocket aiming to slice the Vice Warden's head off with his own immense power, **"FOUR!" **The blade cut through the air with the power and precision of a veteran swordsman. More importantly then the air it had cut through the Vice Warden. The Vice Warden stumbled backwards for a few seconds until he finally collapsed with a nice thin gouge shooting right through his abdomen.

Zesiro sighed and went to re-sheath his swords only fumbling as he remembered that Mikoto had only thrown him the blades and not the sheathes to them. He motioned for Mikoto to come closer now that the fight was over. Zesiro needed somebody to lean on right now. He was tired, he was dripping blood from his arms…and he had been squashed TWICE. He believed he was due a little helping hand. Mikoto smirked for a second, happy to have a crewmate like Zesiro on his side and began to head over to aid in the Fishman's recovery, however, he soon froze in his steps. The Vice Warden still hadn't been defeated. He had slumped up back to his own two feet, standing strong and ready for a fight…however, the most surprising thing about him wasn't that he could take a beating.

It was that he was a SHE!

The cloak that had been hiding her true gender had been turned to scrap and patches due to Zesiro's vicious cuts. With the cloak out of the way it was obvious that Zesiro was right not to assume she was human…she had brilliant black wings that stretched out in the place of her arms and her feet were large talons like Zesiro had seen. "Looks like you've found out, congratulations," she muttered as she pulled her wings to the side revealing a pair of breasts hidden beneath a modest white top. Zesiro just realized these were the first words she had spoken throughout their entire fight. It made sense too. After hearing that lavish voice, nobody would think of her as a guy. "I guess that just means I'm going to have to go all out to make sure my secret doesn't leave your lips!" She took to the air and flew at Zesiro, outstretching one massive talon trying to take Zesiro's head off with a powerful kick. Zesiro managed to block it, but only by a few seconds and the next attack was even closer. The Vice Warden was obviously annoyed at the two of them finding out about her little secret.

"I don't care about what you do in your free time," shouted Zesiro blocking another incoming attack that came in, swooping from the side. Zesiro hated to admit it, but he was slowly losing ground. Each attack forced him back each and every single time. He couldn't keep his feet steady against her unrelenting attacks! He tried in vain to make a few slices with his sword, but the bottom-line was she had greater maneuverability than he did. It wasn't even speed that made the difference here, it was the simple fact that the Vice Warden could push herself into any direction using her legs or her wings. If Zesiro even tried to pin her down, she'd just dash out of the way even if she was in mid-attack. "I'm just not going to let you stop me!" shouted Zesiro as he threw out another big swing, which he immediately regretted. The Vice Warden swung in low and then immediately shot a kick straight up and through Zesiro's guard, smashing into his chin and managing to make a small scratch due to her sharpened talons.

"I don't care," she muttered beneath her breath as she swung in again and made another clean-cut contact with Zesiro's sharp blades, recoiling off them before either one of them sustained any real injuries. "That's what I kept telling myself when I applied to become a prison guard! When I applied to become a Marine! When I applied to become a bounty hunter! I didn't care what other people thought about me! I didn't care that other people thought of girls as weaker and inferior to men! I'd prove them wrong! That was my war-cry throughout my entire life!" She shouted as she twisted her entire body around and landed another powerful blow to Zesiro, and this time due to his accumulating damage, he couldn't bring his sword around to block in time. He took the powerful kick straight to his shoulder and he felt his arm crack. It wasn't broken, thankfully, but it hurt whenever he moved it. Things just kept looking down for him.

The Vice Warden ducked low, straightening out her body and sending it gliding all the way across the ground, skimming just inches above it as she came catapulting forward. Zesiro twisted his blade around and prepared to pierce it downwards, but the Vice Warden just swung around his body, sending herself shooting to the sky and forcing Zesiro to adopt a different strategy against the dive-bombing mad woman. "But the rest of the world did!" she continued, "I was always treated like some second-rate parakeet! People called me weak just cause I was a woman! Nobody ever treated me seriously! The men always rushing to protect me!" She fired another kick aiming it at Zesiro's chest, it was met by a powerful parry. "The women always trying to set me up on dates!" She stomped down onto the ground and sent a powerful kick upwards, using her one grounded foot as a pivot and strengthener to accelerate her kick through Zesiro's guards. "I just wanted to promote justice!" She shouted bringing her leg back down at an incredible rate, releasing a powerful axe kick that dragged her talon all the way down and through Zesiro's skin. "But as a woman I couldn't do it. I disguised myself as a man and made my way through the Marine ranks, came here, and became the second strongest person in this prison. I hid my entire life away just to accomplish my dreams…and you think you can beat me just cause you have swords? I got convictions! I got my beliefs! I got my dreams! I refuse to be beaten here because of you! I'll prove to the world that women are just as good as men!" She looked down at her foe, watching him get up for the third time. He lightly thrust his sword at her, resulting in nothing more than a simple poke.

"If you wanna talk about discrimination…" Zesiro huffed out as his entire body sagged forward. "I'm afraid I've got you beat. I was never protected by other people…I was never set up on dates by people…I was hunted, treated like crap, and people tried to kill me because of what I am. And I never ran away. If you want to talk about convictions, fine! If you want to talk about your beliefs or your dreams, that's also fine by me…cause trust me, sister, I've got you beat in all three." Zesiro stepped forward and in one smooth instant brought his sword twisting around, using the back of the blades to scoop the Vice Warden up and throw her into the air. "**Whirlpool Rush!" **The Vice Warden tried to catch herself, but the vicious momentum of the spin made it hard for her to stop. "This is my conviction! This is the conviction of the man who stood up against the beatings, the fights, and the wars! This is the conviction of the man who did not run away!" Zesiro twisted his blades upwards, pointing them sky high at the Vice Warden still spinning around like a top. "**Flying Swordfish Thrust!" **Zesiro made rapid upwards thrust using his swords, firing small almost invisible shots upwards and at the Vice Warden. When Zesiro was happy with it, he took his swords and turned away to Mikoto. The Vice Warden fell behind them, letting out a hollow empty thud as she hit the ground.

Zesiro clasped a hand on Mikoto's shoulder and motioned him forward as well as take his sheaths back off of his idiotic captain. "Let's go, captain," Zesiro said as he marched forward.

"Are you sure?" Mikoto asked looking back over at the Vice Warden, who was still laying out on the ground. "You do know you didn't hit her at all with that last attack, right?" Mikoto flashed a look over his shoulder at the poor harpy-girl laying on the cold stone floor, painfully aware of what they were talking about just a few feet away from her.

"It is okay, Mikoto," Zesiro said as he tightened his grip on his captain, who Zesiro realized in this instant still hadn't fully matured to a true pirate on these high seas, "It is okay. I hit her somewhere that hurts a lot more." The halls of the prison were still filled with the vicious sounds of people fighting…but Zesiro could hear it. He could hear the sound of someone with their beliefs and convictions shattered in a single instant sobbing quietly. Zesiro had taken on the task of many pirates who he had fought before, taking their burdens as his own. He had taken the burden of Shion, the guard back at Reverse Mountain, Zesiro vowed to take down his home island with its barbaric rituals of killing anyone who lost a fight. He had accepted the burden of Nito and Ichi in their quest to defeat Shigoro…however, this goal of hers, no matter how close it was to the goal of all Fishman, the goal of equality amongst all the races…he could not accept. This goal was something she would have to accomplish herself.

Which was why as Mikoto and Zesiro left the defeated sobbing harpy on the floor of the prison, Zesiro lifted one arm up into the air proudly and shouted to her, "YOU CAN DO IT!"

**The Warden Arrives**

Um...hello? Anybody out there? Didn't see all too many reviews for the last chapter...oh, well...next chapter. As stated Zesiro's fight is a good one in my opinion. Have a happy Halloween! (Aka I can't think of anything to post here so here's a generic saying).


	180. Zenith Gaol 180 The Warden Arrives

**The Warden Arrives**

Enma was paused hunkering over one of the large contraptions near him. He could see the large chain sticking out of it and stretching upwards through the ceiling. The contraption obviously could be used to recall the chain if Enma had the proper clearance…namely the prison guard's tags. However, Enma thought as he flipped over one of the tags he had gotten from the pile of defeated prison guards behind him…it would probably take a special tag and not just any tag from any guard. Enma moaned as he realized until these contraptions were taken care of they couldn't escape and the contraption couldn't be taken care of until they defeated the bad guys holding the tags. In other words escape was only possible when every single prison guard was taken of. Enma liked raising trouble as much as the rest of the crew, but he would rather not do it in a place completely populated by people out to kill them…especially when they were on a tight time frame.

Enma looked up as he continued to think about their escape plan. Chances were that there were more of these contraptions rather than just this one and he had to find and activate all of them. Enma turned to his right and to his left. He still hasn't seen even one of his crewmates in this big prison…it was rather disheartening to say the least. He hoped they were all doing all right. The enemies in this prison definitely didn't seem like people you should take lightly. Enma would just have to hope for the best that no one would get themselves into too deep of trouble. However, Enma realized that that was just wishful thinking. He walked forward, intending to locate the necessary key cards as well as the remaining terminals to raise and reconnect the two floors, but it appeared that Enma was the one who had walked into too much trouble. A black trident shot in front of his eyes, spearing the wall in front of him. Enma jumped back and instantly reproduced his own bone spear, swirling it around and preparing for combat. He looked over and saw the approaching enemy. It was the same monstrous trident user he had seen on the first floor, except this time his eyes weren't set on a large killer bird, no, Enma was his target this time. The spear and speed it flew out made Enma certain this was not going to be an easy going battle.

"I was planning on just sleeping through this mess," said the Longarm as he rubbed the back of his head, obvious still sleepy, "however, I guess I can't very well ignore an opponent walking all around me, huh?" He returned his long trident back to his side just as quickly as he had fired it. Enma was once more stunned into silence as he saw the impressive weapon return to the Longarms side…the distance between them was nothing short of a jog. Enma estimated probably seven to eight feet enough space to lay a dead man in-between them and still have room left over. Enma could only think of how unpleasant this fight was going to be and from the looks of it the Longarm didn't seem to thrilled in participating in this fight either. The Longarm's arm and trident recoiled back to his side. Suddenly he let it loose, shooting the weapon forward, aiming for Enma's neck. The trident kept leaving and then shooting back in at rapid speeds. Enma dove forward, ducking beneath each and every shot, trying to dodge each attack, however, each attack was slowly becoming harder and harder to dodge.

Enma shot forward, quickly bringing his rib cage forward once more and creating a solid guard to absorb the trident. The Longarm let his trident shoot forward aiming to behead Enma once more. The trident hit the shield and slid into the holes from there the Longarm twisted around, ripping the makeshift shield free from Enma's arm. Of course, this created a split second opening as the trident was no longer just being recoiled and fired anymore. Enma charged in, planning to use this briefest of openings to his advantage. He knew that if he could just get in close enough he could win. Trident's had an incredible range just like all spear-based weapons, but if Enma could get close enough the Longarm wouldn't be able to use his trident due to its immense range. Enma was surprised to find out just how wrong he was. The trident bounced back ready to be fired in mere seconds. Enma brought his spear back up in front of him, blocking the trident by the skin of his teeth, but he was still pushed back, sliding back a few feet and back to where he had started.

Enma saw it. He saw the trick in only an instant, but he saw how he was recalling the weapon back to its original state so quickly. It was a simple trick, something Enma should've noticed earlier, but Enma had ignored it. After all, it was impossible for a normal human to do such a thing. However, that was the keyword: human. His opponent was a Longarm. Longarms were famed not only for their long arms…but also due to the fact that they had two elbows. The two elbows could be used separately or together. If he clasped both of his elbows together at the same time, the recovery speed of his thrusts basically doubled in comparison to a normal humans…combine that with any human's ability to throw their shoulder into it and it was possible that this man's recovery speed was the best in the world. Of course, if its recovery speed could be increased by using both elbows at once…its attack speed could also be increased by using them both. The weapon shot forward again, his intentions clear. He wanted to take Enma's head with one powerful and speedy thrust. Of course, Enma wasn't some new guy to fighting. He had his own experience and his own weapons on his side. Enma clapped his hands together and grabbed a hold of the middle prong, stopping its forward motion for only a brief instant though. It was obvious that the Longarm had no intention of backing down even with his weapon stopped.

"My weak loser subordinates are going to have to be punished for letting you escape," said the Longarm as he tightened his grip on the trident. "I have Severe Justice…even the tiniest of screw-ups should be punished…and punished severely. I'll expect them to go without dinner for awhile. You, on the other…will have to go without your head!" He brought his arm around and smashed it into his trident. The trident began to vibrate ending at Enma's hand and sending the vibrations straight through his arm, making him feel like he had just been electrified. Enma let go of the trident for just a second, but in that second timeframe the Longarm had already brought the weapon back to his side and readied it for another thrust. Enma tried to move his hands, but the vibration were still vibrating all the way through his arms. He couldn't throw up a good guard with the way his arms were feeling…he would just have to figure out another way to avoid this attack. The longarm twisted his trident around and thrust it forward again, this time the weapon was aligned vertically with the top prong aimed right for Enma's eye, the middle for his throat, and the bottom prong close to his heart. A three pronged death blow. An attack he had to avoid, but without his arms he couldn't guard…this left Enma with one choice. Enma dodged to the right, ducking beneath the strike and tumbling on the ground. His arms were still numb, but this was his only option run away until he felt better. As a doctor his opinion was very rarely 'just walk it off', but this once he had to make an exception and run like hell until he felt better. He dove to the left and right, barely avoiding each and every thrust made by his opponent and some of them…he didn't. He felt the cold metal trident pass through his flesh on his right side in two different locations, luckily it seemed like the top one had missed by an inch. However, Enma knew better than to keep betting on luck. He needed to stay alive until his arms were better and then still somehow figure out a way to make up for the reach difference.

"The name is Akihito," said the Longarm as he took his distance one again, separating them from each other as he sized up his opponent, apparently impressed that he managed to stay alive for so long. "I'm actually pretty much a new guard around here. I've only been here for one or two years, but I'm already highly revered. I already have many people working under me, it is a pain. I'd be fine if they were actually competent, but they are still all so weak. Besides the Warden I think I'm the only one who gets anything accomplished here. Me and him are the real reason this jail stays afloat." It was obvious he didn't have an awful high opinion of anyone else that worked here, including Kohaku and the Vice Warden. "Me and the Warden care about this prison more than anyone else. I don't sense that care from the Vice Warden or Kohaku…the Vice Warden would've been better off on a Marine Ship where he could fully exercise his power and Kohaku is an idiot, despite being the Head Guard. I, on the other hand, want to turn this prison into an inescapable fortress, the fact that you guys have broken in here doesn't even bother me. My goal was to make an inescapable fortress, one to protect the good people of the outside world, if pirates want to come in! I say let them!" Akihito stepped forward and suddenly let his trident flash forward for Enma's body. Enma stepped back and tried to balance himself out, but he still felt the vibrations shooting up his arm.

"Damn!" shouted Enma as he produced another bone spear and barely managed to get a grip on it, his fingers were still numb, what kind of insane strength did his opponent possess? Enma brought the spear up and in between him, intercepting the full-powered forward thrust of his opponent and knocking it to the side, however that was only one of the attacks. Next was a punch. Due to the fact that Enma had knocked one of his hands away in one direction, Akihito went with it. He stepped forward and used Enma's own knock-away to create a circle to thrust his fist forward with additional force. Enma tightened up and created a powerful skull mask from his face, trying desperately to absorb the shock, but he soon found out that even that didn't seem like enough. Akihito's power came shooting into Enma's mask and even broke through it! Enma was thrown back to the ground, gasping in pain as he felt his bone break. The bones he produced were still his own bones and as a result if they broke he would feel the same pain as a normal person would feel from a broken leg. Needless to say, it wasn't fun. Ordinarily he didn't worry about the pain as his bones were equal to even steel a normal human couldn't break them, but it seemed obvious that he had found someone who could…and he didn't like that. Enma stepped back and tried to recover, quickly mending the broken bones and recovering from the damage. However, Akihito rushed in again, ready to exchange fiercely once more. Akihito still had the range on his size, especially now that his trident was ready again. His range seemed impossibly large like he was pumping all of his strength and body into just extending it...like he was trying to state that the entire prison was within his range! Enma leapt back and created a bone shield, he needed a few more seconds to prepare. He had no chance of defeating Akihito if he rushed this. He needed to use his strongest muscle…his brain.

Akihito's trident slide straight into the shield, piercing it like it was made of paper. Akihito quickly slammed his foot into the ground and rotated around, pulling Enma's shield out of his arm as he brought his other fist around. The shield flew out of Enma's reach and to the side, forcing Enma's guard open. It was obvious that Akihito was using his brain also. Each attack was perfectly woven in to the next, he was rushing in to force Enma to react just as fast. On top of that it was obvious that he had practiced fights, this was from a tremendous amount of training, he wasn't insulting his comrades the truth was…this man was just strong. Enma ducked beneath the fist and tried to close-in, draw the fight into a close-ranged match, but Akihito's trident was already at the ready. The trident flew in like Akihito intended to skewer a fish with it…and by fish Enma meant whale! The power behind it was obscenely high. Enma rolled onto the ground just to avoid taking another head-on collision with it.

Enma's hands went into his pockets. He could finally feel his fingers again, he made them frantically search through his pockets. He had one last chance now. All of his other options had been destroyed. Akihito was capable of crushing his bones with his fist, the range was too much for Enma to make-up for, and Akihito obviously had put more time into his training than Enma had. However, if Enma couldn't rely on his experience and training as a pirate to pull him through. He just had to rely on his experience as a doctor. The small fabled red ball from the URA was in his hands and he had no time to waste. He took his medicine and made a quiet vow to force some of 'medicine' down Akihito's throat as well. Of course, that was only if Enma could stay standing…the drug had a time-limit between Enma swallowing it and it getting absorbed into his blood-stream. He would just have to hope he could stay conscious that long.

(-With Taisho-)

The pod landed finally. The large man stepped out of it and brushed his shoulders off. This was the first-time except for drills when they had resorted to using the emergency tactic. Taisho was still a little bit worried about whether or not it would work. Traveling between the first and second floor was dangerous when the chains were extended, the thick sea clouds all around could drown a normal human and since Taisho was a Devil Fruit user, it was even more dangerous for him. He wouldn't be risking his life on a return-trip. No, he didn't even believe there would be a need for that. The pirates on this floor would soon be taken care of. "**Plant." **Once more hundred of tendrils exploded from Taisho's body, he would find and take out the small fries with this technique. Speaking of which…it appeared one of them was actually close to him. It was always nice when you got an instant return on your hard work.

It was a group of three pirates. They were obviously a group of vicious pirates they came charging in, happy to be free, however, Taisho would wipe that smug happiness off of their faces in an instant. "Only the innocent deserve happiness," Taisho said, closing his eyes and commanding his roots. "Everyone else deserves hell." The roots exploded from the ground instantly wrapping around the pirate's legs and bringing them down to the ground and smashing their heads into the stone floor. The root continued to wrap around them as if trying to squeeze the life out of them. "A successful prison stops a prison riot in only three steps. Capture, bind…and kill." The pirates let out painful howls as the roots tightened around their body. Of course, that was only one part of this punishment. They would feel the air become squeezed out of their lungs and soon they would their would feel their life force come out of them…after all even plants needed nourishment. The roots tightened on their latest victim and soon started to pump the energy out of them. Plants used their roots to embed themselves in the ground and then slowly steal the water and nourishment out of the ground, Taisho was no different. As a root man he too could take in nourishment from his roots…except he usually found nourishment in prisoners rather than the ground. An extremely tight schedule that barely allowed for a moment of rest, relaxation or even eating. People wondered how Taisho kept such a strict schedule, the truth was he got his rest and food from outside sources. The entire prison was made almost like a smorgasbord for him. On the last floor you had people almost willing to sacrifice themselves to him, the fourth floor had people with tough meat and delicate work patterns, the third floor was where Taisho could absorb the sleep he needed from the unfortunate people that were attacked by the Sleeping Nightlocke, the second floor and first floor were for other needs. Nonetheless, the fact was that Taisho didn't need the same amount of rest or food as a normal person. In a situation as dire as this…he would be unstoppable.

**The Drugged Power**

**The Most Destructive Man in the Prison**

Akihito was the work of...Shadow40000...I believe. Its so hard cause I apparently lost it...I have no idea where it went...I think the trident user, Akihito was his work...oh, well...if it is he'll forgive me.

I was so ready to give you guys the whole' I'm disappointed in you for not reviewing my work' boo-hoo for you...and then I got a new reviewer who reviewed the very first chapter...so, I decided to count it as you guys were just one short (and its kind of my fault for the whole cursed two days in a row update which seems to have cut back on the number of reviewers (Oh, plus, Shadow40000 has studies right now, so this will distract him from doing those).


	181. Zenith Gaol 181 The Drugged Power

**The Drugged Power**

**The Most Destructive Man in the Prison**

Enma's head was forced back as another painfully fast attack came sweeping in. The time limit still wasn't up, Enma had to keep doing checks to make sure he hadn't just missed it. It seemed like an eternity since he had taken his drug. An eternity and several scars ago. His entire body was beaten up and torn ragged, several of his opponent's attacks had made their mark, slicing through his skin and then quickly finding their way even to his bones. Blood was basically freely flowing from his open wounds now. He tried to stay standing, but his opponent wasn't in a very kind mood. Akihito charged in, bringing his trident around and making a quick thrust for Enma's head. Enma batted it aside and stumbled away, however, Akihito swung his trident around his head, and brought the back end smashing into Enma's gut. Enma stumbled back, trying to remain focused. The distance was still too great. His opponent wasn't ever going to slip-up, so that meant Enma would have to step-up. Enma produced his bone spear once more. Waiting around and dodging wasn't the way of a pirate. He would charge in and met his opponent head-on, regardless of range or power.

"Finally, going to stop running away?" Akihito smiled as he brought his trident back and readied another thrust, "good then…cause I'm going to stop going easy on you then!" Akihito brought his arm down on the trident causing it vibrate like before, except this time he pivoted his foot forward and sent numerous powerful thrusts forward. Due to the wild vibrations of the trident each thrust seemed to be coming in from a different angle, be it down, up, left or right Enma had to avoid all of them. It seemed like the man was truly going easy on him though. If he had done this from the start, the Longarm may just be the only one standing now. The vibrations added not only versatility to his attacks, but also speed and power. And Enma would have to overcome it all. Enma swung in blocking the first strike with his spear, ramming it right up in between the top and middle prong and then swinging his spear to the side to knock it away, but Akihito minimized the damage, drawing the trident in as well as matching the knock-away with his own hands to maintain control over the weapon. With that he had already shown off his far superior skills to Enma. He stepped in again, choosing not to waste a single moment. His thrusts came in again in a similar shotgun like fashion. There was no method to this madness, the shots came in at any angle possible, it was an attack that was impossible to read. However, nonetheless Enma had to go forward. If he went back he would be trapped again at the outer reaches of Akihito's range! He needed to push forward!

"**Bone Needles!" **Small and thin bones grew from Enma's hands and he quickly tossed them in at Akihito trying to cause a slight opening to make itself evident, but in terms of attack as well as defense Akihito seemed perfect. He swung around, using the speed from his vibration to draw his trident inwards and quickly flicking it around to knock the weapon aside with insane strength and ability. Of course, Enma wasn't done yet! **"Bone Spike!" **Enma slammed his hands on the ground and created a massive yard of deadly bones jutting out of the ground all of them shooting towards Akihito. Akihito smiled, finally things were starting to get exciting. He might actually get more pumped up from this! Akihito jumped, slamming his trident into the ground and lifting himself up and into the air and out of Enma's range for awhile at least. Akihito was actually coming straight for him. He had taken to the air rather than the ground, but Akihito was basically pole-vaulting his way towards the pirate. The guard yanked is trident free from the ground and circled around aiming downwards and unleashing another medley of high-speed downwards thrust, this time, however, his full-body weight was behind each and every one. They came down like hail, Enma swerved, desperate to avoid each strike, but they were too closely interwoven, each attack seemed to come in rapid-fire succession with less than a second in-between them. Enma brought his arms up and created another ivory shield, but the fact of the matter was the speed and power behind each thrust gave it great penetrating power. The shield did little to shield him, the attacks ate away at it until one finally broke straight through, piercing the shield and Enma's shoulder in one fell swoop. Enma let out a cry as he stumbled back, but the cry went unheard by his opponent who was already pulling back on his trident readying another high-speed blow without any remorse showing through on his face. The attack came down, shooting like lightning towards its target. Enma stared blankly at the incoming weapon, did he dare to create another shield just to have it shattered? He needed to stop that attack, his normal weapons and tactics seemed to have no effect on it. He would have to go for it then. He could feel it finally. A sort of unbridled excitement. A fighter's high. Back away now, try to hide behind his shield both of them seemed like useless options to him all of a sudden. He'd just do what Mikoto did…and lay his life on the line. He produced his bone spear and angled it upwards. The attacks should've clashed, but it was already obvious that a difference was forming in between them. The tip of Enma's spear shifted it was no longer a solid cut-creating point, it was a mess, a big ball of goo. His drug had kicked in.

Akihito's trident bull-dozed into the goo and was immediately swallowed up. Enma used the bone goo to change the path of the thrust, slowly pulling it to the side, making sure it would never land like Akihito had intended it. The path of his downwards thrust had sifted, turning what was probably going to be the killing blow into a horrible miss. Enma pulled back on his spear, yanking Akihito further down. Enma tightened his right fist and felt his liquid bone slowly give it a solid coating. He would lean in and go for it. He would hit him and this would be the end of things! Enma would win this match here and now! Enma's fist rocketed forward, all of his power was behind the blow and Akihito's face twisted into something else as he realized he had no way out of it. He was already coming down on top of Enma and his trident was tied up there was no last-minute technique that could save him now!

At least not from Akihito.

Enma was suddenly thrown way off balance and sent flying into one of the walls. Enma looked down at his latest attacker, expecting another guard, but it wasn't…it was a root? Even Enma a pirate on the Grand Line couldn't figure out a proper explanation for this. Roots didn't just attack people. He suppose they had trees here on the floor below, but this just seemed insane. "T-Taisho?" quivered Akihito as he struggled back onto his feet and stared down the hallway. The quiet and somber footsteps of a man approaching could heard as a dull echo came bouncing through the room.

"I'm here for the sole reason of detaining this prisoner," said Taisho, barely giving Akihito a glance as he closed the distance between him and Enma. "You are one of those Infinity Pirates, right? We originally mistook you for the captain and locked you up in solitary as punishment. I apologize for our brashness, however, I must warn you due to the fact that you broke out and started up another prison riot…your last set-up will look like a walk in the park compared to your new one, captain or not." Enma took a step back…what was with this feeling? It wasn't natural, but it felt like he was beginning to suffocate under this pressure. Just by simply looking at this man you could tell he was a man of the highest authority anywhere. Authority capable of matching the Admirals within these walls that is the power of a Warden.

None the matter, Enma realized he was a pirate. He would've taken down one guard if he hadn't interfered so he'd just get to work on another. No problem.

(-With Maria-)

"What the bloody hell is going on!" shouted Maria as she jumped backwards, trying to avoid another powerful swing that cut through the air as the prison guard closed in. She let a single punch fly like an arrow crushing the man's skull with a swift counter. "Why does it seem like all of the prison guards are coming for us!" she shouted turning around to face her 'partner', Aaron, for just a brief second before slugging another man's skull in. "This fight is taking too long!" Maria viciously planted her foot into the ground and rotated all the way around, moving from opponent to opponent, not wasting a moment in between them. Each heavy-handed slam from her fist sent another opponent flying. She moved through the mess like a gladiator, stepping over the bodies of her vanquished foes time and time again to get to the next one, living a trail of blood in her wake. Of course, for her 'partner' her demonic war path didn't seem too distracting as a matter of fact unlike before when he had been completely caught up in her looks, he seemed to be focusing on his own battles more than her.

"It seems like we knock one down and another two or three come," complained Aaron, "they got numbers on their side, but they still seem-" Aaron swung his entire body around, committing himself to a near tornado-like presence, before embedding his fist into one of the men's skulls, "-so weak. Do you think this might be a game plan of theirs or something? Like act weak where we get cocky and then trip us up with a tough opponent."

"I don't think they know of this plan then," explained Maria, weaving inwards, taking several quick steps before transferring her momentum into a twisting punch, blowing away another man's gut. She had to admit these guys did seem awfully weak almost as if they didn't have any formal training, could these guys be the new recruits or something? Or was there another plan going down here? "I don't think these guys would agree to be cannon-fodder that easily."

"Yeah, I wouldn't like to get shot out of a cannon either," Aaron said nodding as his legs seemed to move independent of his body and knock another man's head around with a startlingly fast roundhouse kick. "It doesn't seem like all that much fun."

"Do you only do things because they are fun?" asked Maria, as she easily took out another prison guard's skull with her lightning fast kick to the side of their head before gliding in lower and then launching an uppercut against another one, keeping up a quick left-to-right combination without stopping, despite having a conversation with someone.

"Of course, why do you think I'm here in the first place?" questioned Aaron as he launched another punch.

"Invading a prison sounded fun to you?" growled Maria.

"Yup, why it didn't sound fun to you?"

_Open the gates._ The voice seemed to come from nowhere almost as if it wasn't even from the Den-Den Mushi intercom system. It was just that his voice carried all the way through this prison with a twisted, yet obviously competent voice. He sounded as if he believed without a doubt that no one could touch him. As if his strategy was incomparable to any others. That was his goal…and it was delicious. The Zenith Gaol's final strategy…a technique only to be used in dire circumstances. Combined with lowering the second floor this technique was one of the deadliest strategies ever put to use in history.

Two gigantic steel slates on both sides of the second floor were slowly lifted up, revealing a sunny, cloudy world that nobody would've believed would be a last ditch strategy until the thunderous roar broke free. Two monsters had appeared at the gate, their mouths dripping with wet anticipation. One was a monstrous bird with razor-sharp fangs lining its beak. The other was more akin to a snake, wet, slippery, disastrous and ready to swallow its next victim whole. The monsters set through the mess in search of their next meal. However, for the bird it was only a short walk.

It cocked its head to the side as it found its victims, the smell of blood unmistakably wafting from its teeth, it had obviously eaten people before and it liked the taste. It lifted its large wings into the air and let loose a monstrous cry as it held its mouth open, ready for dinner. "Great…we get to be eaten," muttered Maria as she threw up her guard. Was this their battle plan? Sending a crazed monster into the prison? Did they forget they were in here, too? The monster was just as liable to eat them! It wasn't a battle plan it was suicide. Maria jumped back and signaled for Aaron to follow her, they both moved back and looked upwards at the beast. Between them rested the numerous prison guards they had beaten. It seemed horrible, ugly, and downright evil, but it was better a bunch of passed out losers than them. The monster stretched forward a bit, letting its legs glide forward, taking careful steps before stopping at the pile of guards. The bird's head dropped to the same level as the guards and took a careful whiff as if testing the freshness. Maria almost felt sorry for them…however, not half as sorry as she felt herself in the next minute. The bird lifted its head apparently unsatisfied with the offering and crowed loudly. The beast charged over setting its eyes on her and Aaron. Maria and Aaron quickly turned around and ran away, trying to outrun the colossal beast. "I just don't understand? What is wrong with the Marines?"

Another trick. They didn't let these beasts in to feed on them the beasts were allowed in to feed on the pirates and the prisoners…the Marines weren't idiots. They had conditioned these beasts years and years of training. They tossed piles of garbage out again and again laced with a sweet smelling, yet stomach-sickening ingredient. The beasts would be idiots and gobble it up for awhile…until it came to pass. The sweet small was memorized by every beast that hung around this prison as an awful poison. They would never attack anything with that smell…which meant to avoid being eaten around here you just needed to coat yourself in that stench. However, how would outsiders and pirates now about this trick anyways? They wouldn't…they would be eaten before sunrise. The man who had unleashed this strategy was kicking it back in his office watching the scenes unfold. Ordinarily he wouldn't mind being on the same level as everyone else, fighting it out, however, he didn't much care to get his hands dirty just yet. He was the prison's secret weapon, after all. His goal was the same as everybody else's a prison with a perfect escape record…if he had to step over a few allied corpses to do so…so be it! He would do it with a smile on his face.

Of course, in order to make sure that this prison had a perfect escape record a few more insects had to be taken of. In the vocation of assassin it was often said that you should completely eliminate all of the weaker targets first, ordinarily he didn't agree with that, however, he supposed since there were so many insects crawling around he would. Certainly Taisho would be able to hold the Infinity Pirates off while he took care of that. "Let's see now," he said aloud as he sat down, crossing one leg over the other and tapping his chin as he looked on in the very few Den-Den Mushi's they had left. He noticed a large amount of prisoners on the fourth floor were starting to get rowdy, certainly they hadn't apparently been broken enough. Oh, well, he would fix that. His hands started at his hair, playing around with the horizontal spikes of his silver hair. Then he dropped them down and played with the small scar above his left eye as if remembering how he had gotten it. From there he ran his hands down his clean shaven face as he considered how to approach this matter. He lifted one hand up and quickly did some quick examining. Fourth floor, area 4B was what the Den-Den Mushi had its eyes on. In other words, that was his target. He stood up and adjusted himself, pulling down his jacket's collar to make himself more presentable. Being the strongest man in the prison didn't mean one could slack off with their appearances. Anyways, where was he…oh, yes, Fourth Floor Area 4B. He was about to clean it.

He lifted a hand up into the air, remembering the exact distance between here and there…20 feet per story…first floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor. Eighty feet down…twenty feet to the right and twenty more feet down. The entire prison was divided by twenty feet. Where he was standing would be considered the center of the base aka 3C on the first floor. As long as he knew his own approximate location he could guess on where the other locations would be. He would just create one twenty feet in diameter to swallow up the entire space. **"Sol Sphere!" **

The prisoners on the fourth floor didn't even know what had happened, as far as they had known they were safe out of the busy prison guard's hands and they even had strong allies. They had no idea what to do when the entire room became engulfed in a large sphere of incredible fire. The man smiled, he was the supervisor of this prison, it was his job to make sure no insects escaped…and he was damn good at his job.

**The Root of the Problem**

HA HA HA HA HA! Get it? Get it? The ROOT of the problem? I'm hilarious...

Anyways, now that we are beyond my hilarious pun (I'm still laughing by the way) we can get on to more serious matters like what the hell is going on? Seriously the problems seem to be magnifying all around them! Its a mystery that no one on the Infinity Pirates has died yet! Oh, well, things happen. Maybe that'll be a future chapter (O_O). Seriously speaking though, I am rather surprised I haven't killed any one off yet. I have thought about killing everyone at least once (except for Hiro-Shu and Sage, sorry anybody who submitted a character or likes someone else). Anyways, BIG NEW PROBLEMS ARE COMING!


	182. Zenith Gaol 182 The Root of the

**The Root of The Problem**

Enma collapsed forward, his entire body slumped down to the ground and he just laid there on the cold cement for a few more seconds before being forcibly yanked up and into the air by Taisho. "Pirates…the scum of the sea, I can't believe you actually chose to fight me. I would've thought that someone with a name for themselves like the Infinity Pirates would be wiser than that. I must say you expertly dashed my expectations for you in one fell swoop. Where's your captain at? Hopefully he will provide me a bigger challenge." Enma's eyes widened as he charged forward, producing his bone spear one more time. He was tired and almost down for the count, but he couldn't let Mikoto fight this man! This man…was unstoppable. Enma rushed forward, but was quickly halted in his own charge as Taisho brandished his blade and swung down. The large blade easily showcased the difference in their strengths. Taisho swung wide and forced Enma away. The Warden clapped his hands as Enma tumbled backwards and into a wall. The fight was over minutes ago the fact that Enma could still stand showed his strength, but in the end that didn't matter to Taisho. Taisho smirked and turned away, "take this prisoner to a new cell." Akihito looked down at Enma and then up again at Taisho, he knew where his loyalties lied. They were with this prison…it didn't matter if it hurt his pride to cage someone he lost to…he would serve this prison in any way possible.

Taisho walked over and pressed Enma's skull beneath his shoes. "Excuse me, sir…I expect you to tell me where your villainous scum-sucking pirate captain is." Enma couldn't crane his neck any further up, the sole of this man's shoe was crashing into the top of his head. Regardless, Enma wouldn't say anything even if he could look at Taisho. Besides his eyes told Taisho everything, "Some loyalty your captain has instilled in you what did he promise you? First pick of all the women on the next island? Couple million belies? I will not allow you to get away with that. Your captain won't escape we've made numerous genius steps to turn this base into the indestructible base you see around here. Escape is impossible. I appreciate the attempt though, I don't want my guards to get rusty. This was good practice for us.

"Nonetheless, despite your help I'm going to stop your captain and lock them up, I will not be offering you a way out, you'll all be imprisoned here," muttered Taisho as he walked away. Taisho hefted his large sword back and kept walking forward. He kept moving forward, aiming at an incredible speed forward. He didn't know where his next victim would be, but…" Taisho opened his hands and let out an incredible mass of roots that began exploding out and began searching through the prison. His entire attention would be searching for him. This 'Kid Coyote' person would be trapped in his web soon. He would seal him away, keep him from escaping along with the rest of the crew. The hunt had already begun. Taisho was rather surprised at the fact that Mikoto seemed to be avoiding him. He thought that as a pirate, captain, and coyote he would be equally eager to meet him. If he found him they would have it out like two true fighters unlike the rest of these prison guards.

Taisho smiled as he sensed everything through his roots. Body heat, nourishment levels, everything was coming forth and blowing into his body, his entire body shivered as he walked forward sensing with his roots on the way through. Taisho stopped as he found them…his goal was in sight stopping this pirate would definitely earn him a new rank. Bringing in a pirate like him, somebody who turned down the offer to be a Shichibukai. That thought accelerated him a little bit further. He had just found him. "Mikoto D. Azgard…it would've been a pleasure to have made your acquaintance, however, since you are a pirate within my prison I'm afraid we'll never get the chance. I'll kill you before we ever even meet."

"What the-?" shouted Mikoto as the ground beneath him suddenly shifted, lifting the poor coyote into the air and suddenly another attack came up and knocked him back down. His feet were thrown into the air, Mikoto flipped around and managed to land on the ground again, but only problem was the instant he felt the soft ground beneath his feet he found another root shooting towards him. It seemed like whenever he got enough time to take a breath another root shot at him. Zesiro stepped forward and drew his blade, chopping a root straight in half. "What's going on did we anger a tree or something?" asked Mikoto moving back and trying to examine the massive attacking roots. He tried to bob and weave throughout the attack. However, the roots were too numerous it was almost as if Mikoto was trying to fight against a hundred bad-guys! Even worse unless Mikoto could attack the person controlling the roots he couldn't do anything about it. The Den-Den Mushi suddenly buzzed on.

"Dear Mikoto," shouted Taisho into it, "you have two options. The first option is you surrender now and we make your stay here a little more comfortable. I'm afraid it is all we can offer you, you are a pirate, your entire crew is labeled as pirates. You'll be sealed away in this prison for the rest of your life. Option two is pretty much the same, except with daily torture and the promise of slow death when it is time for you execution. It is for your best that we offered you the first option. I hope you take us up on it. Your actions are very annoying for us…your actions are going to affect many of our prison guard's next pay raise…they probably won't get any raise at all. Not even one belie, you don't have them to be broke, do you?"

"I don't want anybody to lose any money over me, but I'm a pirate so I'm going to have to go with option three! Kicking your ass!" Another ten or so vines quickly shot up and pushed Mikoto back into one of the walls, embedding the coyote kid into the stone and not letting go. Mikoto could feel his own strength slowly ooze out of him almost as if he was bleeding. Mikoto tried to struggle free, but he couldn't. Not only was he constantly losing his strength, but the roots were thick and strong. Even if he was at full strength he couldn't break out. He would have to exhaust his entire body's reserve strength just to break free.

"Mikoto, stay still!" shouted Zesiro, with such force and command that Mikoto could help, but turn his entire body rigid and prepare for the crushing of the root. Zesiro's blade flashed for the briefest of instants as he stepped in and brought the sharp metal around with a monstrous swing. The cold steel sliced straight through the roots with an incredible amount of concentration. Zesiro moved forward again, slicing through them all with deadly precision. Suddenly Mikoto dropped to the floor, ready to continue his fight. "We can't hold back, we got to find him…can you follow the scent of these roots back or something?" asked Zesiro.

Mikoto morphed into his coyote form and took of the air, but he shook his head no. "I smell him all right, but I smell him everywhere. This entire prison reeks of his scent almost as if he constantly has roots roots extended throughout it all." It was the truth Taisho used his roots to keep a constant surveillance going of the small prison. He made constant attempts to keep this entire prison under his thumb and so far everybody followed it. They refused to back down and everybody followed the rules and everybody did everything the way Taisho wanted them to. Nobody would ever fail under his watch and he would keep it that way. Of course…this meant that he himself would never fail. That was the rule of this prison. No failures and no escapes…an untarnished record. One kid wouldn't change that.

"Do you have a plan, then?" asked Zesiro looking over to his captain as he started to feel an overwhelming sense of failure. They couldn't even find their attacker, now? It was the two of them against this monster. Mikoto was fast and good in a fight, but…there wasn't a fight this time around. It was just…an overwhelming defeat. Mikoto couldn't fight someone he couldn't find. "We can't just give in, can we?" The words seemed to hang in the air for awhile before Mikoto tightened his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Anyone who can see Taisho holler!" shouted Mikoto letting his voice carry through the prison. They were pretty close to the center thanks to the Vice Warden, so everyone on this floor should be capable of hearing them…however, the opposite wasn't true. Mikoto once more hadn't thought this plan through. The floor was designed to channel screams outwards meaning anybody who could've heard Mikoto was out and away from him…in other words their voices wouldn't carry back to him cause it would be going inwards. "Come on!" shouted Mikoto louder, "there's hundreds of prisoners in here! Just shout if you can see him! I promise you, I'll kick his ass for you!" Mikoto stayed quiet for another few seconds, standing his grounds and preparing for the noise, but nothing came. Of course, nothing would come…Mikoto couldn't hear anything from this distance with the noise being channeled outwards. Taisho smiled…a perfect defense was this jail's goal and from what was going on it seemed more than likely it would come true. "This way!" shouted Mikoto turning around and bolting down a path, seemingly at random.

"What the-?" shouted Taisho as he looked forward, using his roots to sense Mikoto's trajectory…was he just blindly charging in? Did he just pick a path at random and he was hoping to land at Taisho's location? No, that couldn't be it…because he really was. Mikoto had picked the right path out of a hundred? That's not possible! Taisho had heard the screams because he was located on the outer branches of the prison, but for Mikoto to hear them…that bordered on impossibility! No human could possibly hear the screams! Was it something else? Did something else give away Taisho's location? Once more it seemed like an impossibility, there was something else…perhaps he did hear the cries of the prisoners? Taisho supposed it was possible if someone had superhuman hearing.

…or animal hearing. Mikoto was part coyote, like all dogs coyotes had superior senses when it came scent and sound. Even if no one else could hear the cries of the prisoners. Mikoto could. They were all coming in loud and clear, their emotions were clearly behind them and behind Mikoto. Mikoto would not let it go out in vain! Mikoto would answer those cries with his first punch! Mikoto raced through the maze, applying another incredible burst of speed to his legs. Speeding himself up and through the maze-like qualities of the jail. He would find him and he would hit him. That was about the extent of Mikoto's plan.

Taisho's plan was better. Mikoto was racing straight into danger, of course, Mikoto would ignore that, but he was heading for the Warden with no real plan. Taisho sat down and calmed himself down. Even at his current speed it would take Mikoto another five minutes to get here due to the prison's impressive size and all the damage that had occurred due to the fights and now the two monsters running about. Taisho would just relax and conserve his strength for the most part while Mikoto tired himself out. Of course, Taisho still had another method of defeating him. The thick roots from before exploded from the ground once more. Taisho would finish Mikoto off, his plan was as simple as that. "**Root…Pierce!"**

Mikoto looked to his side, amazed to see a single medium-sized root come jutting out at him. Mikoto twisted around and brought his fists soaring into it. A rapid-fire punch, transferring all of Mikoto's speed into power. A large hole emerged in the root from the force instants before it dropped dead to the floor. Mikoto quickly landed back on his feet and resumed the chase. **"Root Constrictor! Root Pierce! Root Slam!" **One of the thinner roots snaked its way around Mikoto's foot and held him fast, nearly tripping him. The next two roots than shot forward each one anxious and aiming to take Mikoto out by themselves. The first one was the same as before a medium-sized, sharply tipped root that shot for Mikoto's chest. The last one was the biggest one yet, the size of a tank that stretched into the air and then flopped down aiming to nail Mikoto into the ground.

"Crap!" Mikoto yelled, quickly transforming into his smaller hybrid form. Due to his small size and smaller feet he managed to snake his own leg out of the first small root and then quickly, using his superior speed, he bolted out of the second and third's range. Mikoto dodged, sending his lithe body left and right, continuously to avoid each shot. He wasn't about to hold back, he had higher speed than his opponent's 'roots' did. He would just have to use that to his advantage and go faster! Mikoto picked up the pace, really pouring it on and charging in.

Taisho was impressed. Not only did he avoid the roots, but he might actually make it here before Taisho thought he would. He chuckled to himself. Pirates like this were the easiest to imprison. They charged head forward into the trap no matter what. Taisho had more than enough time to prepare…he was omnipresent with his roots. Wherever Mikoto zagged or zigged Taisho would be well aware he could sense his movements with his roots and when Mikoto entered into the next hallway. He would just spring his trap. Honestly, taking the battle to him…what was the kid thinking? It was almost as if he wanted to lose. He had given Taisho a taste of his strength by destroying his roots, a taste of his speed by zooming towards him, what was left? His intelligence had already been observed by the fact that he had ignored these rules. Strength, speed, and intelligence…Taisho had figured out all of these elements of Mikoto's abilities and was already working on it…a method to dismantle him in one move. The trap was set…it would take less than a few seconds for Mikoto to walk into it.

Mikoto turned around jetting into the hallway and following the prisoner's yells. He was almost there! He could smell it now the scent of the man he was chasing had gotten stronger…almost too strong. Mikoto looked around, based on the scent it smelled like Taisho was all around him, but the only thing around him was stone walls and ceiling…unless something else was underneath those. Mikoto tried to slam on his brakes, but it was already obvious that he had become trapped.

"**Root Cell!"** Taisho's roots exploded from the wall and ceiling, several layers of them shot down and completely blocked away the path behind Mikoto. Mikoto looked at them with a slight sense of despair…he knew what was coming next. He quickly turned around and bolted forward...one of his exits had just been taken away from him! If the other one went then he would be out of luck! He need to go just a little faster! Suddenly the next layer of roots slammed down in front of Mikoto, impeding his forward motion. Mikoto didn't care, he brought his head forward and right into the tightly-woven net of roots. They didn't budge. Mikoto was trapped! Mikoto jumped back and pounded his fist into it. Once, twice, three times! The roots seemed perfectly capable of handling such weak attacks.

"Face it, scum," said Taisho as he walked up to the newly formed cell and waved a small hole open so he could look at his opponent's face. "You're trapped within the prison. It may not be a conventional cell, but it is a cell made here by the Warden. You should feel honored that I felt the need to go to such lengths with you. Although I highly doubt you would live up to my expectations and break through even three layers I decided to go all-out and I created six layers of roots! All tightly-woven with no chance for escape! Some may call it excessive, but if it keeps you pirates locked up then I'll go to any means necessary! Six, seven, or even a hundred layers! I'll keep you from moving! Your body will slowly start to tire out from exhaustion surely you already feel it? All this running around? You probably haven't eaten anything in awhile have you?" Mikoto glared through the small hole, but Taisho was right. Mikoto hadn't eaten anything he was too focused on the fight to eat…although he did have himself a nice sleep. "Don't even think about saving up your energy, either. In a few more minutes my men will be here with a sleeping gas bomb made from the Sleeping Nightlocke's pollen on the third floor of this prison. In other words, when they get you will be put to sleep…but you won't wake up from it. You will be instantly executed on the spot for even thinking you could insult my prison!" Taisho's ears perked up as he heard his latest prisoner mumble something to himself. "Excuse me what was that?"

"I said…**Rapid Fire x 30!" **Mikoto stepped forward, pumping his arm up and transferring all of his power upwards and through it. The thirty punches Mikoto fired were done in an instant, so fast that they had all blurred into one tremendous punch. That even six layers of roots couldn't stand up against. Mikoto stepped out, taking him time, but breathing heavily. That attack was going to cost him. It would be awhile until his fist healed up. "Now…maybe next time you will use all hundred layers."

**The Warden's Strength**

Feeling too bored to come up with a good title for next chapter, no witty puns today (ha ha _root _of the problem). Anyways, look a new chapter! Now what am I supposed to talk about? Oh, well, NEW BONUS CHAPTER!


	183. Zenith Gaol 183 The Warden

**The Warden's Strength**

Taisho was a little taken back by Mikoto's rather outrageous actions. He broke through six layers of his vines, they weren't particularly thick, but due to the fact that Taisho had woven them in and out they should've been fairly strong enough to absorb a simple punch. He guessed the kid really did have the makings of the Shichibukai. None the matter…Taisho drew his sword, a massive Zweihander, and prepared for the fight. In the end he didn't care that Mikoto broke out of the cell whether his execution was done by the Marines on a stand…or done by Taisho and his blade, it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was one pirate was going to wind up dead. Taisho stepped forward and let his roots slip out of his body and into the ground. An omni-directional attack. Mikoto's speed didn't matter, he couldn't avoid an attack if it came from all directions all at once. **"All Root Pierce!" **The roots from the ground shot up at impressive speeds and all of them in synch there wasn't a single one lagging behind in the assault. They would all break Mikoto's flesh and draw blood at the exact time, but all of them would strike at a different point. Mikoto was trapped…no amount of speed was going to help you escape from this…power, speed, intelligence once more all of it was useless.

"_Probably shouldn't risk trying to use Geppou again," _thought Mikoto as he jumped into the air to avoid the roots, _"but that doesn't mean I'm going to fall and meet your attack!" _Mikoto fired another kick, slamming it into one of the roots and forcing Mikoto to the side where there was a wall. Mikoto twisted around and kicked off of it, sending his body careening forward for his next target. **"Leg Whip!" **Mikoto twisted around once more, planting his hand on the ground and twisting himself around firing his leg straight out for Taisho's face. Taisho gritted his mouth and prepared for the impact.

"_If you want to scratch my face with your weak attack feel free," _schemed Taisho as he looked down at the ground, preparing another wave of roots this time aiming for Mikoto's hand. _"Cause I'll be taking your arm as an exchange!" _Mikoto's legs let out a dull echo as it smashed into Taisho's head and forced him back another inch. "**Root Constrictor!" **Taisho tried to summon another root to embrace and freeze Mikoto in his track, but Mikoto wasn't a one-trick pony. Mikoto kicked up using his leg that was currently embedded in Taisho's cheek along with his arm to throw himself up a bit higher into the air and away from the ground and Taisho's roots. "It doesn't matter if you are on the ground or in the air," shouted Taisho as he prepared his large blade for the first time since they fought, Zweihänder Schrägstrich!" He leaned forward and brought his sword around like an axe, slicing through the air with enough power to obliterate steel. Mikoto twisted around, bringing one arm out and balancing it on the Zweihander, and pushing himself up from there. A technique nearly impossible for any normal human, but with Mikoto's instincts and speed it was almost a walk in the park. Mikoto landed a few feet away. He was doing more than well in his mind. He had avoided each strike from Taisho so far no matter how many traps he laid Mikoto would find his way through them with speed and wild instincts. Speaking of which…time for round two. Mikoto lowered his head and charged in.

The arm he had used for the Rapid-Fire was already starting to heal, it was still numb, but Mikoto assumed that due to his constant reliance on that weapon and his training to master it he had probably built-up a slight immunity to the regular backlash. He should have it back sooner than he had planned on it until then he would just have to pin Taisho back with the speed of his legs and the number of his punches. Mikoto began firing quick and sharp punches that cut through the air at Taisho. And more remarkable than the speed of the punches was the fact that it actually seemed to be working. Taisho backed up and tried to ball-up protecting his face from the series of punches. Mikoto smiled and increased both his speed and the number of punches. The punches were like bee stings, numerous, painful, and with no end in sight. Mikoto would just keep this up until he saved up enough power to launch another Rapid-Fire to end the fight with. It looked like Taisho had no say in the how the fight went.

"**Zweihander…" **Mikoto noticed Taisho tensing up, it looked like backing up was a smart choice in order avoid this next move. Mikoto took several steps separating himself from Taisho and getting a full view of his body. However, Mikoto wished quickly he hadn't done that. His sword was gone! **"Stich!"** It took Mikoto mere seconds to realize what was going on, he quickly tried to dodge to the left, but he found himself unable to completely dodge it. Taisho's blades were in the 'hands' of one of his roots! That root had taken its distance behind Mikoto and prepared to land the blow! When Mikoto was in position, in front of the root, Taisho declared his attempt to attack with a feint, knowing Mikoto would back off in order to protect himself…however, as the saying went it was out of the frying pan and into the fire. Mikoto had indeed pulled himself away from Taisho, but he had forced himself towards the root carrying the sword! In other words, Mikoto had ran headfirst right into an attack!

"The best way to defeat…dismantle and destroy a man's instinctual fighting style is to overcome it with pure tactical planning," Taisho said as he took a step forward, "use their instincts against them is also another method. You thought I was going to attack and stepped back right into my blow." The roots passed the Zweihander back into Taisho's hand. The roots didn't quite have the same strength or speed as Taisho did. "How does it feel? I gave you an option back then, either be trapped in my cell or be trapped right in the palm of my hand? You choose the second option! I hope you don't regret it now!" Taisho stepped forward an thrust his blade inwards, aiming for Mikoto's head.

Mikoto dodged backwards, swaying with his whole body for a split second before releasing the tension and letting his entire body drift backwards. "I don't know why you explained your trick to me. It seems like it would've done you a lot better to hold it back for a few more minutes rather than blab about it! If you think you can just outthink my natural instincts-" Mikoto's body shrunk down to his small coyote form as he burst across the ground at Taisho, "GO AHEAD AND TRY!" Mikoto charged inwards, carrying his entire weight for Taisho's leg. Taisho brought his sword around and smashed it into the ground causing Mikoto to dodge to the left at just the right time. Mikoto morphed back into his hybrid form and fired a quick punch straight for Taisho's unguarded head…only to be met with another wall of roots. Mikoto pulled back and kicked away turning around and increasing his running speed as he continued to circle Taisho, he wouldn't stop after just one punch! Another rapid-fire succession of blows flew out from Mikoto's arms as they all shot towards Taisho. Taisho created another wall of roots to protect him from the vicious attacks. Mikoto broke free, spinning to the side of Taisho. Mikoto tightened his fist…the numbness of it had disappeared. He had complete control of it once more. In other words, it was time for Mikoto to finish thi-

Mikoto looked down and noticed another mass of roots all around, this time all curved downwards like slots and his foot just slid into one. Taisho smiled at his latest trap…with the kid's speed gone all that was left was to take his head off along with it. Taisho rotated around, bringing his sword crashing through the air. It was absolutely ridiculous to believe an attack like this would normally connect, but…Mikoto's foot was stuck. He couldn't kick it up another notch to dodge the blow…and what kind of idiot would try to block a sword with his bare arms? Mikoto yanked himself down, using his own foot trapped within the roots to do so. Mikoto ducked beneath the homicidal swing and quickly planted his feet. Mikoto immediately froze up as he felt Taisho slam his right palm into his body. "**Root Bindings!" **Numerous roots exploded from Taisho's hand, exhibiting his true power as a root man. If Taisho was allowed to firmly plant his roots all around Mikoto's body it would surely be his win. Mikoto needed to knock him off balance for just a second. Luckily, Mikoto had the perfect attack to do so.

"**Rapid-Fire x 10!" **Mikoto's punch sliced through the air and found itself a nice cozy spot in Taisho's side, forcing the Warden off of his body with that blow and freeing himself. Mikoto took a few steps back and tested out his arm. The numbness of it was quickly subsiding he would be back up to full-power in no time. However, even with that comforting thought Mikoto didn't know if he would make it to the end of the fight.

"**All Root Pierce!" **Another explosion from the ground as the roots came shooting up, all with the same force and power aiming to skewer Mikoto in one go. Mikoto jumped into the air to avoid it again. This would just be a repeat of last time… Mikoto looked up and say Taisho wasn't staying out of it this time. He was charging in behind his roots his body ready to go left or right at a moment's notice. If Mikoto didn't react fast enough than this would be it. Left and right were both blocked off by Taisho, so Mikoto assumed he only had one direction left to go. Up!

"**Geppou!" **Mikoto pumped is legs forward and threw himself even further up into and forward, completely slipping past Taisho. Taisho's jaw hung in wonderment as he watched the kid fly by him. Mikoto twisted around, time for another burst of speed, this time right for Taisho's head! "**Geppou!" **However, despite Mikoto's desire and determination this one didn't work. Mikoto fell a little bit further to the ground, Mikoto tried to balance himself out and with that he barely managed to land on his feet. "Damn, it looks like I still can't do those in rapid succession. Oh, well, a double jump ain't bad."

"A Rokushiki technique?" asked Taisho as he hefted his sword onto his shoulders, "I'm surprised a pirate has ever even seen one of those let alone is capable of using it. It took me by surprise, so I didn't have any counter measures in place. No news of you using that technique has appeared anywhere, so I wasn't able to prepare any counter measures I thought of it as a waste…I suppose now I'll just have to really show you your doom! I'll seal off the sky as well as the ground!" Taisho lifted his free hand upwards and let his roots embed themselves in the ceiling as well. "This will be the end of you…**True Omni-Directional Root Pierce!" **Mikoto prepared himself for it again this time jumping into the air already preparing himself for the moment of impact as the roots shot upwards as well as downwards, trapping Mikoto between them. Mikoto leapt forward again using his Geppou to send himself flying forward and away from the gaping jaws of the roots. "Did you think I wouldn't seal the front as well?" laughed Taisho as he charged in with his sword. "**Zweihander Stich!" **Taisho's large sword was thrust forward, spinning about within his grip as he brought the blade forward. That was the same technique that had hit Mikoto last time. Mikoto didn't have much of an option he was flying towards him on his own accord and the sword's blade was tilted at him…he couldn't just grab it, he'd be sliced up into ribbons! Mikoto brought his arms forward and pulled them tight over his head. Taisho slammed the sword into Mikoto's guard and pushed him back letting him fly backwards again. Mikoto's arms were torn up from the attack, but he had managed to protect the rest of his body. That was a good thing. He could still fight! "**All Root Pierce!" **Mikoto's eyes flew open as he heard those words being repeated! Another attack, give him a break, Mikoto still hadn't landed on the ground yet! He couldn't just pull another win out of his hat. The roots from the ground beneath shot upwards ready to take Mikoto down. Mikoto tightened his arms, the last attack had ruined them! He doubted he could generate a Rapid-Fire attack with his arms in this bad of a shape. It looked like he had to rely on his legs to get him out of this tight spot. Mikoto flipped around, managing to land on one of the roots and press off of it. Mikoto jumped, moving between root to root at high speeds. It appeared just because he was bleeding a little didn't mean he would be slowing down.

"I admire you for still having the audacity to come at me with your arms shredded, but don't forget without your greatest weapon you can't escape from this! Go, **Root Cell!" **Once more seven layers of Taisho's roots shot up both in front and behind Mikoto, sealing movement in either direction and trapping him once again within them. "Speed and power, your two greatest assets mean nothing against me! You can't defeat me like your other foes the ones who rushed in like bulls! I'm not an animal like them, I'm not some sleazy pirate, I'm a defender of justice this jail was meant to imprison people like you! So it is just fate that you are trapped here, unable to ever escape! And you know what they say, you can't escape fate! Just like you can't escape from my prison! Now! It is time to deliver the death penalty! **Root Constrictor**!" The walls that Mikoto was trapped in began to shudder free and move inward at an incredible speed, tearing up the ground as they went. "You should've taken your chance and become a Shichibukai when you could've…you wouldn't have had to die at such a young age." The walls slammed shut completely flattening off, trapping the poor pirate captain within.

"**Rapid-Fire…"** began Mikoto trying to break free one last time with all of his strength. Taisho just smirked and laughed it off.

"Did you forget? Your arms were destroyed by my attacks! You don't have the strength in them any more to break free!" shouted Taisho, "and even if you could the backlash would shoot through your destroyed arms easily! They just can't absorb the blow anymore! Your entire body would be ripped to pieces as a result! Face it, you lost! Just admit defeat and die!"

"I don't care! **Rapid-Fire x20!**" shouted Mikoto firing his punch into the wall. The wall inflated itself, but it didn't break it held on strong the force had opened it up a little, but it was by no means broken. Taisho breathed a sigh of relief, the kid's never-ending spirit almost made this a fight to remember. It was too bad, infinite spirit didn't make up for the fact that he was on the wrong side of the law. He would be defeated and the Marine's idea of justice would be upheld. That was the only right thing that could happen here. "And again! **Rapid-Fire x 20!" **shouted Mikoto as he brought his other arm forward and blew it open, again the walls were stressed and it was obvious the captain was trying his best, but he couldn't exert his full-power while he was trapped and his arms were bleeding like that. His hands were probably numb by now…his 'infinite' spirit crushed. He had lost, Rapid-Fire was an attack that put too much strain on his arms. Despite its name it wasn't built for multiple shots in a row. Both of his two arms had become exhausted. Taisho had won this fight. Justice had prevailed.

"**Rapid-Fire-" **continued the captain's voice, forcing Taisho to turn around. It couldn't be! His arms were destroyed, firing another Rapid-Fire under those conditions! What did he want to do break his limbs? There was no way he could survive that his body wasn't made of rubber! "-**x30!"** Mikoto's punch stressed the roots again and this time without any worry the plants had been blown away…just like Taisho's confidence. Taisho had studied this punk, ever since he had heard that he might've been in his jail he had done research! Examining him for weaknesses! Geppou wasn't in that repertoire and neither was using Rapid-Fire three times in a row! It was impossible! His arms couldn't handle that much stress! Wait a minute…was it even a possibility?

Taisho swung his sword back around and held it high up in the air as if baiting Mikoto to come in and duke it out as close-range. Mikoto didn't move, he was breathing heavily trying to buy time for his arms to recover…or…Taisho smiled. It wasn't his arms that were damaged. Taisho's data had been incomplete, not incorrect. Taisho had about ten minutes he presumed…ten minutes of pure paradise against his latest opponent.

Taisho charged in bringing his blade around, sweeping it through the air as he closed in. Mikoto managed to dodge slightly to the left and underneath it barely making it away. He had definitely slowed down from all of Taisho's attacks…or was there another reason? Taisho charged in again and again, ready to exchange blows with Mikoto. The ten-minutes would seem like an eternity, especially without Mikoto's life-saving speed. His power and speed had certainly been sealed and all for what? For Mikoto to break out of that one cell? Was he really that cocky and believing that hard that he could win just because he escaped! Escaping from the cell is one thing, escaping from the prison and Taisho was something else! Taisho wouldn't allow such a travesty! He would finish him off! Taisho's blade cut through the air again and again. Mikoto wasn't moving as quickly and a few of the cuts had gotten close, nicking his hair, clothes, and at times his skin. But he was still staying alive. His speed and power may have disappeared, but Mikoto still had one unique talent that separated him from that! Mikoto had his instincts! Wild instincts were the true gift of his Devil Fruit, not the speed or power. Mikoto had to rely on that to pull himself through. Taisho's next powerful blow, forced Mikoto back and down onto the cold hard ground. Mikoto struggled, obviously it was hard for him to get up and onto his own two feet again. Taisho lifted his blade up and brought it down on top of him. Mikoto rolled to the side and collided with the wall in a desperate attempt to escape. Another close call…Taisho rotated around and brought his sword forward, thrusting it for Mikoto's chest. Mikoto scrambled forward trying to escape, barely avoiding the deadly blade's powerful forward attack. His arms were slowly starting to feel better in a few seconds he may be able to use them to move about with, but he still couldn't make a fist with them…besides it wasn't his arms he was worried about.

"How's your leg feeling?" laughed Taisho shifting his weight again as he brought his sword around. Mikoto grimaced knowing his trick was found out. "Rapid-Fire an attack that requires incredible speed to fire multiple punches all in a split second and a shoulder capable of withstanding the recoil of each built-up punch. Firing them back-to-back would almost be impossible for someone of your skill level to do so soon…so that means you either got a third arm hidden somewhere on your body…or you used your leg."

Mikoto's face hardened. Taisho had found him out. He had fired the first two Rapid-Fires with his arms, figuring no matter how much stress they put on him he would just use his legs to break free, but that was soon proved to be wrong. He couldn't break free with just those two attacks…he needed something extra. He had to rely on his leg to break him free. However, while people say the legs are three times stronger than the arms that was only true because it was used for supporting your entire weight and walking! The recoil had shot up through his leg and damaged his hip…in other words, he couldn't kick anymore, but worse he couldn't run anymore. He had paid a high price just to break free…he would have to hope that the pay-off was worth it…

Taisho sprang back grabbing his weapon and holding it tightly. He was ready for this, a complete and total beat down. Mikoto couldn't avoid him forever! Taisho rushed forward, already brandishing his blade and letting the light shine off of it. The blade sliced effortlessly through the air as it zeroed in on Mikoto's head. Mikoto rolled onto the ground and beneath the blade, avoiding it by a hair. Mikoto wasn't out of it yet! He wasn't about to admit defeat! Mikoto stretched upwards, sending his kick sailing up and knocking it into Taisho's hand forcing him to relax his grip and let go of his blade. Taisho reeled back for a second, before moving back in and clasping his hand around Mikoto's neck. "Nice try!" Taisho hefted Mikoto into the air and slammed his entire body into the wall. The roots began to move out again, this time coming out of the wall and wrapping themselves around Mikoto, holding him there. "I could just leave you there like that, a permanent accessory to this prison until the day you die, but…" Taisho went over and collected his sword. Mikoto noticed that his glasses had fallen off during that last exchange they had, Mikoto had inavertedly knocked them aside along with the sword. Taisho turned around, now brandishing his blade once again. "I really don't want there to be any pirates left standing anywhere, including in my prison." Mikoto's attention was brought straight to Taisho's eyes rather than his blade. His eyes were pitch-black!

"My father was a pirate, you know," brought up Taisho as he walked forward, aiming for Mikoto's exposed body. There was no rush to his steps, he seemed to be perfectly in control of his body as he came forward. "My father was a pirate and yet, my mother was a Marine. A twisted love story, you would say. When my father was captured, my mother swore never to let me see him again. And she tried her best to hold herself true to her words. She was a Marine and Marines don't lie about things like that…however, even she couldn't stop the unthinkable. My father escaped from the third-rate prison they had trapped him in and he came to my house…of course, he didn't come for me. He came for my mother. He was a vengeful man and he was upset, he apparently blamed her for letting him get caught. He said it was all her fault. Now I'm sure you are wondering how I know this. How I know what my old man said when I wasn't allowed to see him ever again, right? It is simple. I saw him that night…muttering to himself over my mother's freshly killed corpse. And that is why I'm here…to this day in this prison, working day in and day out to make sure no prisoners ever escape! My prison breaks the pirates' spirits, they won't escape from here! Their thoughts of escaping! Their will! All of them will be crushed after a year or two here! If the prison housing my old man had followed a similar manner than he would never have escaped! My goal isn't to create a perfect prison! My goal is to eliminate all PIRATES!" Taisho screamed that last word, lunging forward with his blade bringing it all the way forward towards Mikoto's head, aiming to split his skull straight down the middle.

He instead found his blade piercing nothing, but the wall. Mikoto had slipped away, shifting into his coyote form once more to give him enough wiggle room to escape. Mikoto collapsed onto the ground. His arms were good to go…he could fight again. He stood up and at first was a little bit shaky, but soon he found himself on stable feet. His legs were okay…he should give them another few moments to rest, but he supposed he didn't have the time. Taisho ripped his blade out of the wall and turned around, staring at Mikoto. His will and ambitions revived. This fight wouldn't last much longer. The two of them set out for each other, each one equally interested in winning the fight. A normal human being would've died just from hearing the sounds of the mighty blade whiz by your eardrums, growing closer with every swing, each and every single one of them capable of killing a man, Mikoto just barged right in and fired several of his one punches in between. The two of them seem fated for a draw, neither side willing to budge or back down.

"**Zweihander Schragstich**!"

"**Wolf Cutter!"**

The two powerful attacks shot by the other one's head, both of them off, by just a hair's breadth. Mikoto pounded his foot into the ground and moved forward, unwilling to relent to this man's impressive power. He would aim for an exchange no matter what. Mikoto tightened his fist and leaned in, weaving and stepping closer each and every time. He carried his weight all the way in, without stopping. He quickly spun around and launched a powerful forward fist aiming for the warden's head. Taisho bumped his fist aside and brought his blade down, apparently choosing to settle this man-to-man without his Devil Fruit aiding him. Mikoto danced to the side, watching the sword cleave through the air next to him. Mikoto moved forward aiming another punch straight for Taisho's gut. Taisho's blade cut through the air like butter, not leaving a trace of anything that got caught in it way remaining, including any unfortunate pirate captains. However, Mikoto was not. Mikoto dodged backwards just in the nick of time, relying on his fast fully healed legs and bolting back inwards ready for another round. The two titans continued to exchange blows, neither side retreating. Both of them showing off their strength that had gotten him this far and their determination to complete their dreams. Suddenly the tides began to shift in favor of one of them. Taisho brought his blade arching through the air, brining it straight through Mikoto's neck with tremendous force.

Afterimage! Mikoto had managed to weave beneath the slice and avoid getting his head chopped off as well as create a powerful distraction for Taisho, the instant the tension left his shoulder as he thought for a moment he had won was the same instant Mikoto plowed his fist through the air and into his gut, forcing the giant to take a step back. Mikoto wasn't slowing down. Mikoto's fist came through the air like lightning striking from the left, right, and from below. Each attack shuddered in and threw Taisho to one side or the other, slowly Mikoto pressed forward. **"Root Constrictor!" **shouted Taisho summoning up a massive root that wrapped its way around Mikoto in just mere moments. Another Afterimage! Mikoto was already sweeping in from below readying his next punch. Taisho brought his sword around and plunged it downwards, piercing Mikoto's back and slamming into the ground. Taisho ripped his sword out of the ground and quickly looked around, frantically trying to find his disappearing opponent. Suddenly he felt it. That last Mikoto who back had been pierced hadn't been an afterimage! That one was the real thing! And it was launching its attack right now! At first it was only a soft punch jabbing into his abdomen, as if Mikoto was trying to find his opponent and then it sped up…his arm pumped forward, massive amounts of power was applied into it as thirty punches assailed their target.

"**Rapid-Fire x 30!"**

**A Letter of War**

Hmm...so...I got nothing to say...still writing. Got this going, Iron Hammer, got bored and got seven chapters of a third story written just for fun...yeah, I'm writing a lot of crap 'just for fun'. Anywaaaaayyyyssss...I'm bored, so here's the chapter be free.


	184. Zenith Gaol 184 The Letter of War

**A Letter of War**

Taisho's body bent out of shape as the attack seared through the air and into him. The thirty punches were fired in such short succession that they were all blended into one powerful blow. Taisho gritted his teeth, trying to standing through the blow, but even he couldn't survive the entire blow as the attack came through at an incredible back-breaking pace. Taisho turned around, his entire body still becoming deformed under the force of Mikoto's most powerful shot. He hadn't given up yet, he rotated around and brandished his blade aiming for Mikoto's neck with one final blow. He refused to allow any pirates just run amok! He would end this one pirate's life! If he was strong enough to be considered for a Shichibukai, than Taisho had to make sure he wouldn't harm the innocent civilians again!

Taisho's sword shuddered to a stop as a smoke cloud intercepted it. Taisho turned around, bringing his body to face the new intruder, the same pirate from before the man who had met and defeated Zesiro. Taisho opened his mouth, attempting to say something, but the priate stepped in closer and smashed his fist into his stomach, "Ssshhhh, don't talk now…let me do all the talking," whispered the man as he removed his fist from the already weakened Taisho's body and let the powerful Warden collapse to the floor, almost kneeling in front of Mikoto and the new pirate. The deadly iron cloud smoke stretched out of his lips as he turned around to face Mikoto, "a last minute attack like that would've been pathetic. Men who have lost are better off if they just accept their lost. Trying to continue on like that is just disgraceful." Mikoto took a step back and brought his arms up, he was still a little sore and he definitely wasn't ready to fight another man, especially if he was as strong as this man. Mikoto could sense his strength and his bloodlust. "I talked to my boss, the Shichibukai, 'Ghost Hook' Kraven. He's coming up here as we speak…he wants to fight you."

Mikoto paused for a second as he looked over at him. "Why does he want to fight with me? I never even met this man before," Mikoto brought up, before suddenly brightening up and putting it together, "He must've heard of me and wanted to meet me! I know maybe he wants to swap riddles?"

"HE DOESN'T WANT TO SWAP RIDDLES!" shouted the man, nearly punching Mikoto himself before calming down and turning away, "I've been given direct orders to make sure that you and your crew disembark from this island safely in order to be able to fight with him head-on. If it wasn't for that…you probably would've lost that fight." The man paused for a second as he wondered if that was true. It appeared that almost as soon as Taisho had already began bringing his blade around Mikoto had started to duck beneath to avoid it. An insane instinctual action to avoid the attack…he assumed such an action would be possible, but still…it wouldn't be easy for someone to pull especially at that close range…maybe he shouldn't have interfered and just left it up to fate to see if Mikoto would've survived the attack. He supposed it was too late for to consider that path as an option. "Me and my 'brother' are already fixing up the controls of this prison. We'll be going up in a matter of seconds…the only thing that was left was this one man's key card. But now that I have that we can get going again." He walked over and picked up a small card from the defeated Warden. "It'll take us about ten to fifteen minutes to get everything in order and start raising the prison back up…I suggest you and your crew start leaving immediately. My captain will come after you and he will kill you cause that's just the kind of man he is."

Mikoto paused for a second as if his feet were stuck in mud and looked at his opponent, he didn't seem to be lying. He seemed to be telling the truth and that his captain really did want to kill him. Mikoto turned around slowly, relying on his senses to tell him if something went amiss, but the man seemed honest enough and wouldn't hurt Mikoto since apparently his captain wanted to do that. Mikoto managed to break away from him and go running away in search of his missing crewmembers leaving the man all alone with a cigar in his mouth and two eyes full of concentration aimed at Mikoto. He moved around and watched the body of his latest target disappear down the hallway.

"I wonder where my brother is by now. I hope he isn't causing too much trouble, we are supposed to be allied with the Marines after all and not with these pirates," the man turned around and looked down to Taisho, realizing that he quite possibly could've ruined their chances by attacking the warden. Oh, well…he would just disband from the crew. His captain had sacrificed so much for him, so it was only natural that he sacrificed this much. He would say that he had been acting on his own accord and that his captain had nothing to do with it. After all, who could support a Shichibukai who had a villain like him on his crew? Taisho hadn't moved from the spot that had fought with Enma at so in other words a terminal was right there before his eyes. He would quickly activate that and the other two, find his brother, and then be on his way. He really hoped his brother was staying out of trouble.

(-With Aaron and Maria-)

The large bird thing that was chasing after them was no longer an issue, but not because of them…but because of an even bigger issue. A bulking man at least eight feet tall with long arms that stretched at least all the way down his body and hung there like pendulums maybe a foot or so off of the floor. Each one of his fists had a metal circle attached to the knuckles where when he punched he would make contact with the metal circles and not his own two fists. The man had many loose bindings hanging off of his body making it look like he was recently completely tied up and bound to something. He had long white hair that covered up his eyes, revealing only the dark pupils to those who looked. "Huff huff huff," he breathed heavily as he looked down at his recent prey as if he was thinking about how to finish the job. His tongue slipped loose from his mouth and seemed to roll down past his chin, meaning he had an impossible long tongue and he began to pant like a dog. "Find more…find more…" he mumbled as he walked forward, ignoring the two people in front of him.

"Um, what are you looking for exactly?" asked Aaron quickly jetting up in front of him using his superior speed. Maria was behind the large man, gripping her knuckles ready to react at the last second. Something about this man seemed off if he was about attack Aaron or her she would have to be ready to intercept at the first sign of trouble. He may not have attacked them, yet…but there was no telling what he may do when he was shown the chance. Aaron looked up at him as if expecting him to spill his soul just cause he asked. "Ah, forget it…I prefer talking to cute girls anyways! Ain't that right, Maria?"

"You've helped me out before…please don't make me want to kill you," Maria muttered to him immediately looking away and trying to keep her own temper in check. She wanted to hit this guy as hard as she could, but he was apparently Sage's friend so she supposed he deserved the benefit of the doubt. Aaron just shrugged and continued to walk forward…until he heard the heavy ragged breathing from the giant slowly turn into more words.

"Find more…must find more…more people…" Aaron smiled, apparently the large brute was lonely. He could understand that. It wasn't so fun being all alone. He turned around about to invite the man into their little group when the man started to finish his sentence. "More people to kill…" his breathing was still ragged, but he slowly turned around and left him and Maria alone. Apparently not interested in killing them…or was he not allowed to? Aaron was certain by the smile on his face and the gleam in his eyes he wasn't someone who was very picky about who he killed as long as there was someone to kill…if somebody else had that beast under control Aaron supposed he was lucky. A monster like that wasn't someone you would want to fight under normal conditions.

Aaron turned away, but he kept a close eye behind him for his vanishing monster. The monster didn't suddenly turn around and try to kill them, but he kept walking forward in search of what he wanted. Suddenly the ground lurched up and they could tell that whatever had happened before to cause this floor to drop was suddenly was undone. They would be reunited with the first floor in a few more minutes. They let out a sigh of relief, happy that for once they could start heading out on their journey once more. "Let's do this!" shouted Aaron, jumping into the air and pumping his fist forward. "I can't wait to meet the rest of your crew…I don't suppose you have any mermaids on your crew, do you?" Maria huffed and turned around, not really in the mood to be continuing this conversation. It seemed like an embarrassment of the finest magnitude to her. She just wanted to meet up with her friends once more. And get out of this stinking prison!

Of course, the rest of the crew felt the same way and rushed up to the first floor. Enma was already up there waiting for them. Apparently despite his actions and words Akihito wasn't someone who decided he should be taking charity. Both him and Taisho had lost the fight so they were in no order to capture them…only thing that would do would cause the Infinity Pirates to stay here for a little while and cause a little more trouble…however, there was one other thing Akihito couldn't quite put together. And that was why the supervisor didn't join the fight. He was a skill fighter when it came down to it, but he had apparently chosen to leave it to them…he supposed that was something else for another day. He didn't really particularly feel like challenging his decisions. Whatever his reasons were for letting them go, it would make sense in the end…he hoped…he didn't understand this at all. Maybe he should do what he was good at and complain! He turned around and immediately stopped in his tracks! The supervisor, himself, was there!

"Good evening," he said walking briskly past Akihito and to the nearby door, which lead straight to the roof. Akihito anxiously followed him, what was he planning? "We see that you, Taisho, and almost every other prison guard in this prison has lost so far, huh?" Akihito hung his head in shame before quickly bringing it right back.

"What about you where were you, huh?" questioned Akihito angrily waving his finger around, "You were just sitting in your office while the rest of us worked, is that it? It figures as always the boss man sits around while his underlings do all the heavy lifting! I nearly pulled my back out fighting that skeleton fellow. What do you have to say to that?"

"Do you know why only the Infinity Pirates are leaving?" asked the supervisor as he moved a little bit faster until he was on the edge of the roof and had a clear view of the area around the door. Akihito rolled his eyes, he knew why the Infinity Pirates were escaping! It was because none of them were strong enough to stop them and this guy was busy elsewhere! Akihito went to open his mouth and voice his opinions, but his superior stopped him with a wag of his finger. "Please," he moaned, "think about the question We asked 'Why are ONLY the Infinity Pirates escaping'?" Akihito paused, now that he thought of it they were quite few prisoners that managed to escape…they should all be flooding the front door by now! What happened to them? Wait…did he…Akihito looked over at the supervisor once more.

A man called 'Apollo'. It was said that had the power of the sun in his hands. The more Akihito's eyes glazed over this man of impressive stature, the more Akihito believed it. This man was probably the few men on this planet who could say they had the power of a god. Apollo smiled and jumped off of the roof, landing on the soft island cloud beneath them. "We could've taken the Infinity Pirates out as well, but We figured they came all this way out just to attack our prison, that would be rude. So, We decided to face them face-to-face." He patted his hands and let the dust come off of them as he looked on at the door. "According to my Haki they should be arriving soon." He lifted his right hand up and pointed it at the door. "Let's give them a warm welcome, shall we?" A small sphere of pure energy appeared in his hands, Akihito shielded his eyes and tried to look away from the dazzling light. "**Supernova!" **Apollo brought his hand in immediately and smashed the small sun sphere in between both of his hands. The sphere was squished in-between his palms as Apollo prepared for the release. Suddenly he opened his hands just a little, so a little 'hole' was pointing right at the door. Suddenly with the force of a hundred cannons an explosion shot forward, streaming into the door and blowing a hole in it, melting the edges of the hole and the stream kept going inwards, undoubtedly to the other side of the prison, burning anything or anyone in its way. Akihito remained in his spot on the rooftop and looked down at it…such incredible power, there was no way anyone could survive a fight with this man. Apollo clicked his tongue loudly as he looked on, "missed."

Akihito's eyes went wider as he felt a rumbling beneath undoubtedly the pirates were now fired up and ready to fight. Akihito scrambled up further onto the rooftop he was still too badly damaged to fight. He had taken a beating and that was it. He wasn't about to risk no life and limb at this point, especially since he probably wouldn't have to. This was 'Apollo' Ryan Marrow he was talking about. A high-ranking Marine official, who suddenly transferred to the prison…apparently as big as he talked the call of being an Admiral never appealed to him, he was more than satisfied with his position, never even aspiring to become the Warden of place. He would stay here for as long as he felt it was necessary.

Another loud rumble came from the prisoner. Apollo smiled apparently anxious for the first fight in a long time that he would be able to stretch out in. His power was god-like, Akihito knew immediately that no mere pirate would ever be able to lay a hand on him. However…Akihito would have to hold off on his own calls for a little while. The giant twin metal doors were sliced up with little care for delicacy or reserve. Only an extremely skilled swordsman confident in his own power could do that. However, the surprises didn't stop there. A black blur came shooting out of the collapsing doorway, expertly avoiding each fallen slab of metal with purebred instincts. No time for hesitation was allowed in such a daring act. Akihito remained transfixed to the scene. It was amazing to see a pirate crew like this, his side still hurt from his fight with the doctor of it. He wondered if there was something else to them as well…after all, Apollo doesn't miss…did they do something to cause that as well?

Mikoto crossed the ground, planting his feet to the side of Apollo and let a single uppercut screech through the air and into Apollo's side, forcing him to take a step back as he felt the burning sensation of power and speed hammer into his side. Apollo stumbled back before quickly balancing himself out again. "That'll do for introductions," gloated Mikoto as he stepped back, sensing danger. Introductions? So what, he wasn't serious then? Apollo smiled at the thought, but no matter how much stronger he could be, no matter how much faster he could go, he knew he would still win! After all, nobody in the world could match him. The title Apollo, the Sun God wasn't merely for show.

**Can You Reach It?**

I think I honestly just quit counting reviews...I tried, but in all honesty ten times out of ten you guys made it...plus I've got new reviews for the single chapters so I either discount those and I have to recount from beginning or count them, in which case I got to post another like twenty chapters...so, yeah...

Anyways, we finally get a look at a man, who goes by the title of Sun God...this definitely will not be your average fight. Mikoto, the coyote, has struggled hard to get here and he will not falter, but against a man who goes by the title of a god does a coyote have a chance? Oh, by the way, Apollo is the work of Labyrinth-Designer and congratulations to anyone who found a small little hidden secret to him. I didn't try to hide it, but I didn't really point it out, so if you find it! GOOD FOR YOU! Except for you Labyrinth-Designer, you should already know about the hidden secret...if you forgot about it...well, then...


	185. Zenith Gaol 185 Can You Reach It?

**Can You Reach It?**

"Mikoto D. Azgard," laughed Apollo taking a step back and opening his arms as if welcoming his crew to the final leg of their journey, "We trust you won't hold back." Mikoto smiled and once more disappeared into a blur, vanishing beneath Apollo's body and then quickly zooming upwards, launching himself with all of his strength to fire one punch aimed for his chin. Mikoto was lucky he had landed that first blow early on, if it wasn't for that Mikoto would have no idea if this man was a Logia type or a Paramecian, however since Mikoto managed to hit him once he knew for a fact that he could hit him again. That is if Apollo allowed it. Apollo shot into the air, using a technique similar to Geppou to create more distance between them. "We guess that answers Our question then." Apollo brought one arm back and created another small sphere of sunshine, readying a downwards shot. There was no way he could dodge this attack!

Mikoto didn't seem to worried it was apparent already that Apollo had been too busy with his own things to watch his fight with Taisho. "**Geppou!" **shouted Mikoto shooting straight up and past Apollo with only two jumps. The difference in their leg strength had been made clear instantly. With leg strength and speed on his side, Mikoto felt confident in this fight. Besides in the end Mikoto's choice was obvious, the only thing he had to do was smash his face into the ground. "**Leg Whip!" **Mikoto forced another burst of Geppou out of his legs, it was true that he was only limited to one additional jump, however, Mikoto could still maneuver in the air better Using short bursts of it. And that's what he did Mikoto brought his leg spinning around like a buzz-saw going from below Apollo's head to above it to right into it! Apollo faltered for a second before catching himself and quickly jumping away, avoiding a head-on collision with the ground once more. Apollo landed on the ground and looked up at his opponent. Mikoto fell to the ground next, without additional jumps with Geppou that was about the most he could muster. "You won't be able to stop me!" shouted Mikoto as he threw his arms behind him and charged in again.

"Why not?" asked Apollo as he crushed the small sphere in his hand again, this time infusing his arm with its energy. "We've beaten plenty of rushing bulls before!" Apollo struck out with his sun-infused hand, slicing the air open as Mikoto ducked beneath. As strong as Mikoto felt…he couldn't say he felt 'cool' just being around this man's punches Mikoto could feel the extreme, almost other-worldly heat emanating from his body. However, that wasn't going to stop him! Mikoto looked upwards, noticing the exposed chin just above him. Mikoto immediately swung his arm around, changing its momentum from a straight punch to an uppercut. However, it was Mikoto's chin that wound up getting hit in the end. Apollo had lifted his knee straight up, Using Geppou as a secondary boost to slam his knee up with a new brand of power. Mikoto's head jerked back along with the rest of his body as he tried to balance himself out again. Apollo stretched his arm forward, Mikoto could still feel the heat radiating from it. Apparently the few seconds had done nothing to cool it off, "**Sol Sphere!" **A small glowing orb appeared in his hand and he let it rip its way forward, Mikoto twisted out of the way pushing himself awkward out of its path, however, no matter how stupid he looked Mikoto was thankful that he did it. The sphere was incredibly hot and incredibly fast it shot its way forward melting straight through the stone walls of the prison as if they weren't even there. "This is the power We possess," brought up Apollo as he opened his hand up and formed another small sphere. "People refer to Paramecia-type fruits as the weakest of the chain of Devil Fruits, We suppose as a Zoan you probably agree with that statement, right? Well, the Gura-Gura no mi is one of the few fruits that break that chain, Our Taiyo-Taiyo no* is another one. Behold the power of the sun god!" Apollo wound up and sent the small sphere he had created burning through the air and at Mikoto like a baseball. He smiled as he watched it power its way through his pathetic little skull. However, he realized all too late that it wasn't quite as good as he had predicted it to be. He soon found himself staring up at Mikoto as the kid coyote wrapped his legs around his shoulder and looked down at his face, readying a punch.

"I don't know about Devil Fruits," Mikoto said with a smile on his face, "but I know that you are weaker than ME! **Rapid-Fire x 20!" **Mikoto shot his fist forward multiple times, smashing it repeatedly into Apollo's snotty face. Apollo reeled back as Mikoto let go, releasing his shoulders from Mikoto's vice-like leg grip. "Score!" Mikoto cheered, pumping his fist into the air with a juvenile-like happiness to it. When another small solar sphere came bursting through the air, searing it up as it came along Mikoto's happiness disappeared. Apollo wasn't down for the count yet. Mikoto tested out his punch once more…he didn't think it was that weak and on top of that it was a direct hit…he wondered if it had truly fully recovered from pounding Taisho in yet.

"Marvelous," Apollo laughed as he stood up and straightened himself out as he formed another ball of energy in his hands. "We were hoping you would provide Us with a challenge. Of course, in the end We know We will win, but until then We are happy to give you won't just give in! We never believed in a pirate capable of actually fighting on an equal level as Us, We believed your stupid beliefs and dreams would weigh you down, but here you are forcing Us to get serious. We will appreciate your efforts no matter how early you die. **Supernova!" **Apollo squashed the small sphere in between his hand as he did when he originally burned through the door. Mikoto took a step back immediately recognizing the change in the air…he was planning something big.

"It is the same attack as last time!" shouted Rosa sensing it with her still semi-latent Haki, however, an attack pumped out this much energy and could cause this much fear didn't require an incredible amount of training. "Just like before!" Mikoto didn't seem surprised. His instincts could tell him that much…however, if there was one thing that could truly surprise people it would be the fact that Mikoto didn't look worried. As a matter of fact he looked confident as he stared ahead at one of the most deadly attacks he had ever faced. Mikoto tightened his fist and readied himself, another Rapid-Fire at close range. Two almost back-to-back would make sure any man stayed down. Mikoto readied himself, bouncing back and forth anticipating the blow.

"GO!" shouted Apollo opening his hand a little bit like before shooting out an explosion with a laser-beam-like focus. Mikoto dove straight in, unafraid of the approaching attack. Apollo smiled, tenacity was to be admired…stupidity to be laughed. And that was exactly what this attack was pure and utter stupidity. There was no way he could avoid this attack. However, it soon became apparent that he didn't plan to…or even need to. The attack was warping out of the way almost as if it was being pushed aside by sheer willpower! However, Apollo knew that was impossible! Nothing in the world worked like that! Nothing! There had to be another explanation! However, he would have to wait on finding what it was as he had his hands full with another problem! The charging coyote. Mikoto's fist was already at the ready, turning upwards ready to pounce downwards on Apollo. Apollo immediately brought his guard up, ready to block the punch and try again. He would block it and then shoot Mikoto as close range with another Sol Sphere…wait a second…the hand that was ready to punch…it was the same one as last time! Which meant it was only a feint the real punch was coming from the other side!

Mikoto was impressed that had managed to put that much together and if speed was on his side, Apollo would've been able to block in time, but it wasn't. Speed was Mikoto's forte, Mikoto zoomed it a nearly undetectable speed and blew into Apollo's guard. Suddenly his punch curved upwards and fired repeated back-to-back shots into Apollo's gut. **"Rapid Fire X 20!" **Mikoto's force had just been proven judging by the look on Apollo's face, but he didn't seem all too worried as he moved back, still managing to hang on. He had to admit the kid's punches were strong, however, in the end Apollo was ready to take four or five blows…since only one of his meant defeat! Apollo readied another sphere and took aim! He let it loose, letting it fly through the air at Mikoto's head. Mikoto bobbed and weaved through it again, closing the distance. He was like a rushing boar! Mikoto relied strictly on his speed to push himself into his opponent's chest and land devastating blows!

It was apparent that his Sol Spheres needed to improve their accuracy and until he found out the reason why his Supernovas had missed he couldn't use them again. So, it looked like he would agree to the kid coyote's condition, and fight him head on. **"Sol Flame!" **commanded Apollo once more as he absorbed the power of the sun into his fists once more. The power coursed through his body. Akihito smiled from his position on top of the roof, unable to look away from the fight. Apollo wasn't someone who relied on Supernova or Sol Spheres and focused on attacking from a distance, no, the truth was Apollo was just as invincible in close ranged fighting as he was in long-range. Mikoto smiled as he bolted inwards, glad to finally be able to rely on his fists once more. They were still acting up from the Rapid-Fire, but one of them was almost healed…he supposed until than he would have to move onto Plan B. Mikoto lashed out with his legs, aiming low for one Apollo's legs. Apollo pulled his leg out of the way and then twisted around, firing a punch downwards, but before his punch could even get close Mikoto was gone. Suddenly he felt a quick hit appear on the back of his head from a downwards angle. He twisted around, flailing violently, but Mikoto had already driven backwards and out of his range. A Hit and Run Strategy, huh? So, be it! Apollo smashed his hands together to create a burst of sparks all around him.

"Mikoto certainly seems to be doing well without his arms," brought up Enma from the side-lines. His entire body still burned, he was surprised Mikoto managed to take out Taisho. He suppose it was from his experience fighting Abel that he managed to do so. They used a similar kind of binding technique, but still Enma hadn't quite expected the fight to go so smoothly for him this one looked to be a lot more difficult. Mikoto was putting his life on the line every time he dodged one of those Sol Spheres…and even more so with those Supernova shots that Apollo seemed confident in.

"I personally think he's desperate," Ridley said offering up his own two cents, "I mean Mikoto would rather fight with his opponent on equal footing, but until he can do that he needs his arms to heal. This kind of cowardly fighting isn't his style." Ridley sat down, knowing this would be a long fight. He didn't want to get involved and neither did anybody else on the crew, so they just reclined themselves to watching. It was an amazing fight and they knew that if it had been them chances are they might've been on the receiving end to one of Sol Spheres…truth be told Mikoto may be the only person alive who could dodge them…except for maybe Aaron who was too busy fawning over Rosa now that he met her.

"Actually," brought up Zesiro, looking on. "I think this style of fighting is much better for him." Ridley looked up at him and wondered what he meant, the rest of the crew looked anxious as well. "Mikoto isn't exactly a hard puncher. He created that Rapid-Fire technique to overcome that weakness, however, even so that technique isn't good for him. If he could use it in moderation and not rely on it so heavily he would be a much better fighter. This Hit and Run technique capitalizes on his speed while at the same time covering up his weak offense and defense. If he could use something like say Rapid-Fire x5 with this and exchange blows quickly than chances are he would be able to dominate most fights…then again if he did that most fights would last an incredibly long time."

The crew looked on and realized there was some truth to what Zesiro had just said. Mikoto's style of fighting definitely did seem to contrast his own skills. They wondered what possessed Mikoto to charge in to fight each and every single time despite not having incredible defensive prowess…it was like he was trying to push himself to his limits and force himself to break down on purpose. If he did just follow Zesiro's advice he probably would win most fights, but he didn't. Why did Mikoto choose to fight like he does? It was reckless and stupid…sure was Mikoto, but if he just knew better he could avoid it. Of course, they knew they couldn't stay too overwhelmed by Mikoto's strength as he put his foot down. "It's nice to know his recovery time went down," noticed Hiro-Shu as they looked on. It was obvious by the look on Mikoto's face. He was ready, his arms had fully healed! It was time to close the distance! Mikoto bolted inwards, dodging left and right under a quick medley of fast jabs from Apollo. The crew knew though that the instant Mikoto was at close-range the fight would begin…and Mikoto would put his life on the line again!

Mikoto dodged, left and right, weaving and bobbing through the fast punches Apollo sent his way, but the difference in their experience proved to be there. Mikoto's fight against Abel helped prepared him for his fight against Taisho, but his fights with Cain and Trevor made him ready for Apollo. Cain's flaming breath was more than Apollo's fists were, Trevor's killing intent was greater! Mikoto was ready for it! He was ready to take this man down! Mikoto planted his foot and let the power, transfer from his feet and into his arm, preparing to throw out a powerful punch. However, the key word was right there. The main reason Mikoto was not designed to fight as close-range, 'planted his foot'. Mikoto's had to plant his foot to deliver any powerful punches, including Rapid-Fire and if you know what to look for or when it was coming…it was easy to prepare and set up an exchange! And Apollo with his experience and his Haki knew about it immediately. Apollo brought himself around, swinging his fist around at a nearly epic speed. Incredibly determination pouring out from him and right into Mikoto as his fist connected. Mikoto's punch had been a second to slow, it brushed against Apollo's face as Mikoto's body was contorted from Apollo's blow. Mikoto felt the pain sear into him, but Mikoto quickly pushed off of him and took his distance again breathing heavily. His body hurt, but even worse was his ego. He thought that punch was going to connect! Not only having it screw-up, but also in exchange getting hit instead made it worse! He couldn't quite think straight it took Apollo charging in again readying another punch to make Mikoto react.

Mikoto swayed backwards, nearly putting his body at a 90 degree angle to avoid the punch as he watched it fly above him. Apollo shifted his weight, eager not to let Mikoto go and drove his elbow downwards for Mikoto's gut. Mikoto swung away, but his side got burned leaving probably second degree burns on it. Mikoto could consider himself lucky that it wasn't any worse. **"Sol Sphere!" **Apparently Apollo knew an opportunity when he saw one. Mikoto was hurting bad, his life-saving feet had temporarily been halted. Mikoto swayed backwards, even without his feet he could still dodge using the rest of his body. He watched the sphere blow over him and he immediately went to raise his body upwards, but he was soon met with a series of blows. Apollo hadn't quit. He charged in, eager to exchange blows with his newly weakened opponent. His punches had an incredible sharpness to them, an incredible passion, and a scalding touch. Mikoto didn't stand much of a chance without his feet, he felt his head jerk to the left and right from punch after punch, a steady amount of heat building up in both cheeks. However, despite the punishing blows Mikoto stayed standing. Even if his body wasn't strong enough to weather continuously blow after blow after blow his will certainly made up for it.

Which only annoyed Apollo. Apollo jumped back, separating himself from his target…after all he didn't want to get any blood on his shoes when he finished him off. Apollo lowered his arms and created another Sol Sphere, however, once more it was obvious that it was far from his attention to throw it. He crushed it beneath his hands and smiled…he got it now. He never would've been able to put it together if it weren't for his Haki…he had to thank Miss Bardroy for voicing her thoughts so loudly. And now that he knew how it was done…he knew how to counter it. Rather than releasing it as a small fine beam through a small hole in his hand, Apollo pulled both of his hands away at the same time. The explosion was no longer focused meaning the damage would be less, but it also covered a lot more ground.

The explosion filled the air for a large distance, all the way up to the door. The crew was lucky that they only got hit by an intense force and incredible heat from where they standing. They were blown back into the prison, but that was it for the most part. Some of the ones who landed wrong were hurt, but not too badly. "The ability to manipulate pressure," said Apollo as the smoke from the real explosion clear, revealing that the ground immediately beneath him had been blown away and he was using Geppou to remain where he was. "Amazing. We never would've thought of that. Creating a change in air pressure to create very small bumps that would cause Our laser beam to miss its target, congratulations. You are the only ones who've ever caused Us to use Our attack three times. However, now that that's done and We see how to avoid it. We can't see you lasting much longer." Apollo turned around and faced the crew. "Nice try, though."

Sage swallowed her pride. She didn't think about him using Haki to foretell how she was doing it, much less be able to think of a way to overcome it in less than a split second. He didn't need any time to come up with a counter measure. He just knew instantly. The power was less restrained and less focused, but it was still a deadly technique to anyone around him…and this time there was only one person there, Mikoto. Sage scanned the horizon in search for him, but she couldn't see him. Where did he go? Sage felt her body heave slightly as she couldn't find him. The rest of the crew seemed to be having similar problems. They couldn't see their precious captain. An attack like that, capable of scorching and destroying the ground…could it even possible that Mikoto had survived it? Of course it was…of course, it was because he was going to be King of the Pirates…he had to still be standing. He just had to be.

"Bwa ha ha ha!" laughed Apollo throwing his head back and laughing in his opponents' faces. "King of the Pirates? That bloody old myth! You've got to be kidding me. You can't honestly think that something as stupid as that is real, can you?" The iron cold look on the crew's faces told their story. They did believe in it and they didn't like it that someone was making fun of it. "What would possibly possess a pirate to make him leave his gold behind? Did you really think he liked you that much? Or did you think he did it to spur on a new Era? He was a pirate! He didn't care about anyone, but himself. He caused mayhem and havoc wherever he went! One Piece! If that is what you pirates are hedging your bets on you, are all lost!

"We Marines believe in the universal power of our leader, handed down from generation to generation again and again," continued Apollo, keeping up his biting tongue. "I understand you believe in fairy tales, but still to think that you are willing to go this far, believing in such hogwash. Despicable, dumb, and foolish…or should I say just like a pirate! Your captain died believing in a fairy tale and if you don't go back into the prison and lock yourself up, like good little inmates…you will, too!"

"Go inside," growled Zesiro as he drew one of his swords and stepped forward, ready to fight. The rest of the crew readied themselves to fight as well. "Go inside!" he growled louder, this time with much more force and a welling anger in those words. The crew hesitated for a few moments looking at him.

"We can fight, too," declared Ridley as he swung his guitar out and readied it. "We aren't afraid of him!" The rest of the crew nodded, even Aaron who wasn't even technically part of the crew, but had decided to fight anyways. Rosa had rushed Lily back into the prison to a safe spot, but now she was coming out of it waving her sword around above her head ready to fight as well. They weren't going to back down, this man had insulted their captain's dream. He wasn't about to get off easily.

Zesiro scoffed at their words. They had inherited their captain's stubbornness and spirit…alongside his inability to pick-up little things. It wasn't Apollo he didn't want them to see. Could they not sense it? The overwhelming bloodlust and savageness filling the air. Mikoto had inherited the body, speed, and instincts of a coyote. So it was entirely possible that inherited one more thing due to the power of his Devil Fruit. The insane insatiability of an animal and more importantly of a carnivore. An insane insatiable intensity was filling the air. Zesiro was used to fights like this, fights against incredible monsters…Apollo wasn't the one radiating this disturbing feeling…so the only other possibility was their captain, the half wild animal.

Zesiro recalled something from the beginning of their journey. When Sage had been kidnapped Mikoto had accidentally stumbled into a similar form…a form that completely relied on his bestial nature…Zesiro had written that off as Mikoto was drunk, but now that he was witnessing Mikoto's true savage instincts slowly eek out and into the air, electrifying the space around them. Zesiro was starting to truly accept the fact that Mikoto was a predator.

Mikoto exploded upwards from the island cloud beneath them, apparently he had been blown downwards and into the iron cloud. He had noticeable black burns on his body, but his adrenaline and animal-like focus had replaced the pain with the idea of the hunt. A bestial form of Mikoto's best instincts had overtaken him, complete savageness. Apollo twisted around eager to meet his opponent, however, his energy seeming to disappear a little as Mikoto fired a quick shot straight into Apollo's guard, forcing him back even in midair. Apollo's face grimaced as he was thrown back. "A Rapid-Fire right off the back!" shouted Ridley, growing interested in how the fight would develop if Mikoto would truly let his fangs show! Mikoto dashed inwards, baring his fangs and charged at Apollo his fist already preparing for another shot. Just like before with one arm going upwards from the left and the other downwards and from the right. Apollo chuckled, he wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. The punch going down from the right was the same arm he had just attacked with, he couldn't use it again already. Apollo tightened his lower left guard and created a Sol Sphere, he would take Mikoto's punch and then burn a hole straight through his chest. Apollo's head was forced down and to the left from Mikoto's 'exhausted' arm.

"Another Rapid-Fire!" shouted Rosa, amazed by Mikoto's savage instincts. She was barely capable of catching the separate punches, but she could definitely tell that there were six or more punches to that one. However, she thought it was odd…she had thought Apollo was on the right track. That that arm was the one Mikoto had just used to smash Apollo's head-in…she supposed it must've just been a trick of the mind. Mikoto was moving fast, they must've just gotten confused for a second. However, now both of Mikoto's arms were out of it…he couldn't use either arm. She supposed he must be prepared to go on the run again.

Nope. Mikoto was rushing in again, both of his arms stretched back behind him as if he was about fire a punch. Apollo stepped back, unsure of how to take this attack was he being an idiot? Or was he about to throw another feint in? Apollo grunted and lowered his hand, taking perfect aim with another Sol Sphere. As soon as he got into range Apollo would rip that little punk's head off. Now! The small glowing sphere of intense energy ripped through the air and at Mikoto's head. It hit head-on…with an Afterimage! Mikoto had already swerved out of the way and was on his way in deeper. Mikoto tightened both of his arms and fired them both forward, twin Rapid-Fires tore into Apollo's body causing him to shudder backwards.

"He's being reckless," muttered Enma as he watched on, biting his lower lip out of anxiety. Mikoto was ignoring the pain building up in his shoulder…or did he just not feel it…Mikoto had used Rapid-Fire plenty of times today, the built-up stress could be destroying the nerves or was it just a matter of an adrenaline rush hiding it? Either way the results would be the same…Mikoto's arms would be destroyed. He shouldn't fire it off too many more times. If Enma's calculation was right Mikoto had one more shot, before his arm crosses the line of no repair. And Enma knew it was his job to do the repairs...it was never an easy day's work for him. Regardless of that Mikoto was doing a good job at avoiding Apollo's attack while at the same time landing several of his own.

"Yeah!" shouted Aaron, the only person who had never saw one of Mikoto's fights before. "He's doing great! This is how a real fight should be! Neither side faltering, but one side gradually winning more by more by more! Mikoto is really pounding into Apollo!"

"Idiot," mocked Ridley, he didn't really know who this fool was, but it was already obvious that his brain wasn't working too well. "I have a question for you who is on the top of the food-chain?" Aaron paused for a second looking over at Ridley…he kind of wanted to hit him already. Despite the urge Aaron gave the question some serious thought. The answer was simple. "Humans," said Ridley using a grave tone. "Humans and not animals are the top of the food chain. While most people think that animal-like instincts are good, it is only good if a human intellect is fully behind it. In battle the hunter will always have an edge over a predator." Aaron looked on, he didn't know what Ridley was talking about until he saw the light in Apollo's eyes.

"We have to stop him!" shouted Aaron, trying to attract the crew's attention, but none of them really jumped at the chance to prove themselves to the new guy. "Apollo's plotting something big! Maybe even a bigger explosion than last time!" The crew stayed sitting there. Aaron gritted his teeth and turned back around to face them, why weren't they interfering with this fight? It was obvious something bad was going to happen. Apollo claimed to have the strength of the gods, he had taken several hits from Mikoto and was still standing, something wasn't right…and if it continued at this rate…Mikoto could possibly die. Did they really just believe in their captain this much? Did they truly believe that he could pull it off?

"I know what you're thinking," explained Zesiro, butting his head in on Aaron's little panic attack. "And the answer is 'no'. The real reason why we're not interfering is because…we know Mikoto wouldn't listen to us if we tried." Aaron fell straight to the floor, his two legs sticking straight up into the air…it wasn't trust, they just knew him too well.

"_Finally," _thought Apollo as he tested his hands again. The continuous attacks made it hard, but he was ready…he had been preparing it throughout this entire fight. His ultimate attack, forget about Supernova that one wasn't all that strong or reliable against this man besides there were too many pirates around him anyways to slowly and methodically take them out would take too long…this was his solution. The Sol Spheres were small enough to fit in the palm of his hands, but he never said that was as big as he could make them…no, this blockbuster that he had been preparing…it would engulf the entire dock in one shot. Mikoto could run wherever he wanted to as fast as he could, but it didn't matter. "GOO! **Greater Sol!" **Apollo jumped into the air using his Geppou and up to the skies forcing everybody to look upwards and straight at him and the burning sun. Soon another small sun began to grow next to it straight out of Apollo's hands. "A blockbuster of epic proportions! We never thought We would be forced to use this attack against one man, but your speed is greatly annoying Us…so Our answer is this. Die beneath Our great radiance and bask in Our glory!" Apollo wound up, twisting his body around and preparing to throw it down, destroying the docks beneath him.

"Now what?" shouted Aaron looking up at it. Could they really block it? No, they would have to take Apollo down now in order to do stop that attack. Maybe then they would stand a chance. However, for so far Mikoto had only used close-ranged attacks did he even possess an attack to hit from this far away? No, of course, he didn't…what about Geppou? That could work! If Mikoto could use it more than once…even with Geppou it would take Mikoto three or four bursts to get up to that height. And Aaron really didn't want to rely on such a stupid idea that Mikoto would be able to master it so quickly. Could Mikoto do it? He looked over to his friend and noticed he was doing something strange. He was bouncing up and down as if he was pumping his legs. Aaron was about to just say he was screwed and start praying when he re-thought about what Mikoto was doing…pumping his legs? When else did he pump his body?

Rapid-Fire! Mikoto's tempo rapidly increased to the point where he was just a blow. He was ready for it. He wasn't about to use Geppou and make it up there that high in five jumps! He would just do it in one! "You can do it!" shouted Sage and the rest of the crew, catching on as well. Aaron looked back into the prison, realizing that with his speed he could probably dodge into and find someplace safe to rest. He could easily avoid the blow…however, what kind of pirate would he be then? Soon his voice joined the chorus of cheers!

"Hit him and his golden balls*!" shouted Ridley, which immediately earned a righteous smack upside the head from Sage and almost every other member of the crew.

"Go ahead and try!" shouted Apollo, "We said it before, but your foolish dream will just weigh you down! You can't summon up that much strength if you are foolishly chasing after something that doesn't exist! Go ahead and try! Try with all your might! Get as close to Us as you possibly can and We'll be glad to watch you burn from the best seat in the house!" Apollo was noticeably waiting, he could've chucked that orb down moments ago and already began to watch everybody fry, but he was just too cocky. He was already starting to look down on Mikoto, despite just moments ago getting hit heavily.

A look in Mikoto's eyes was all that was necessary to see that he was done. His legs had become nice and limbered up, the blood was rushing through them. He did a short half-jump just enough to lift his legs off of the ground and then he went, "**Rabbit Fire*! X 30!" **Mikoto shot upwards with all of his leg strength, being applied behind him. Apollo readied his sphere, he would throw it down at the last second when Mikoto got as close as he could to him. The old story of Icarus stated that you should be careful flying too close to the sun…and Apollo would show him exactly why he should. The veins in his hands supporting the giant orb began to tense as he prepared for it. Mikoto sailed closer, but it was already obvious he was losing momentum…he just hoped it would carry him all the way up there. Apollo smiled as he watched his worthy foe, slow down…losing out this time in terms of height…a good few feet beneath him, just where all pirates belonged.

"Hah!" shouted Apollo as his entire body tensed up, preparing for the throw! "What did We say? Pirate King is stupidity at its finest! No Pirate would ever be king, because Marines and the World Government are better! We are always better, our strength, our power, it far outclasses any small levels like yours! It is a shame to see you fail after trying so hard, but it was only natural as you were facing off against Us! Now rest in-"

"**Geppou!" **Apollo's eyes widened as he saw Mikoto adjust himself slightly in mid-flight twisting himself around and launching himself upwards the remaining few feet. Apollo's hands scrambled around trying to prepare to throw it, but he never got the chance. Mikoto's fist lowered itself and he aimed it upwards! A perfect exchange would go down here and Apollo stood no chance! Mikoto's fist shot upwards, once more pumping itself forward and fueling its own power as the punches steadily began to build on each other, blurring into the finishing blow of this fight and journey! The Great Prison of Zenith Gaol had fallen! **"Rapid Fire x 30!"**

**Give Us A Reason**

*Taisyo-Taisyo no mi=Sun-Sun Fruit

*Golden Balls=…if you don't know what this means, then good for you…but it was mentioned in actually One Piece so I feel okay in using such a horrible…horrible joke. Plus it was Ridley who said it.

*Rabbit Fire…oh, yes…another horrible, horrible joke. This time a pun because rabbits jump and Rabbit sounds like Rapid…a horrible, horrible pun…but in my opinion those are the best kind of puns!...hopefully, I'll never have to use this again.

You know, how I said about posting bonus update to shrink my backlog...yeah, it is not working. I JUST FINISHED UP CHAPTER 216! What the heck! I'm still 30 chapters ahead of you! Guess I'll just have to find some time to post more bonus updates (stop laughing Shadow!) Anyways, I hope everybody enjoyed this chapter (which was 6000 words long. Again what the heck). I was told I should compress the fights into just one or two chapters as a fight that stretches four to five chapters isn't good...here is the result. Anyways, ARC OVER!


	186. Chapter 186 Give Us A Reason

**Give Us a Reason**

"Can somebody please help me?" whined Mikoto as he hung his head near his soup bowl, pushing it down with his chin where his canine snout could reach some of it. His arms were still broken and according to Enma it could be a week or so until they were fixed. Mikoto just had to make do…the only way he knew how. His canine hybrid form at least allowed him to lick and slurp up liquids without the help of his crew, which nobody really seemed to be all too eager to do anyways. As far as they were concerned it was his own fault for stressing his body anyways…however, they had to make a slight addendum in this case. They were out in public…

Sadly, Enma's guess was off a bit and their ship still hadn't arrived to Skypiea. In other words, they were without a ship, without a home, and without a dining hall. Luckily they had managed to scrounge together a few extra belies here and there and managed to buy food and today they had decided to go out and have something that was actually decently cooked, as they also didn't own a kitchen now. However, Mikoto's inability to use his hands meant an equal inability to use his silverware and now he was forced to gulp down soup like an animal. The rest of the crew had separated from him at this point, not wanting to associate with him and instead decided to take up some wonderful conversations from their Skypiean associates.

The Skypieans seemed like perfectly capable people. By now their existence was known far and wide throughout all of the Blue Seas as well as the fact that they possessed Dials, which were immediately clamored after by the people of the Blue Sea. This initially caused some trouble for many, many reasons. Of course, Skypiea was basically raided the very first moment this news had hit the Blue Seas. They were in big trouble as not only did the Blue Sea people want the Dials, but an angel-like woman could sell for big bucks in Blue Seas Slave Trade as well. Skypiea was badly damaged as a result, many houses were burnt down, many women were kidnapped, and hundreds of men were killed. Originally this would've caused strife between Skypieans and the Blue Sea people, but luckily the World Government managed to patch things up to a certain degree. True things still weren't sunny and rosy between some groups, but for well-minded travelers like the Infinity Pirates things tended to work out pretty well. Of course, Skypiea did not officially join the World Government and they had their own form of rule in place, including their own police force so Marines didn't have to travel up in case of emergency. However, crimes committed in Skypiea were also transferred to the seas below, so kidnapping a Skypiean would still grant you a pretty heavy sentencing back home. Of course, the opposite was true as well…the bounties of all Blue Sea people were also posted up all over Skypiea.

Wanted: Dead or Alive

'The Cyborg' Maria Euthanatos

64 Million Belies

Wanted: Dead or Alive

'The White Devil' Trafalger Enma

66 Million Belies

Two well-deserved bounties that most people would run in fear of if they had heard of them. They were definitely reasonable seeing as how Maria had taken down Duncan while Enma had defeated a Marine Vice Admiral. Definitely a delicious bounty for both of them. However, they both knew that these prices on their heads were just stepping stones to something bigger. After all, Maria couldn't quite be considered the strongest person out there if her bounty is only 64 million belies. And, of course, all pirates wanted a bounty of greater than 100 million, so Enma wasn't out of the running yet.

Wanted: Dead or Alive

'The Iron Golem' Hiro-Shu

70 Million Belies

Wanted: Dead or Alive

'Shark Bite' Zesiro

83 Million Belies

The defeat of both Makada and Mashiba had come as a rather large shock to everyone around the world. Zesiro was already known as a strong arm of the Infinity Pirates his defeat of a legendary URA fighter only proved his abilities and then the added defeat of the Vice Warden of Zenith Gaol. While Hiro-Shu didn't perform as well at Zenith Gaol back at the URA his opponent was Mashiba, a big shot around the world, a powerful fighter who had recently become known for crushing skulls and taking names, so when the news of him falling from one punch had hit the world they were up in arms. Hiro-Shu's bounty had risen an appropriate amount for that…especially seeing as it was the defeat of the right hand man of Karasu Blackwell, an infamous kingpin of the Black Market, who was just as powerful in a fight as he was in business

Wanted: Dead or Alive

'Kid Coyote' Mikoto

172 Million Belies

"I don't get it!" shouted Ridley throwing a fit as he kicked back and swallowed another chicken wing, "I beat Karasu Blackwell, why didn't my bounty go up?" The crew was ignoring him for the most part, to be honest no one actually SAW Ridley beat Karasu and it was a little bit far-fetched anyways. The Marines probably thought the same way, Karasu had a high bounty on his head so there was no way in hell a pirate barely worth his weight in salt would ever be able to handle Karasu. They dismissed it as a rather stupid and pointless fact. They would just let Ridley continue on his tirade for a little while longer while they rested at the restaurant. Of course, Sage's bounty didn't go up.

Not only did Mikoto's bounty go up from beating Trevor finally, but for two other reasons he had received a massive bounty boost. First off, was the simple fact that he had attacked Zenith Gaol and accidentally joined in an 'alliance' with the Revolutionaries as a result due to the World Government's rather paranoid thinking. This alone would've given Mikoto a substantial boost to his bounty, but there was on other failure that caused his bounty to increase so much. The Marines thought they had him. The Marines got Taisho's call confirming the capture of Mikoto and as a result decided to fudge the numbers a bit. Figuring if they released news they caught a pirate with a bounty of over 150 million they would boost their credibility with both Skypiea and their own Blue Seas…but it had apparently backfired, releasing a 'tyrant' amongst the White White Seas.

The real question was Rosa's bounty. Despite angrily taking down two of the top-ranking officers at Zenith Gaol nobody seemed to paying much attention to her or Lily, which meant that Rosa still wasn't a pirate by Marine standards…she could disappear and return to society as a normal girl. While Enma had initially had his worries earlier, hearing about Rosa's death-defying feats cemented his beliefs that she had what it took to be a pirate and that she would follow through with it…but it was also apparent that while she had the determination and power to stay aboard the ship…her reason for leaving the ship may just be greater.

Lily hadn't recovered from the prison yet. Her hands still shook whenever somebody raised their voices, she was constantly looking over her shoulders and making sure nobody was around her. Even the slightest tap on the shoulder could send her cowering for the corner. She still didn't recognize Rosa and with everyday that passed it seemed like things would never get better. If she wanted to it would probably be best for her to leave and go home with Lily to help take care of her. None of the crew could blame her if that was truly what she decided to do. They would stand by her decision and help in any way possible, although that didn't seem like much seeing as they had their own journey to go on. However, for now they had a distraction from Lily's problems and even their own. The Skypieans seemed like a jolly bunch and wasted no time in talking to them and trying to cheer them up. Apparently they had no anxiety against the people of the Blue Sea despite how the past had gone down. They even brought out free drinks in exchange for hearing the tales of what things were like down there. Connection between the Blue Seas and White White Seas were still fairly rare especially if you didn't work for the World Government. Other than the Knock-Up Stream and other old methods of traversing between the two all other paths were controlled and regulated by them once more to prevent any harm from befalling the people of the White White Sea. It worked fairly well for the most part. The people of the White White Sea were thankful for the extra protection and the only thing they had to do was return the favor and prevent their criminals from freely going down to the land below, which meant the Infinity Pirates were in trouble for a little while longer as they couldn't take any of the popular roads back to their home sea. They had to wait for their own ship to arrive anyways, so it wasn't like they didn't have time.

"Come on out, Blue Sea Dwellers!" shouted a voice from outside. All of the crew member's heads jerked to the side, interested in what it could be. The Skypieans huddled backwards closer to the wall. Whoever would dare call out these pirates certainly had some guts…or were desperately in need of money. Their bounties were indeed hard to simply just give up on. They smelled of interest. And of course as pirates they couldn't just turn down the challenge. They had to meet them head on. "If you don't come out now with your hands I'll blow this place down!" Suddenly a gust of wind carrying a foul smell blew into the bar.

"It smells like gas," said Mikoto turning his head over, he had the finest nose on the crew so they all trusted him. However, even without his nose they would've had a fairly strong inkling. The scent was overwhelming, plus being on a sky island they knew of extent of their technology…namely the Burn Bazooka. Sending out a wave of gas first through Breath Dials and then activating a secondary Flame Dial to disintegrate anything in the way. It was actually pretty marvelous for people from the Blue Seas, they had never seen anything like it. However, even things like that could quickly lose one's interest after a few days. "Could somebody else go handle this? I'm trying to finish my soup."

"These guys sound fairly weak," shrugged Ridley, pretty much ignoring the calls, "I bet even Sage could handle them." Ridley chuckled to himself as he tried to play another couple of chords to calm himself down. He was annoyed due to the fact that his bounty had not gone up, he wanted to go down and prove to the World Government that he deserved a higher bounty now.

"I guess we shouldn't send Ridley out," mocked Sage stinging Ridley right back, but the guitarist seemed to be pretty much ignoring her for the time being. Sage shook her head and turned back to the rest of the crew, "so what are we going to do about it?" Suddenly an explosion could be heard from outside. The majority of the patrons including the Infinity Pirates all took cover, ducking down beneath the tables and shielding their heads from the blast of the Burn Bazooka. However, it never came. No, instead the only thing that came was pure and utter silence. "I wonder what happened outside," asked Sage, looking out towards the door expecting a delayed burst from the weapon.

"No sense in just wondering," said Zesiro standing up and patting himself off, more than a little upset at the fact that he had just done the same stupid thing was everybody else did, reacting to a weapon's fire that would never come. He shook his head and headed to the doors. "I'll be back in five after I see what the commotion is all about…maybe six if they decide to give me any trouble." His ego may have gotten a little more swollen after seeing his new bounty. He walked forward and swung the old-time saloon-like doors open and stepped outside leaving the rest of the crew inside. If it went past six minutes and he still wasn't back then they'd start to worry, but Zesiro was more than capable of handling himself.

However, they didn't even need to worry about that. Zesiro was back in less than five seconds, but his entrance probably wasn't as grand as he had hoped. He was flying through the air, tumbling head over heels and right into the bar, soaking his body with alcohol and several empty beer bottles clattered onto the top of his head. Zesiro growled, drawing his swords and standing up in a flash, eager to exit the building and land a good blow on whoever just sent him flying. And of course the rest of the Infinity Pirates seemed to be growing interested as well, standing up and preparing for their opponents.

The two people Zesiro had fought entered the bar, they were dragging the body of the man and his burn bazooka who had originally threatened him. "Lookie here," shouted the first one, clapping his hands together as he peered in on the crew, "all of the Infinity Weaklings are here after all! I thought they were pulling our legs!" Enma raised an eyebrow at that, who was pulling their legs? Nobody besides the World Government knew about the attack on Zenith Gaol, Enma was fairly certain the newspaper didn't even mention it yet as the World Government wanted something to show for the fall of it. However, once more this was pure speculation. The newspaper from the Blue Seas didn't reach Skypiea so as a result their knowledge of any criminal activity down there was next to nothing, including the two separate instances the Revolutionaries were involved with and what connected Mikoto to them. His bounty had only appeared here because all bounties were shared between the seas. So, if that was the case why did these two think they were here?

"Give these guys a break, Shino," said the other one as he stepped in, staggering a good few feet taller than the other. "Their bounties are higher than yours." The two of them were Fishmen. One of them had a pinkish skin tone and was rather small, smaller than Fishmen and even smaller than most humans, most of his height came from the fin sitting on top of his head amidst his brown hair. The other one was more than six and a half feet tall giving him a good two foot advantage over his partner. He had dark brown skins and massive arms, which made it where nobody could question his physical prowess. However, despite his obvious power he seemed rather level-headed compared to his partner. "We are here on request from our captain. And despite my partner's, and my partner's only, action we mean you no harm."

Zesiro grunted and stood up, the feeling was mutual anymore. He wanted to fight with them and skewer them both, he very rarely met a Fishman he didn't like, but that all changed today. He didn't like these two one bit, he stepped forward, but was immediately stopped as the tall one seemed to glance over at him. An aura seemed to radiate from him, not like Trevor's or Abel's or even the Vice Warden's. This wasn't the aura of a wild animal out for blood; it was the same aura a hunter gave off to a deer. It was the aura that if Zesiro took the wrong step the real fight would ensure. Ordinarily that wouldn't detract from Zesiro's plan and he would rush in anyways, but seeing as how these two claimed not to want trouble anyways…why should he start something?

"Our captain is very interested in you and he wants a fight," brought up the bigger one again, continuing on his own behalf. "He's been wanting to fight you for awhile and if it honestly wasn't through pure luck, he probably would've had to wait awhile. He would've faced you eventually later on these seas as the strongest of warriors will always clash in a bid for the title of strongest." Mikoto perked up, did this man want to be King of the Pirates as well? "Rivals will always clash on the high seas." Mikoto chuckled, unaware if the man meant to make the pun or not. But the White White Seas were about the HIGHEST seas in the world. The Fishmen didn't look all too thrilled at Mikoto's laugh, but he continued with his statement. "I hope you will live up to our captain's expectations…but I highly doubt it." These words seemed to light a fire under Mikoto as he leapt up at that statement and turned to the door and the two warriors, who were beginning to make their way out already.

"Who is your captain, anyways?" asked Mikoto, his arms were still out of sorts and he couldn't control them well, but he didn't need his arms to get his point across, the defiant look in his eyes were more than enough to make the two Fishman smile at the thought that their proposition had been bought, hook, line, and sinker.

"You were at the URA together, he was a man of incredible power and reputation even there before you destroyed, but he doesn't hold a grudge," stated the smaller Fishman this time, tightening his fist and waving it in the air as if to try and intimidate the crew. "No, he was only using the URA as a way to find worthy competitors and in the end it worked. He found you…his name is 'Dark Knight' Shane!" The entire crew caught wind of that name at least once in their life. He was famed this world over as a man who had made continuous attacks on different places for no reason. He brought several Marine Bases to their knees and the only reason the Marine Bases were ever given was 'I heard there was someone strong here'. He took nothing from the Marine Bases, not even money…it seemed he was really just searching out for someone to fight him.

"And what if we say no?" asked Enma standing up and looking over at Zesiro, "you attack our crewmate, insult us, and in the end your captain doesn't even have the decency to come here himself to ask us. What reason has he given us to accept this insane challenge?" The rest crew agreed, even Mikoto had to agree for once that there was nothing really in it for them. The two Fishmen smiled, as if they saw this question coming from miles away and had already prepared the perfect answer.

"Oh, you have a reason…"

**Wanted**

Crap...I almost forgot to upload this today (which explains the crappy title for next chapter). Crap...I lack a lot of motivation for the time being...so here's a chapter, have fun...maybe do something important?

The new Fishmen are the creations of Shadow40000 who submitted an entire rival crew! So, yeah, that's a lot...

Also, some of the Infinity Pirate's bounties have a joke/hidden easter egg in them. Nothing really interesting, but heck it made writing them slightly funner.


	187. Chapter 187 Wanted

**Wanted**

"So, what did they say," asked Shane as his First Mate, Suzanne, who was also at the URA with him, wiped some sweat from his forehead. He had just been working out, undoubtedly excited for the upcoming match. The words of Armani Dove still hung in his head, that this fight should not go down, but he couldn't help, but get excited at the prospect. Finally…a real match. He hadn't had one in awhile, even the URA had become a bore for him, but seeing Mikoto's fight got his blood pumping. Then hearing about Mikoto taking down Trevor and even the rumor of his plans to attack Zenith Gaol…Shane had to accept the fact that he had found someone he could go all out against…forget any dumb prophecy from Armani Dove. He just wanted to fight.

The bigger Fishman was there, but the smaller one was off somewhere else. However, the bigger one knew what to say, "they accepted your challenge to a duel. But, of course, how could they refuse? We got their ship." Outside of Shane's impressive argosy ship that was twice the size of the Infinity Pirate's ship, sat, well, the Infinity Pirate's ship. The small ship just bobbed in the wake of the tremendous war ship. "It was pure luck that we found it," he continued, remarking at the coincidence, "I mean, the Infinity Pirates passed their ship onto some treasure hunters so they could get up to Zenith Gaol as quickly as possible without wasting a second and then we just happened to bump into them. It's amazing that coincidences like that just happen."

Shane laughed as he turned around and sat down, quickly accepting a water bottle from Suzanne, who seemed more than happy to please him. "It is funny. I read so many of the old newspapers about the pirates of old, and I never believed in his theories, but Blackbeard was right…this wasn't a coincidence, this was fate. Mikoto and me having our fight was fate, it just proves Armani's foolishness to try and stop it. He tried to stop it because of a prophecy, because he could see the future…that should've cemented it right then and there! That it couldn't be changed no matter how hard we tried! Me, the first pirate of the year to break the 100 million beli mark, and Mikoto, the would-be Shichibukai, were fated to fight here on this day. And I appreciate the helping hand." The bigger fishman sighed, he trusted his captain, but when it came to fighting, he was like a possessed demon. He lost all control at the premise and wanted to get into it as quickly as possible. There was little anyone could do to stop him when he wanted to fight. Finally Shane stopped drinking and set the bottle down and looked at his Fishman crewmate, "by the way, Dango, where is Shino at? Didn't I send you both to question the Infinity Pirates?"

Dango seemed to freeze at the question for a second before busting out laughing, "that idiot! Sa ha ha ha ha! You're not going to believe this, sa ha ha ha ha!" Dango managed to stifle his laughter for a second and straighten himself out to address his captain with a little bit more of a serious tone this time. "That Mikoto fellow, right, well we just told him that we had his ship, and he was obviously annoyed with that. So we began to take our leave when next thing you know Mikoto comes up and slugs him one right in the kisser! I was thinking he was annoyed and wanted to have an all out brawl, but then he just turns around and returns straight to his seat. When I ask him why he just kicked him once, the kid responds that he was just returning the punch he gave his crewmate! That little insane punk! However, I can't say I disagree with him. Shino probably did deserve to get socked one for straight out attacking his crewmate! Anyways, Shino's just upstairs putting some ice on the bruise and on his ego!" Shane laughed along with Dango this time, apparently getting a kick out of Mikoto's antics and the fact that his crewmate did something that dangerous to a man with that high of a bounty. Dango turned around about to leave when he paused at the door, his breathing suddenly flinching as he paused there. "Are you sure about fighting this kid, captain?" Shane shifted his entire gaze and focus on his Fishman, upset that he would even question that. Dango looked a little uncomfortable, but only for a second as he quickly explained why he had brought up that question, "I was just wondering because…that one kick he hit Shino with knocked him straight out." Shane raised an eyebrow and shifted back into his seat. Shino wasn't particularly known for his toughness, but he had never been taken out with just one punch yet. It seemed like an impossibility, and yet Dango wasn't a liar. If he said one kick was all it took to take down Shino then Shane believed him. Shane's smile grew larger.

"Don't you understand, Dango?" Shane laughed as he reclined backwards and into his chair, "that makes this all the better!"Dango quivered in fear for a second…Shane wasn't lying. He was indeed even more pumped up now then he was before. Dango felt sorry for Shane's next opponent, that Mikoto fellow, it was a shame. Mikoto was obviously strong, fast and worth something to the world, but Shane isn't the kind of man to hold back against an opponent like that…even if it means that they are faced with an unfortunate end. Dango paused for a second in the hallway of their ship, his eyes focused on the closed door. Fate, huh? Shane wasn't one for talking big, he was always someone who just moved on from one fight to the next, never really caring for words like those…Dango guessed this just showed how much Shane was looking forward to the fight. He was growing more and more anxious with each passing moment. Dango froze as he stood there…

He'd pray that Mikoto won't die in their fight.

(-with Mikoto-)

"We're lucky he didn't come here and immediately demand a fight," brought up Enma, looking over at their obviously weakened captain. His arms were barely responding to him in time, it was obvious it would take another few days to heal completely, however based on how those Fishman sounded they could be demanding a fight at any time. "As much as I hate to say it our best bet would probably be to just to run away. That ship is old anyways, it is about time we get a new one. It is rather shocking that we kept that old trash heap around this long." The crew shrugged, it was natural for them to have a ship like that for so long. It wasn't exactly like they had money to buy a new one and it would take a long time for one person, Maria, to completely build a new ship from scratch. "I mean we are pirates we could steal one and if we steal one up here we may get a few with Breath Dials."

"No, he challenged us to a fight so we are going to meet him head-on," Mikoto said as he tried to flex his arm again, slow progress, but even that was progress. The rest of the crew moaned a little as they realized their captain once more would be forcing them into an unhappy position. It wasn't their ideal choice, but they all admitted Mikoto had an interesting reason. Not running away because of a stupid challenge, however stupid it may seem it was exactly what they should've expected from him and they would back him up. Besides stealing a ship from up here and then driving it down to the Blue Seas seemed highly impossible. Then again taking a chance against a rival pirate crew whose captain was worth well over a hundred million seemed equally crazy. "How strong do you think he is?"

The crew looked over to the side and at the bounty posters to the side. It was hard to say anything as the entire wall was covered in them, but even a few seconds of scouring through the pages posted on the wall revealed Shane's. A massive bounty was listed for him. However, there was one thing that caused the entire crew to pause at it. Even if they weren't already looking for it they would've noticed it. The poster was just that eye-catching, they could ignore the picture and even the enormous bounty on his head. Neither of those two things were the most important thing on it.

Wanted: **Alive**

'Dark Knight' Shane

199 Million Belies

The word 'Alive' was the only thing that caught his attention. It was very rare in this day and age for any pirate to be automatically wanted 'Alive'. As a matter of fact the only pirate that immediately came to mind for the crew was the leader of the Revolutionaries, Jugo. And even then there was rumors of that being revoked. The Marines wanted to purge the land of all pirates so asking for Bounty Hunters to manage to bring them in alive was a little bit insane anyways. The Marines needed to hold a public execution for him to drive their point home, but unless a Bounty Hunter ever actually managed to do so it was a pointless act. Still the crew was riveted to the spot looking at 'Dark Knight' Shane's poster...how did a normal pirate obtain a wanted poster like that?

"There's probably a couple of facilities around here for researching people like that," brought up Hiro-Shu, "bounty hunting up in Skypiea is a legal vocation nowadays since so many Blue Sea Dwellers come up here for vacation or wind up here through other circumstances like us. The crew nodded, it was true. Skypieans also could Bounty Hunt for money, not only for Blue Sea Dwellers, but also for their own kind who committed crimes. "Only problem is all of us have a bounty on our heads." Number One Rule of Bounty Hunting you can't be a Bounty Hunter if you have a bounty on your head it makes taking withdrawals out of the bank super difficult. "Well…all, but one." The crew turned their attention backwards casting a gaze towards Rosa. Rosa froze and looked sheepishly around. From here on out she would either be joining the Infinity Pirates or going back home to be with Lily either way her bounty hunting days were behind her. Rosa nodded, she was up to this one last task as a Bounty Hunter…however, would be her last task as an Infinity Pirate as well? The crew had come to enjoy having her around, but looking at Lily…

Anyways, the crew began to head out, but a quick call from Ridley caught their attention, "hey, that Skypiean passed out out there take him with you." The crew raised an eyebrow wondering what he could possibly want with the man who just tried to kill them. "We can make some money!" Ridley twisted around and flashed a new bounty poster to them. Sure enough it was the man outside…worth only 20 million belies…but that was about 20 million more belies then they had right now...still wasn't enough to buy a new ship with…

The crew nodded, Hiro-Shu hefted the man onto his shoulder and walked forward. Rosa quickly slid some cuffs on him, just in case he did wake up. Mikoto went for the Burn Bazooka, but Enma and Zesiro intercepted him and quickly took the Burn Bazooka themselves. They could probably sell this thing off for themselves as well make about 100 thousand belies…maybe even more if they kept it when they returned to the Blue Seas. The crew went as a united front to the Bounty Hunting location in Skypiea, but when it came into sight, they stopped. Hiro-Shu dropped the man and handed him over to Rosa. The rest of the crew waited back and let Rosa and Lily move forward by themselves. For some reason though they didn't just turn around and leave. Call it a pirate's intuition, but something didn't smell right around here. They sat down and rested comfortably on the fluffy island clouds, waiting for their friend to come out and wave a stack of cash to them.

Rosa walked in, the same calm demeanor as she always had. She took swift steps, showing off her confidence almost in a boasting like way. Lily followed behind her, her hands shaking along with the rest of her entire body. She was scared to death already. The scent was the same, the walls were the same…it was Marine issued standard materials just like they had on the ship that took her to Zenith Gaol. She froze…feeling her throat go dry as she stared at the cells in front of her…they were only temporary holding cells for when a Marine prisoner ship could come by and pick them up, but to Lily they looked all too real. Her body clenched up, her throat opened and closed as she looked on. She felt her entire body react to just the cells, she was slowly starting to lose it s she looked on. A certain kind of post trauma stress disorder had taken over her. Most prisoners underwent something similar when they come out. They feel an incredible amount of worry overcoming them, their mind constantly flickers back to their time in the prison, they are constantly reminded of the pain they had. She lost control of her hands, they spasmed like crazy, flexing open and close as she tried to remain strong. Finally she just lost it. Her body sagged to the ground, falling in one swift movement. She hit the ground and collapsed, her head hanging. She stared at the ground, it looked old and made of stone…despite being made of marble. She was instantly teleported right back to her time in prison. Her eyes opened and closed, she tried to calm down, but she still couldn't. Rosa walked another step before she turned back to see her sister. Lily was on the ground, her hands wrapping around her body in a desperate attempt to protect herself from the memories. Rosa paused looking at her, her eyes widened as she eyed her. Rosa rushed to her sister's side, quickly embracing her and holding her tightly.

"Lily! Lily! LILY!" her voice steadily rising as she shook her sister again and again, trying to wake her up out of her nightmare. The rest of the people around them paused and looked at them. They wore worried faces as they looked on. They didn't know what to do they felt frozen as they looked at this mildly concerning scene unsure of how to approach this action. It seemed rather odd, they didn't know what to do, but as they were Blue Sea people and they didn't much care. Blue Sea People have obtained a rather bad reputation since more pirates existed down there. Up here crime was rather low due to the past. Eneru's actions had scared most people straight and tales of the legendary boogeyman still existed today. They had remained strong for this time entire time. Many people remained strong in their belief that if a crime was committed electricity would shoot down from the sky and correct you. However, these Blue Sea People didn't have things like that. They lived like outlaws. Many of the people just stepped back and let them do what they wanted, ignoring the panic attack the young girl was having.

Suddenly a loud click was heard directly behind Rosa's head. She froze and tried to turn her head away, but a swift jab to the back of her head stopped that. "Those Marines are sneaky ones," stated the man as he moved forward, pressed his foot forward and really pressed the gun against her skull, "they told us not to distribute your picture as you were a bounty hunter and old habits die hard. So we were told to leave you off of the bounty poster list as you would probably try to take one last person down to make a little more money. Looks like they were right and now I get to collect on your 60 million belie bounty. Any last words?"

Rosa paused; she took a deep breath and swallowed what little spit she had left in her mouth. "What about her?" Rosa motioned to her sister, she could try her best to keep her alive for the time being, but if she wanted by the World Government then a peaceful life was impossible for them anyways. She may as well just give up now. She wanted the best for her sister…maybe if she was innocent and without a bounty she could pass her off to the World Government…tell them she was kidnapped and all the rest of the jazz. Maybe that was the best course of action at this point, just turn herself in…

"Her…well, she's not wanted…" stated the man sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, a little bit unsure of how to act. He was rather new as a bounty hunter, but the ten or so men he had brought in never really worried about other people and usually just swore at him, however, he soon stopped with the sheepish act and brought his hand down, "but with the way she looks…I'll be happy to take care of her. I hope she's a virgin."

Rosa's eyes opened up wide, brimming with rage as she heard that line. "I dare you to say that again."

**Another Villain?**

Urgh, tossing around whether or not I should post a bonus update. Technically I don't have to, but I have a lot of backlog, plus I got a new reviewer who is reviewing every single chapter and I got an old reviewer playing catch-up, so I probably hit the ten review mark (but I also said I was only counting from Chapter 170 onwards or something...but...) oh, well, I got a big back log so here's something to hopefully reduce it.

Other then that I added an FAQ section to profile (for less then frequently asked, but still asked questions). I also changed the Future Works section to a more 'Ask to Know' format.


	188. Chapter 188 Another Villain

**Another Villain?**

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze as those words hung in the air for a few seconds before the bounty hunter seemed to finally shake the reality of it away. He had a gun to her head, she couldn't do anything about it. "Sure thing, sugar," he said, a devious smile crossing his face as he looked at her. He wouldn't mind having both of them, but this one was to be turned in for money…so he supposed he would just have to live with it. "I hope your cute little friend there is a virgin." He saw Rosa's body shift only an inch, but still for some reason he felt like he should be on the defensive. It was suddenly like he was staring down the barrel of a cannon looking down at her, like he was in a cage with a wild animal, like he had just put one foot in the grave. However, he soon reminded himself that he had the gun and she didn't. He was in control. "Don't make me shoot you!" he shouted. He would rather not as he would lose some of her precious bounty, but if it needed to be done it needed to be done, simple as that.

"Oh, yeah," said Rosa standing up and looking at him, "shoot me with what?" The man laughed, impressed the young girl could still try to spout such nonsense. However, Rosa soon turned around and left, "come on Lily, let's get out of here." Somehow the action seemed to have snapped Lily out of her funk if only for a moment, it was clear that in a few moments if she didn't get out of here she'd probably return to the prison in her mind. Rosa's one clear objective was to get her out of here before it happened.

"Where do you think you're going!" shouted the bounty hunter swiveling around and bringing his arm up and aiming it right at her head, he was an excellent shot, so excellent he didn't even need to pay attention to his gun's barrel and knew instantly when he locked onto her head just from the feel. He pulled the trigger…however, nothing happened. He tried to do it again, but a similar feeling of emptiness happened…it wasn't that his hand was empty…no, it felt stranger than that. He tried to grasp the cold metal of his gun, but couldn't find it…he looked down at his hand and was surprised to find his gun was missing…however, the more shocking part. The part that made him scream like a little girl was the fact that his hand was gone as well, cut clean off at the wrist. He flew backward, collapsing onto the ground, blubbering about something before Rosa turned around and brought her sword up, pointing the tip at his throat.

"You're lucky I don't want to have your dirty, disgusting life on my blade for the rest of my life," Rosa pivoted away and quickly made for the door. The saying hung in the air for a few seconds…everybody understood what it meant…it meant she understood the consequences of taking somebody else's life and didn't want to have to deal with it over her head for the rest of her life. The bounty hunter was still on the ground, except he had retreated his legs up and to his chest, clutching them tightly. 'Scarlet Sword' Rosa…an accurate name the group had supposed as they moved her bounty poster out and onto the walls. Definitely a scary title, but one that fit her to the T. A demonic swordsman. Most incredible sword wounds would be terrifying gnashes that caused the most amount of pain possible. This was done only when an incredible amount of power was applied behind the blade. Those were similar to Zesiro's monstrous cuts. However, this one was of a different vein in its entirety, a cut so clean, so swift, so masterful that the one cut didn't even know they had been. Legends of such an incredible power was passed down throughout the generations again and again. It existed in the last pirate era as well…a tale as old as time…the man called 'Humming Sword' Brooke. It looked like the legend continued to this day, but in a different form.

Rosa came out to the crew and they were eagerly awaiting both her and the information they had asked her to gather, namely how Shane got his bounty. "Sorry, guys," she said as she sheathed her sword, not wanting them to see the new blood stain coating it. "But it looks like I got a bounty as well." It wasn't surprising to the crew, she was probably the one who deserved it the most seeing as she caused trouble to the top executioner as well as the Head Guard, but they still felt sorry for her…this meant she was branded a pirate for all eternity. She couldn't go back home and rest with Lily. However, this still didn't mean she was joining up with them…she could just as easily put the past behind her.

It looked like the rest of the day would be a mixture of boring and unnecessary worry. Shane's bounty was still unknown as well as why he was so hell bent on fighting Mikoto. Was it really just for fun? And did that make it better or worse than if he had some kind of personal vendetta? It was really questionable. The crew would just have to wait and see what tomorrow will bring.

(-In the Blue Seas-)

Armani Dove sprang out of bed, his head cramping again as another vision poured into his head. Doctors had classified this as an extreme case of Haki, a natural gift mixed with some supernatural force, but whatever it was didn't matter. The only thing that did matter was that Armani Dove was gifted with random pangs of visions from random points in time. He didn't know when or even if it would happen, but he saw it all. And this was the same disaster he had seen back at the URA. He cursed himself, knowing that Shane probably didn't take his advice and decided to fight Mikoto anyways. He still couldn't believe the disasters that would befall if they did. However intense this vision was it soon passed and he stretched out, relaxing once more to calm himself down. He stretched out and looked over at his calendar.

He had officially joined the Revolutionaries…it wasn't his goal or anything of that sort. It just sort of happened, plus it made sense in the long run. The winds of a new era were blowing strong…and they were blowing in the favor of the Revolutionaries. He had gotten on that ship knowing it would be taken over by the Revolutionaries rather easily, knowing that Trevor would be released and the entire ship would be turned into a carnal blood bath. Melanie had disappeared though, she had gotten off of that ship the first chance she got taking Simon Dew with her. Apparently being with the Marines didn't sit very well for either Shichibukai. He got up and moved through the ship they were on, they hadn't reached the base yet and Armani Dove had to wonder if they were being given the run around. Maybe the Revolutionaries weren't too thrilled about having him and Trevor on their team? He wouldn't blame them.

He looked in on the training room to see Trevor and Renvont going at it going. The two of them had become fast friends…or rivals. He wasn't quite sure which one it was, but they loved fighting against each other. They would exchange blows hundreds of times a day and each time the Revolutionaries would gather to watch the two blood-thirsty warriors do battle. It was surprising how equal they had become over the weeks or so since they had met. Originally Renvont was stronger, not by much, but by enough to overwhelm the poor Shichibukai. It was amazing and heartwarming to know they had had someone of so much power on their side…until the moment came when Trevor had overwhelmed him right back. The power shift between them had continued, each one spurring the other one with every win. In the end it was hard to tell who would win their final bout. Trevor had certainly turned over a new leaf though…and it was for the worst.

Each and every single time he won he would try his best to drive his hand through Renvont's throat and nearly succeeded a couple of times if it weren't for Jugo watching and intervening several times. He had apparently decided to never give anyone any mercy, he would kill everyone without so much as a second thought. And he was capable of it, too. Even since Trevor was born he had an unnatural strength in his Haki and his own body. He could overwhelm people in moments with a crazed look in his eye. And that was just with his sheer natural talent. He never exercised or worked out, he could kill people using pure talent. That had changed as well. A bitter taste was left in his mouth due to his loss and he never wanted to experience something like that again. So he trained, he trained harder and faster than most other Revolutionaries. His talent made it easy for him to jump right up to the highest level of training and he accelerated right past those marks. If he kept this up he could forget about being a Shichibukai…he would be a freakin' Yonkou!

Armani Dove straightened his back and headed forward. His vision was still burning itself into his head. He could see it as vivid as night and day. Mikoto and Shane were standing atop of a cloud island, burning ruins surrounding them. The entire island had been destroyed. The villages, towns, buildings had all been reduced to dust. He had no idea what caused it, but surely those two pirates in the middle had had some hand in doing it. It was impossible to believe it could be anything else when those two were involved. Two of the impossible super rookies of this generation…as much as Armani hoped those two didn't fight…he also wished he could see it with his own eyes. He paused as he looked to the side, half dreaming as he continued to think about his vision. It was hard to be certain, but as far as Armani could tell…he would place it back at the URA. That was the beginning of the fall, the fall of the World Government.

The World Government was pretty much drying up now. The gorosei had become a bunch of old relics, not only did the last Pirate King succeed, but now…now they were already starting to flounder. A Celestial Dragon had defected to the side of the pirates and brought a large following with him, the strength of the Revolutionary army had basically just doubled thanks to him. He was a legendary man, a Celestial Dragon that exceeded their reputation. He kept his promises, donated his money, competed (and won) in several martial arts tournament. He was hero for the people. Nobody disliked him, Armani supposed he just decided to stop doing things halfway and went all the way. He would completely revise the World Government, even if it meant having to destroy it. In other words the golden boy of the World Government and he just diverged from the path they wanted him on.

After him was the fact that Trevor, him, Renvont, and Jugo were all on the same team now. Trevor and Renvont were two horrors that had qualities to make them Shichibukai and mass murderers. No deadlier combination existed and the fact that they were on the same team could spell certain doom to anyone who met them. Jugo was already a feared pirate that boasted an impressive amount of power that too few and too far men could match. People ran in fear of him just at the slightest sight of him. Armani Dove had similar status and many men would run away from him. Ignoring just that even these random visions could further elevate the position of the Revolutionaries. They could show up and prevent the worst disasters from taking place and earn the favor of everyone. The Marines would nearly crap their pants if they saw these guys stayed team up like this and Armani Dove doubted they would be able to break them up any time soon. The world was heading for anarchy.

(-With Shane-)

"Who did this?" asked Shane as he was arriving back home from a short walk. He needed to cool his body down after all that strenuous exercise, a nice short jaunt was actually exactly what he had needed, but now that he was back home he immediately regretted it. His ship was destroyed! The mast had been completely uprooted from the ship along with any of the boards around it, the flag had been ripped right down the middle, every single inch of his ship had been turned into a massive piece of rubble. Shane paused looking over it as Suzanne took this opportunity and grabbed his arm. Shane ran up to his ship and looked around at it, surveying the damages while Suzanne rushed to try and catch up to him. His entire body was rising and falling with every extreme breath he took. He was angry. Shane moved off of the ship just as Suzanna caught up.

"What happened?" he voice wavered as she looked over at him, watching him as he threw himself off of the ship and onto the ground. He turned around and looked at the hull of the ship, just to see a massive hole in the front. Suzanne soon came rushing down to him, carrying his massive weapon struggling to carry it with both of her arms, a halberd with blades on all side and on both ends. She tossed it to him and he caught it and hefted it with just one of his arms although it looked like he could hold it with just his pinkie finger. Suzanne looked back behind her and at the sight of their ship and then back down to Shane, she wondered where the rest of her crew was. Shane had probably pushed that though to the back of his mind and decided to focus instead on finding out who had done this. Suzanne wanted to be with Shane, but she also knew the rest of her crew needed some attention. She turned around and headed back into the depths of the ship in search of them leaving Shane to find his next opponent.

Shane paused for a second looking behind him and at his ship…along with the ship resting on the waters gently next to it. The Infinity Pirates! They probably did this! Annoyed with him for taking their ship they took out their anger on his! Shane growled, his face growing darker as he moved forward. A small inn rested on his right, he tensed his hands up and knew he had to get some of this anger out of him. He pressed his right hand onto the ship and let out a deep breath while he focused entirely on his hand. Suddenly the little wooden inn exploded, going up in flames and sending debris in every direction like a one ton fragmentation grenade. Shane rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck, he still wasn't satisfied and he wouldn't be until he smashed the head of the guy who did this to his ship into the ground! He looked around, this would be over quickly.

**What Makes a Pirate Deadly**

Shane is the work of Shadow40000. I already stated that in an earlier chapter back in the URA and I basically said that everybody on Shane's crew is a work of Shadow 40000, but still. Here I repeat myself.

Sometimes I worry that the T-rating of this story isn't enough. I mean after having Ridley's mom get shot before his eyes, Trevor, and now Rosa slicing a man's hand clean off...I wonder if I should update the rating to M...I mean I don't use horrible language, this story is about as deprived of sexual content as a story can be (aside from jokes), but still...I do have those moments where it definitely doesn't seem like a T-rating fits it...oh, well.

I also feel pretty calm in letting you guys in on some other news. I mentioned awhile back that I got bored and wrote a new One Piece OC story...well, I just finished off Chapter 11 for that so it looks like its going to become a thing. I'll probably wait until I get 15 chapters of backlog before I start uploading it so I feel safe uploading it even if my inspiration for it does taper off or school gets in the way. However, I hereby raise the flag and ask will you help me start a third killer One Piece SYOC? Send in your characters! Your islands! Your panties! Wait, panties? Brooke get out of here...anyways, send in your characters and I'll do my best to do them justice. I wanna call it another pirate story in the same vein as Saga...but that doesn't quite summarize it. And since I don't want to write a fifty page summary here...I'll post it up on my Profile to give you a feel for it. Its in the Future Works Section titled 'Sights Set on the Sky'.

As always read and review! Or you know...just ignore my precious request and just read...or just review I guess if you want to be original.


	189. Chapter 189 What Makes a Pirate Deadly

**What Makes a Pirate Deadly**

The crew had no idea what was going on. As far as they were concerned everything had been peaceful, asides from having their ship taken hostage and even then the Skypieans were incredibly nice and tried to offer them a helping hand whenever possible. Of course, they still had to pay for room and board. However, they should consider themselves lucky they were wanted pirates…the people of this town could straight out refuse them. Especially due to how close they were to Zenith Gaol, they would've assumed there would've been a higher Marine population…but they weren't thinking about that at all right now. They were too busy staring at the gigantic hole in the side of the inn, shielding their eyes from the smoke that was coming out from it. "Who's there?" shouted Zesiro trying to take charge of this situation, however, he was soon met with the business end of a halberd. Zesiro was forced back, flying through the air once more until he came crashing into one of the nearby walls. Zesiro immediately catapulted himself back onto his feet and tried to look forward, but the heavy smoke still impeded his vision. His opponent probably faced similar conditions and had waited for somebody to say something. From where Zesiro was standing he could barely make out the shadows of his friends and without a doubt, his attacker. They all looked the same to him, though, so once more he couldn't really be any help. He had no way to reducing the number of shadows and no way to find out who's who. The smoke slowly began to clear and before Zesiro could get an accurate read-out Mikoto did and leapt in action. He charged towards his opponent and began initiating a wild fight. Between Mikoto's somewhat eccentric movements and the remaining smoke in the air, Zesiro couldn't really tell what was going on, but eventually he managed to put together who the attacker was. He had only seen him in one position before and that was on his Bounty Poster, it was 'The Dark Knight' Shane!

Zesiro wasn't sure what was forcing him forward, but he was moving towards Mikoto with a frightening amount of determination. Mikoto's punches dug into his skin again and again, the sharp snap of heach of his punches caused Shane's face to swell from the incredible ferocity. However, despite the numerous, powerful, quick punches Mikoto was using Shane didn't falter. He continued on his way forward, plowing through the space in between them until he was finally within striking distance. And that was when the real fight started. Shane's halberd was the perfect weapon for him, its reach and power seemed to be only greater in his massive tree-trunk like arms. He thrust the weapon forward and let it scorch the air with its force, Mikoto dodged backwards. Shane's reputation obviously stemmed from an overwhelming amount of power while Mikoto's was from his speed. It was almost as if the two opponent's were fated to meet and put their opposing power to the test, which ability was better speed and agility or sheer overwhelming power. The destined differences.

The rest of the crew seemed to just move back and wait, they were a little annoyed at his opponent's cheap tactics of getting the first strike in, but their captain was Mikoto and undoubtedly he hadn't rushed forward due to anger, but rather excitement. Perhaps calling them different wasn't the right word, both of them loved strong opponents and constantly chose the life of brawler. Diving head-in to your opponent's attacks, choosing the right opponent, while they may have fighting styles as different as fire and ice…the fact was that they were both battle junkies. Which brought to question…why did Shane look so angry? This fight was the sole reason he had come to Skypiea, why he had stolen their ship, why he had called Mikoto out and yet he had never looked angrier? The fact was that the crew and the patrons of the nice restaurant had no idea about what happened to his ship, they were clueless and instead chose to believe that Shane was just a monster bent on destruction. It was a shame such a fate had befallen him, but for that instant he didn't care. He was only intent on crushing Mikoto. Shane's anger was transferred straight into his swings, ordinarily he was level-headed, but that had disappeared into his own extreme hot-headedness. He let loose a wide and yet earthshakingly powerful swing. An attack like this filled hearts with fear and minds with panic, but to Mikoto no attack was more welcome. It seemed almost slow to him, the entire swing was telegraphed from Shane's shoulder to his hands. It ate through air, incinerating the space in its path. Mikoto dove beneath it, he shot beneath the massive halberd and bolted straight to Shane's gut. From there Mikoto released a succession of quick, powerful punches. Each blow screeched forward, smashing into Shane's gut again and again forcing the much larger pirate back finally. As soon as Shane brought his weapon back to start, ready for another swing Mikoto dashed away sending his entire body weight backwards and away from Shane's striking distance.

"Damn you!" screamed Shane, rushing forward showing off his own speed…which was completely useless compared to Mikoto's. Mikoto rushed in and landed a quick flowing punch as he streaked by straight to Shane's chin. "If it wasn't for your dirty trick I may actually be enjoying myself fighting you, but you had to go and spoil it!" Shane bent down, pressing his hand against the floor of the inn. Mikoto took a step back, his instincts screaming at him to be careful. However, Mikoto wasn't out of Shane's attacking range apparently. The floor was soon ripped open, splitting the ground apart beneath them and flinging Mikoto into the air. The crew and the rest of the spectators oohed and aahed at the impressive display. They immediately knew that Shane had some sort of Devil Fruit power that could cause explosions, but they had no idea what it was. Shane lunged forward, charging and throwing his entire weight forward and swinging into the air and right at Mikoto's head.

Ordinarily such a combination would've landed and with the power Shane was putting behind his swings probably would've taken a man's head off…however, that was only if it was indeed ordinary. Mikoto swung around and quickly jumped once more putting his latest Geppou technique to good use. He was still limited to one use a day and it hadn't gotten any better during his small break from fighting due to the damage to his arms, but it was good enough to avoid Shane's massive blow. Mikoto landed on the ground behind Shane, faltering for an instant. Using Geppou as a horizontal movement meant that Mikoto's leg placement was all out of whack, however, he soon immediately cooled right back down. Shane twisted around almost immediately the deadly terrifyingly powerful swing came charging back again. Mikoto's eyes bulged as he dodged beneath trying to take advantage of it again by diving right to Shane's chest. However, Mikoto was met with a surprise. Shane had only used one arm to slug the massive weapon around, in other words his other hand was free. He moved it forward, aiming for Mikoto's chest. Well, Mikoto couldn't be shocked, the man was obviously had a high bounty for a reason. Mikoto tried to dodge backwards, but he was instead met with Shane's hand quickly wrapping around Mikoto's shirt. Mikoto couldn't move he instead braced himself and prepared for the next blow.

His shirt grew warmer…almost like burning hot. Once more Mikoto's instincts seemed to scream at him to move. Mikoto ducked down, slipping out of his shirt and immediately dashing backwards. To his amazement his shirt exploded, ripped itself to shreds in mere instant. Mikoto moved back, taking several steps at a time, choosing not to remain in Shane's reach now. Mikoto lightly dabbed his chest and felt a slight reminded of the extreme heat lingering there. He looked over at Shane, trying to figure out what kind of trick he did. It was a technique similar to spontaneous combustion, superheating an object and the space between the particles to the point that it rapidly expands and eventually explodes. "That was my favorite shirt!" complained Mikoto as he took another half a step back, now things were going to get serious.

"The guy doesn't seem so tough," said Maria with a smile crossing her face, "I bet you I could've beaten him, why did our captain insist on getting the first punch in?" It was common rules between brawlers, who ever landed the first punch gets to fight with him. Of course, not all people obeyed such a rule. "Mikoto is really landing more blows on him at the same time Shane just doesn't seem capable of touching him." It was a bit surprising hearing it from Maria, but she was kind of right. It wasn't like her to underestimate her opponents or think that she had won the fight. And, in this case, she was wrong. It would only take one swing from Shane to turn the tides of this battle. Meanwhile none of Mikoto's punches really seemed to be fazing the obsessed maniac. Mikoto didn't even know why he seemed so obsessed with killing him. Mikoto tightened his fist, trying to see if it was ready for another Rapid-Fire, but the sharp and almost numb pain emanating from within it told him he wasn't ready for it. Perhaps he shouldn't be relying on it as much as he had been.

Shane struck out again, swinging his impressive halberd through the air and bringing it nearly to a rest in Mikoto's skull, but the wild coyote dove to the side, swinging his entire body around in an elliptical fashion before driving inwards once more. Close range was hardly the safest place to be, Shane's swings could traverse larger distances at a quicker speed at close range meanwhile the room for Mikoto maneuver in was greatly diminished. He could no longer jet back and forth at such an incredible rate anymore and was would be forced to duke it out with Shane, a man not only bigger, but stronger than him. Could Mikoto really pour on the gas at such close range? They supposed it was either possible…or they would be down a captain the way Shane was swinging.

The two of them quickly became engaged in a complicated bout for space. When both fighters enter such close range, they also enter each other's hitting distance. Backing down or unnecessarily chasing inwards would be the end and be a surefire way to get hit, it was constant fight for space. Either sealing off their opponent's space or enlarging their own, they had to seal their opponent's movements to ensure escape was impossible. It may seem that this meant Mikoto had the upper hand, his speed gave him greater access to more area, but truth be told Shane had the advantage. Overpowering an opponent was basically the only way to seal, in other words, having brute strength or a way to force them back was necessary and Mikoto lacked that without his tried and true Rapid-Fire. And pretty soon the difference made itself obvious. Shane strapped his halberd to his back and decided a fist fight was his best bet especially at this range. And, of course, the future King of the Pirates couldn't back down from such a tempting challenge. He had to stick with it until the end. Mikoto swayed, danced, and weaved from spot to spot moving with the utmost quickness to avoid Shane's barreling punches. Each punch of Shane was met with a couple of Mikoto's, each one chewed into Shane's stomach trying to force him back and make him surrender before Mikoto got hit. Shane kept the barrage going even through Mikoto's flurry. Mikoto drove in, closing the distance for a split second and landing a punch for dancing back and out of Shane's path of destruction.

However, even the strongest of fighters have their off days. Mikoto moved in a little too soon and barely managed to avoid the incoming punch, it seemed things were going well despite his slight eagerness. It is there that it happens. An unusual warmth overcomes him. Extreme heat that makes him feel a little more wary than usual. It takes him a step or two, all of which happens in under a second, to understand what it was. Mikoto tried to pull back, but even his speed couldn't match the explosion's. The small space separating him and Shane grew bright for an instant before it went up in a fiery explosion, blowing Mikoto back. Shane had superheated the air in a matter of seconds, a technique that he had previously ignored due to its lack of uses and low power, but in this case it was just what he needed. Mikoto stumbled for a few seconds, unable to regain his balance. Which was just what Shane was waiting for. The next attack came just as quickly as the last, a powerful swinging charge that blew through the air, superheating it as it went creating a series of explosions behind it, which further propelled it forward with each burst until it slammed into Mikoto's side. Mikoto felt the heat welling up again in his side and his eyes flung open and opened themselves up wide, another bright burst of light emanated from the powerful halberd and Mikoto had no time to react. The tip of the halberd exploded just like floor and the air, throwing Mikoto clear across the air and smashing into the ground.

Mikoto could consider himself lucky. The explosion's heat had somewhat burned the awful gnash he had received from Shane's axe close. Burning cut wounds was an old war time medical technique, but it wasn't used nowadays due to much better options being available. In the end it meant Mikoto could fight again. Mikoto tried to struggle to his feet, but was instead met with an open palm strike from Shane. Shane brought the palm of his hand into Mikoto's forehead and slammed him back, refusing to allow the poor coyote captain even the smallest of reprieves. Even worse Mikoto could feel the extreme heat emanating from Shane's hand. If it worked on the floor, air, and his axe…who's to say it wouldn't work on Mikoto's head?

"Stop Shane!" shouted the large Fishman as once more he stumbled into the inn, Shane paused for a second and let his heat subside, but only for an instant as he turned to face his trusty crew member. His crew member seemed to have the same amount of anxiety towards meeting Shane as Shane had in general. Shane was breathing heavily, the sight of his crew was a relaxing one. He hadn't thought about it until just now, but his entire crew could've been dead. The sight of one of them was certainly a reassuring one, but still he needed to take care of the man responsible for it! Shane turned back to Mikoto just in time to hear, "he didn't do it!" Shane paused and looked back over to his crewmate, he let his hand relax and dropped Mikoto to the floor. The height difference in them was about a good foot or so, so that was about how Mikoto had fallen till he hit his butt on the floor. "He didn't do it," repeated the Fishman, continuing to try to reassure Shane.

"Well, then who did?" Shane's voice was gruff, obviously brimming with sheer hatred as he looked over to his partner, expecting an answer…and expecting an answer now!

"Shichibukai, 'Ghost Hook' Kraven."

(-With Kraven-)

"I had only intended to destroy and taunt the Infinity Pirates," said Kraven as he made a short jaunt forward and through his massive war galleon. While Shane's ship was bigger than Mikoto's, his ship was bigger yet. Big enough to swallow at least two of Shane's ships. Perhaps that was where Kraven's enormous confidence came from…or perhaps he was overcompensating for something. Either way Kraven was afraid of calling out both Shane and Mikoto a duo of pirates whose bounty passed 350 million! "But since the Dark Knight Pirates were in charge of their ship at the time I attacked and decided to try and stop me, I suppose I had to destroy them as well." He had the bounty to back up his talk and the strength to back up his bounty.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" questioned one of his crewmembers as they looked on, "I mean not only do both of these guys have incredible bounties, incredible reputations, but Mikoto defeated Trevor and Shane's rise to infamy is just as frightening." Kraven smiled, throwing his head back giving his shipmate a devastatingly evil smile.

"I admire that you are worried about me, but you still haven't scared me. Trevor had a bounty of over 215 million can you tell me why Mikoto's bounty didn't jump up that high?" the crewmate paused for a second as he considered this…he didn't know why. "It is simple because Trevor's uproarious bounty wasn't because of his insane strength, but because of his insane blood lust. In other words, just because my bounty is only currently 180 million isn't because I'm weaker than Trevor, but because I'm more in control." Kraven and his crewmate were soon on top of his war galleon and looking at the rest of the ships in the harbor. Kraven took careful aim at another pirate ship and brought out his weapon a long staff with a deadly curved hook at the end. He swiped it through the air and just through the air, "and trust me…a pirate whose in control is much more deadly than anyone else on these seas." Suddenly the pirate ship he had aimed his attack at was scuppered. The top half of the ship was ripped off of its hull and thrown through the air by an invisible flying slash.

His crewmate paused for a second. He had known of Kraven's strength and that was why he had joined his crew and after witnessing his captain's power once more he knew for a fact there was no way he could lose. However, there were two other reasons why he believed in his captain's strength…first that 180 million belie bounty was before his rise to Shichibukai status, in other words, before he showed up at a Shichibukai meeting carrying the head of another Shichibukai…if his bounty would've been amended to include that…his bounty would probably 280 million at least. The other reason was something you could only fully understand after you spent a decade at sea with him. Speaking of which…spending a decade out in these seas…perhaps that was something else…a fourth reason why Kraven could never lose in a fight to some fresh off the boat pirate.

**The Issuing of a Challenge**

I know, supposed to go up yesterday so I don't disturb nobody's thanksgiving day and to keep it up, but my internet turned crappy and has been having fits...so HAPPY THANKSGIVING! A NEW CHAPTER!

I always think I have some piece of vital information to share I post these...and I go to post it in these things...and then I get to them and I'm just like...nope...nothing. Kraven is the work of DracoOblivion.

Anyways...OOH! Kraven has shown his face. He is definitely a deadly pirate sailing on these seas for such a long time...probably even when Mikoto's own father was on the seas. Word of warning 'fear old men in occupations that have a very low life expectancy'. Got nothing else of importance to say. You know, other then keep an eye out for Sights Set on the Sky (Chapter 15 finished! (May be posting as soon as I get reliable internet connection)), send in your OCs, have a happy thanksgiving...oh, and for those of you crazy bastards going out for Black Friday, try not to get trampled.


	190. Chapter 190 Issuing a Challenge

**Issuing of a Challenge**

"Kra ha ha ha!" laughed Kraven as he walked forward and onto the front of his ship, looking down at the many people gathering beneath him. All of the Dark Knight Pirates as well as the Infinity Pirates were there beneath him. "I'm so glad all of you have decided to join us." His voice was deeper and darker than before, almost reminiscent of a grave. His entire body was cloaked in darkness as he couldn't be seen beneath his heavy black cloak and hood. He opened his hands up wide as if he was truly welcoming the men he planned on killing. "No hard feelings, right?" Shane immediately growled and flipped his halberd around, ready to fight with him. Shichibukai or no Shichibukai he wanted to take him down. "Relax, I promise you all we'll have a jolly good fight in the end." Despite his warm words, his voice radiated complete darkness. He lifted his hand up and signaled for his crew to appear. Two separate men appeared producing pistols and pointing them at Mikoto and Shane, both of who immediately went on the defensive. Suddenly the two pistols were tossed to them landing at their feet. "But first…how about a friendly wager?" His voice told everyone that this would be anything but a friendly wager. "I suggest a Davy Back fight," his voice rang out and seemed to bring an uneasy amount of chill to the air. The only person who seemed to recognize the words was Ridley. The rest of the crew just sat there looking dumbfounded.

"What's a Davy Back Fight?" asked Mikoto, stating the obvious question rather than trying to pry into Kraven's reason for calling them out here. The rest of the crew nodded, equally perturbed. Even Shane and his crew didn't seem to fully understand what it was and instead chose to stand there and look up to Kraven, expecting an explanation, but the man didn't seem to thrilled on handing it out. He apparently wanted them to go into this match as blind as possible and it seemed like it would be easy to do.

"It is basically a sports competition between pirates," explained Ridley, but from the dreadful tone in his voice it was obvious that it wasn't anything good. "You can compete in as many events as you want as long as both captains agree. The kicker is the winner gets to select one crewmember from the losing team and the crewmember is immediately transferred over to the winner's crew." The rest of the crew gasped in horror. "However, that was how it was in the past I'm talking like twenty years ago…a lot can change in twenty years, beautiful women can become ugly hags, grapes can become glorious wine, and ugly hags can actually turn into beautiful women…looks like there may be some hope for you after all Sage!" he said with a laugh, but he quickly got a bump on the head from her, encouraging him to continue. Ridley muttered something beneath his breath, but then he sighed and continued anyways, "like I said that's how it used to be until a man called 'Blood Savage' Pierre took the stage.

"He challenged crews to Davy Back fights left and right, resorting to any means necessary to win, after all that went down Davy Back fights began to devolve," Ridley muttered, "they used to be straight laced competitions plenty of rules and tradition backing them up. However, Pierre changed all that. He returned them to barbaric fights…it was no longer a matter of just keeping your crew after you lost…it was a matter of keeping your lives during the competition too…it was said for every one crew member Pierre won…another eight were killed…he competed in and won one thousand…nine hundred…and twenty fights…he won one thousand nine hundred and eighteen fights…however, after both of his losses he immediately went ahead and killed everyone on the opposing crew anyways…including any crewmembers he lost saying that he had lost them so it was only 'fair' that they died with their new crew."

"And that's not even the worst of it," stated Kraven, stepping forward and leaning against the railing of his ship, "do you want to know what he had done with the people he did win? The poor 1918 people who joined his crew? He killed them…instantly as soon as the fight was over he commanded them to take their own lives. If they didn't, he considered it a mutiny and killed them anyways…if they did, he would laugh…a laugh so loud it was said it could be heard around the world." The entire crew gulped loudly, what the hell? What kind of sports competition was this anyways?

"Wait a second," brought up Enma stepping forward and putting his foot on the gun, being careful to make sure Mikoto didn't accept the terms before he knew everything. "Why should we accept this fight anyways? I'm sorry, but we are rather happy with our crew…I don't really want to have any more slime join it. Now I can understand if Shane chose to accept the conditions considering you defiled his pirate ship, but I see no reason for us Infinity Pirates to stick our necks on the line. I mean, why should we bet our crewmates?" Enma pointed out a very valid reason, this wasn't an agreement somebody could enter into so lightly. Even Mikoto seemed hesitant after hearing the tale. However, despite Enma's well-spoken words and excellent reasoning…Kraven didn't seem perturbed at all…instead he was still smiling.

"I see, so you guys came here without even checking on your ship, huh?" he said with a smile, "I so miss the joys of youth." He sighed, but quickly got back on track, "I have a question what are the three main requirements to be a pirate?" The entire crew fell silent. "Just think about it for a few seconds…the three main requirements are 1) a ship, can't be a stalwart fighter of the sea without one, 2) guts, the bravery to defy the World Government and anyone who stands in your way…and 3) and…trust me this one is a big one…" he motioned to his men once more to bring something else forward. "Under all circumstances even as a Shichibukai like myself…even as a retired old man, even when your head is under the guillotine…you must have a Jolly Roger." The crew saw a sight that sickened and enraged them. Two of Kraven's crewmates had produced a flag…their flag to be specific. They had stolen it from their ship when they had attacked Shane's crew…worse yet…they had desecrated it, mud was smeared over the flag, knives were hanging loosely from gigantic rips in it, even the skull had been painted over with bright pink paint. "I think it suits you guys quite well."

Mikoto leapt forward, he took steps three or four at a time. He raced forward, kicking against Kraven's ship until his completely horizontal movement turned vertically as he bolted upwards. He twisted around and readied his punch. Kraven smiled as Mikoto's punch ripped through the air and at him, hitting his cloak, but only his cloak. Kraven's body flowed around Mikoto's, wrapping his long metal hooked staff around Mikoto's neck before shuttling the kid coyote to the ground causing him to smash horrible against the fluffy island clouds right next to his pistol. Kraven landed back on his ship, a delirious smile finally showing on his face. "Uh-uh-uh, I said it, didn't I? I'll only fight you if agree to my terms, a Davy Back Fight. Put your pride as a pirate on the line; show me that you at least have the guts to be a pirate. Show me the signal that you wish to participate in the Davy Back Fight. Grab that gun and fire it!"

Mikoto whipped his body around, stealing the gun right out from underneath Enma and taking aim at Kraven. He fired two shots, emptying out the chamber in a rapid-fire fashion. Kraven's crews eyes widened as they watched the two bullets whizz through the air at Kraven, but their captain didn't move. He stayed where he was and felt the air of the bullets blast past him and embed themselves in HIS Jolly Roger. Kraven smiled as Mikoto stood up, "now let's see your guts as a pirate!" Mikoto threw the gun down literally and figuratively you could suppose he had thrown the gauntlet down as well. Kraven's smile widened as he took joy in seeing his opponent so riled up and ready for a fight…perhaps his trip to Skypiea will be well worth it. However, Kraven couldn't relax just yet. He jerked his head to the side just in time to watch a bullet race past his eyes. Kraven turned around and looked down to the ground beneath him, Shane had also apparently accepted the challenge…although unlike Mikoto it wasn't the Jolly Roger he wanted to shoot. Kraven smiled as he turned around, waving good-bye.

"It'll take me and my crew a day or so to set-up," Kraven mentioned before disappearing beneath the ship's deck. "Come back here when you see the signal." The crew wanted to ask what was the signal…but they had a feeling they would know it when they saw it. Without a doubt it would be something big and scary, purposefully designed to scare the ever-living crap out of them. Shane stayed behind a little longer than the rest of them, he chose to stand there looking at the ship trying to burn his opponent's face into his memory. Shane kept telling himself that that man…would be dead in a week.

(-with Mikoto and his crew-)

"A three-way Davy Back Fight," started off Ridley, trying to cement the thought in his head. "Well, if there's an alcohol contest in it, you all can just sit back and let me handle things from there." He didn't seem all too worried and instead took another swig from his bottle. They still didn't even know how many contests they would be competing in. Should they keep it to one to keep their loses to a minimum…or should they challenge as many times as they could to try and make sure that even if they failed the first one through some sort of fluke they could win their old crew members back. As much as they hated to do so…the only one with any knowledge of the Davy Back Fight was Ridley so they had to turn to him for knowledge. Ridley sighed and set his bottle down, something told him if he had to explain everything to these folks he wouldn't have any time to drink.

"It is simple, okay?" explained Ridley once more, trying to keep it simple. "The games can vary between anything. I've seen Davy Back Fights that ranged from Tag to Boxing to seeing who can destroy their opponent's ship the fastest. It is hard to obtain the upper hand during these things because of the variety, most of the times the person who offers the challenge gets to pick, however, sometimes things are decided by drawing events out of a hat." The second one was the most preferable especially since neither Mikoto nor Shane the two team captains knew anything about the Davy Back Fights and would probably pick the worst events. "After that, each crew selects crewmembers to compete in each fight. Generally the number of combatants that are allowed per event are random. It could be one-on-one or it could be five-on-five. The crew nodded. "You have to choose who is competing in which event beforehand as well, no substitutions allowed."

"What if one of the people decided to compete in Round Two gets picked during Round One?" asked Sage, wanting to know the strategy behind the games.

"Then you suck it up and you deal with it," replied Ridley, "You become a man down during that event. It is an easy way for the winning team to keep its streak going. It is a legitimate and completely accepted strategy in most cases, a few exceptions apply." The crew shrunk at the sound of that…losing the first match will probably mean you would lose the second…and then the third…and then the fourth…and so on and so on. "The main problem will be the rules. Davy Back Fights are generally very rule orientated and learning how to skirt by these rules are generally what leads pirates to victory." The crew fell silent they didn't know what the rules were…it sounded like they were at a disadvantage before the fight even started. "There are other strategies such as paying off the referee or even cheating and getting a minor punishment…but in exchange for a large advantage. Killing a man on the field gets him taken off of the field for all future games…but the punishment is only disqualification for that one round."

"Then why have any rules at all?" balked Rosa, swinging her hand through the air in disbelief. "Why not just let it be anarchy on the playing field if things like that are allowed? Hell, why not just have it be a regular street fight for that matter?" The crew nodded in agreement.

"Street fighting is one of the competitions so prepare yourselves for that as well," muttered Ridley, "I don't know the specifics I've only participated in one in my life and it was a friendly competition between my dad and one of his competitors. Basically rather than betting crewmates they betted businesses. My dad came out on top, of course, but since then I never participated in another Davy Back Fight again." The crew raised an eyebrow, interested in knowing why Ridley avoided them. "It is not like I hated them or because I was terrible at them, it is just that it is mostly a coward's way of fighting. You use it as a last ditch effort against a clearly superior fighter in order to net yourself the advantage. In other words, it was what you do when you should be running scared. So, congratulations Mikoto you have garnered yourself quite a reputation there."

Mikoto nodded, although he didn't quite agree with that. For some reason this man didn't seem to be the kind of guy to be afraid of someone else. As a matter of fact he seemed scarily assure of himself, this whole Davy Back Fight just seemed to be more like he was just trying to twist Mikoto's arm. He didn't want him to run away…because he was confident he could win. At least that was what it seemed like to him, but Mikoto had been wrong before. He supposed he shouldn't jump to conclusions just yet. Mikoto would just have to settle down for a little while longer. However, Mikoto had noticed something during that briefest of exchanges they had had…Mikoto couldn't use the Rapid-Fire technique anymore.

(-With Kraven-)

Kraven and the rest of his crew had brought their flag down and had it resting on their ship as they looked over it and tried to figure out how to fix it. It had taken two shots and they couldn't be pirates without it. "Damn, that little bastard," swore one of them as they continued to look at it, examining the perfect black cloth, "I can't believe he did that!"

Kraven chuckled and shook his head, "I believe it…I would've done the same thing if I was his age and I was in the same position as he was." Of course, Kraven would've done it a little better, it was obvious the kid had no experience wielding a firearm. He fired poorly and only hit the black part of their flag, missing the white skull and crossbones, which were replaced with his hooks. In other words, it was hard to even see that he had hit it…Kraven began to think that it was possible he was aiming for him and he just missed so badly that he hit their flag. Kraven shook his head and laughed again. When he finished he noticed his crew was giving him strange looks. "What is it?"

The crew paused and waited a few seconds, "well, captain…it seems like…it seems like this is the first time we've seen you laugh this much since the…since the incident." The word seemed to bring a heavy sense of foreboding to them. They all quieted down and looked towards Kraven as he looked over to the side of their ship and towards the horizon as if suddenly becoming lost in thought.

"Don't worry," Kraven said, standing up his dark and sinister tone returning, "I promise you…I'll do everything in my power to ensure that that incident will never be repeated…I'll crush whoever stands in my way, including the Kid Coyote!"

**The First Event!**

Yeah, yeah, yeah...the Davy Back Fight. I know, I know...I just really liked how it was in the actual Anime and in all honesty I thought it kind of got discarded as a filler arc despite how cool it was (at least to me). I blame Foxy.

Anyways! Yeah, its an update!


	191. Chapter 191 The First Even

**The First Event**

A series of fireworks exploded into the sky. They came out in rapid-fire succession, each shot rang out as if announcing the start of a festival. However, this thing was far from a party. There were no booths set up or things for sale. What they did have set-up definitely didn't set the pace for a festival either, a small poorly managed medical center in case you got wounded, a blacksmith for fixing weapons, and other odds and ends that didn't inspire confidence that the next hour or so of the fight was going to be fun. The crew felt uneasy as they walked through the crowd, but the opposing crews didn't seem too bad. Shane's crew even apologized for their earlier rudeness and even abducting their ship, apparently feeling more than a little guilty that their Jolly Roger got stolen. Even Kraven's crew smiled and waved at them, ignoring their actions for the most part and treating them like lifelong friends. They even set up a small beer distillery offering a drink to anyone who wanted one. Of course, Ridley obliged. However, this rather poor show of hospitality didn't make the rest of the crew feel any more welcomed. "I say we just steal the flag and run," brought up Enma looking over and watching it as the Dark Night pirates brought both ships around, of course, their ship wasn't touched, just their flag was gone. Then again by that same token, they could just run and make a new flag. It wasn't like their old flag was going to be fluttering in the skies any more, it was way too dirty to fly it with pride.

"Hey, Mikoto!" shouted Kraven as he threw a small packet to them, possibly overhearing Enma's strategy, "catch." With that Kraven quickly left, but nobody tried to stop him. They all kept their eyes on him. Enma turned around to warn Mikoto not to open it, but he was too late watching Mikoto already opening it. Mikoto soon pulled a black cylinder out from the small container. He unrolled the cylinder revealing their ruined flag. Kraven had no desire to screw them over, he wanted to keep them around here, but holding onto their flag did him no good. Besides…if they were real pirates they would just take it and run. "Remember you've already accepted the Davy Back Fight, so you can't run away. If you do then you'd be selling your honor as a pirate! As a former Shichibukai candidate or as a future King of the Pirates, you can't live with that, you understand?" Mikoto breathed heavily as he looked over their flag, but he slowly nodded and accepted his opponent's terms. Kraven may be a Shichibukai and a little bit of a jerk, but it was obvious he was true blooded pirate. His understanding of the Davy Back Fight proved that as well as his understanding of how to goad Mikoto into a fight. Kraven smiled as he noticed Mikoto's decision to stick through with it until the end.

"Crap," said Zesiro leaning back, getting a perfect understanding of his opponent. For once this wasn't an opponent who planned on winning through sheer strength or tricks. Kraven understood Mikoto all of the way. It was possible he had an intellect that met and exceeded even Mikoto's instincts. Zesiro should've put it together when Kraven easily avoided Mikoto's earlier attack. Zesiro turned around and looked at his captain, the fierce look said everything. Mikoto didn't care. He'd take him down regardless. However, it wasn't because of the fact that Kraven had stolen and desecrated their flag, Mikoto didn't care about that. He just knew Kraven would be a good opponent. Any pirate's blood would race at the prospect of fighting a Shichibukai, especially considering how close Mikoto came to losing to Trevor. Perhaps another battle against a Shichibukai was exactly what Mikoto needed something to really get him ready for the things to come. It wouldn't be long now. OF course, a simple glance over at the rest of Kraven's crew could get anyone's blood boiling. They were all high leveled pirates, large bounties spread generously about them. This Davy Back Fight didn't sound all too appealing at first, but the more Zesiro thought about it, the more he decided it was actually a very good thing. A way to test a pirate's skills in something other than a fight, perhaps it was a good way to test yourself. After all, plenty of fights end due to a lucky punch so this is probably the best way to decide.

Kraven smiled as he made his way to the stage, surely the Infinity Pirates didn't notice it. How could they? The fake bravado made in handing back their flag, the simple laughs and smiles they wore, they would never put it together. The real purpose behind the reason why he challenged them to a Davy Back Fight. He tried to do his best to hide the leering smile on his face as he slowly approached the stage, moving towards the front and to the microphone. Inviting Shane's crew also had an additional meaning, another way to force the Infinity Pirates to the need, the fact that they needed to beat both crews in order to obtain even a single one of theirs back. If Kraven could take the first round even as a surprise, it was entirely possible that they would never manage to take them back.

"It is time to begin the drawing!" shouted Kraven as he stepped onto the stage. "However, to begin with something simple needs to be decided," Kraven started as he reached into his pocket, nobody moved. They weren't expecting a dirty trick like a gun or a secret detonator, it was obvious that Kraven was trying to be sportsman-like. He pulled out a group of coins and held them up into the air, "how many games will we play!? Will it be a matter of one-coin-game, no chance for redemption, a two-coin-game, the possibility of us breaking even, or a three-coin-game, with each crew trying to win at least one round?"

"Three rounds?" shouted Shane as he jumped up onto the stage, causing Kraven's crew a fright as they all jumped back and nearly out of their skins. They braced their hands on their weapons, but relaxed a little when they saw that Shane only went for microphone, snatching it from his opponent and taking it for himself, "that shit's too weak! I declare we take it up another notch! How about a five coin game! No chance of us breaking even, no chance of there being no winners and losers, somebody is going home on a different crew no matter what!" The crowd immediately let out the most uproarious cheer ever. Their cries could split somebody's eardrums, immediately Shane's own natural charisma and the reason why he had a semi-big crew was obvious. He was definitely somebody to watch out for in the near future, a pirate legend in the making without a doubt! Shane lifted his arms up as if declaring victory already, which caused the rest of the crowd to burst into even louder cheers even those who weren't on his crew were cheering him on. That was just his charisma and years at sea showing his experience, in a battle like this the crowd was a weapon in itself. Shane looked over at Kraven and gave him a smile as if to say 'how's that!' Kraven frowned a little. If it was only a three round match he probably could've taken all three due to his experience and more importantly their inexperience, but five rounds was more than enough time for them to figure out their weaknesses and mend them. He just had to hope he could keep them in the dark long enough. Shane turned out to face the crowd, "what do you say, Mikoto!?" as he tossed the microphone into the crowd and towards Mikoto.

Mikoto lunged forward to get it, but immediately Enma intercepted it and Zesiro held Mikoto back, knowing full well that if they allowed Mikoto to speak he'd probably try to raise the stakes to 101-coin-match. "We accept!" shouted Enma into the microphone. The rest of the crowd immediately began booing wanting to hear the words from the captain rather than his lackey, but pretty soon they all quieted down as their attention returned to the stage as Shane stepped down.

"Damn," said Ridley as he looked up, causing the rest of the crew to look over at their nakama, who had already moved onto his fifth beer for the day, "it looks like we just lost round 0." Enma looked at him with a little bit of quizzical look. "Compare the size of our crews. Kraven's got nearly 100, Shane has about 20, and we only have about ten and that's counting damaged Lily, the weird new guy Aaron, and weakling Sage." Sage puffed out her chest, annoyed that once more Ridley had gotten the first jab in at her. "If things become a popularity contest we're going to lose no matter now. I can guarantee that Shane's little show probably convinced at least 20 men of Kraven's crew to back him if it comes down to it." True, there was no such thing as a popularity contest in Davy Back Fights…but still the crowd was pretty helpful at changing the referee's mind at times during any sporting event. "Looks like we just got to win." They crew nodded, immediately remembering this wasn't a fight it was a sports match and they would probably have the quietest cheer squad of them all.

Kraven muttered something to himself. Three coin matches were simpler to divide as well, the Infinity Pirates had a small amount of people playing for them. 10 people, maybe? He eyed Lily, immediately taking her up as someone who shouldn't compete under most circumstances. It looked like this may be easier to win than he had thought the more often they forced that girl to play the higher their odds of winning would become each time. He moved over to the hat and immediately drew one slip of paper from the hat before tossing it to Shane, who drew another and tossed it to Mikoto. This went on again until five slips were drawn. Meaning Kraven and Shane had both pulled two while Mikoto had only pulled one, it didn't matter since they drew them at random, but still…it looked like Kraven was already conspiring against them.

"To begin with!" Kraven cleared his throats as he accepted the slips from the rest of the contestants, "the contests will be…Capture the Flag, Sudden Death Knife Fight, The Famous Three Barrel Race, Relay Race, and Tug-o-War!" Mikoto let out an audible groan, none of those made it seem like he could actually fight hand-to-hand with Kraven. Ridley simply rolled and ignored them. None of them were music making or alcohol drinking, so he supposed he wouldn't be worth much. "To begin with Capture the Flag is a 5 people per team game, Sudden Death Knife Fight is a one person per team game, the Three Barrel Race is unlimited people per team game, and the other two will be decided as soon as I can think of what they are!"

"I have no idea what any of those ridiculous sounding fights are," muttered Maria, the rest of the crew wore similar uneasy grins and once more had to turn to Ridley, the only person they knew who might have the slightest spark of knowledge when it came to these things. Ridley moaned and sat up, he didn't really want to participate, but he knew very well he would have to. There were a limit to how often a person could compete and with only 10 people in their crew they would be at the disadvantage as their crew members would have to compete more often unlike Kraven who basically had an infinite amount of substitutes.

"Okay, listen up," began Ridley, taking control of the conversation. "Capture the Flag is exactly how it sounds. The objective is to grab a hold of contain the opponent's flag, which can be anything. I've seen games where the flag is actually a person. Of course, weapons aren't allowed as in most Davy Back Fights, but that's only if the opposing teams play fair and don't bribe the referee." Zesiro groaned slightly, but nodded he was tired of going without his swords! "Zesiro, Hiro-Shu, Mikoto, Enma…and Aaron should probably compete in this match, is that okay guys?" They all nodded, including Aaron, who was more or less forced onto the crew for this competition, but he didn't mind it. It sounded like fun to him.

"What about me?" shouted Maria, "It sounds like a game where you'll need to be able to strong-arm your way through your opponent's, isn't that my specialty?" Ridley agreed and ordinarily he would love to throw her out there and into this match, but like he said they didn't have any good substitutes for this match or the next one.

"Sorry, but we'll need you in the next competition." Maria looked a little confused as she didn't quite understand what the next competition was. It sounded like a duel with knives in which case Zesiro would be a better fit. "I'm going to have to apologize, but I'll be filling out the team cards and deciding who competes when, okay?" The rest of the crew nodded, even Sage reluctantly agreed. Ridley was indeed the only one who had the faintest idea of what they were doing. Ridley smiled and reclined, "good, and don't worry…I'm going to try to make sure we don't lose a single match, so I'll be trying to play off of everybody's strengths, including yours Sage." This caught them all a little off guard, Ridley seemed to be a little bit more solemn this time around. He didn't take his usual jabs at Sage or the rest of the crew. It was almost as if he sensed something horrible approaching them. They paused for a second wondering what could possibly make even Ridley pause out of hesitation. "Anyways, let's get the first game underway, no sense in waiting."

A massive field was laid out, no smaller than any average Davy Back Fight field or common Football field. Kraven signaled to a group of his men to bring out the 'flags'. "Ever since 'Savage Titan' Pierre came about the flags are no longer people as the titan would 'accidentally' kill them in order to prevent them from squirming and resisting, instead they have become improved and replaced with these!" The flags were solid steel weights each one taking four men to haul out. The crews all stalled at the sight of them. "The goal is to grab one of these weight each marked with the crew's respective flags on them and haul them to your side of the field." Kraven motioned to the field, which was still being painted…apparently having a third team participating in it was a bit odd and require a change in how the field looked, going from a rectangle to a half circle. The 'flags' were dropped off into the middle of the field. "Each time is now allowed five minutes to move their flags or position their players to any place on the field…granted they can carry it. When the bell rings in exactly five minutes you can start chasing after your opponent's flags or even attacking your opponents to prevent them from grabbing your flag, but remember weapons are not allowed! If your flag is captured your team is out, the game is over when all opposing teams have been eliminated. Let's see some fun battling!"

Zesiro, Mikoto, and Hiro-Shu all moved over to the weight and looked at it. It was about seven feet tall and only four feet by four feet wide. They all wedged their fingers underneath and tried to move it, but they quickly found out how hard that was. The weight almost seemed to resisting them, trying its hardest not to come up. "Damn!" shouted Mikoto as they all dropped it, "its impossible to move! It is like they are cheating already. We can't move it around at all, it is so freaking heavy."

"Actually it works in our favor," said Enma walking up to it and tapping on it, checking the density for himself. "The heavier the flag is the harder it will be for the opposing teams to steal it." Oh, right! If they couldn't move with three people it'll probably take at least four people to move it for their opponents in other words stopping them should be easy even if they don't move it. However, Aaron's face told a different story as he looked at the opposing team.

"It's-It's him!" he shouted, remembering the face from their trip to Zenith Gaol. A massive towering man, standing at least 8 feet tall. His long white hair still covered his dark slits of eyes, the guy was a giant. He was the one they met in the prison, who defeated that wild animal and was searching for some more people to fight! His arms were long enough to scrap the floor and he was apparently strong enough to heft the large weight up and into the air all by himself, "where do you want this thing, boss?"

**There's Winners...**

**And Then There's Losers**

Hey, guys, I know I said bonus updates every ten reviews (and with Sasaui just dumping off like 7 of them herself) I may be due for another one soon, but I got finals coming up which means final projects and studying is going to start devouring my free time. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with it, but still...you know, I'll try my hardest!

Oh, P.S. for those of you who haven't favorited or followed me yet the new story is up. Sights Set on the Sky look forward to it!


	192. Chapter 192 There Are Winners

**There's Winners...**

**And Then There's Losers**

The horrible realization had just sunk in. The chances of the crew winning this match had just taken a turn for the worse. Their opponent was huge, impressively so and incredibly strong. Not even a bead of sweat formed on his brow as he slowly turned his head left to right, looking for his 'boss'. The other man the crew had had the distinct pleasure of running into at Zenith Gaol came up to him, "over here brother." The two of them obviously weren't related by blood, but their relationship definitely resembled brothers. The bigger one's face lit up as he saw the guy smoking the Eisen Dial cigars and he followed him all the way over to the other side of the field, dropping the large weight onto the furthest side of the field away from both Shane's crew (who were currently pushing their weight deeper over) as well as Mikoto's crew who were flabbergasted by the sight.

"Ignore him and just try to get to the other side," shouted Ridley, "they are relying on that guy to move the weights if you can just stop him then they are sunk!" Ridley bit his fingernails as he watched his crew take their position. He knew they were already in trouble that much was obvious, but to think that they had somebody so powerful and so well-armed for this event on their side it was almost unbelievable that it wasn't fixed for them…no, they probably fixed their crew around the Davy Back Fight. Unlike their crew Kraven's crew had obviously been around the block once or twice, this probably wasn't the first Davy Back Fight they had gotten themselves involved in. Their crew was probably designed to reflect that. Crew size, charisma, experience…everything was at ungodly levels compared to theirs. Ridley sighed and tried to relax, but he already knew what would happen if they lose…and if that did happen they would be sunk faster than fast. "We need to win," he muttered to himself, "we need to win." No amount of strategizing could compare against experience, that was what won Davy Back Fights and that was Mikoto's ultimate weakness.

Mikoto was still fairly new to the Grand Line, he had only been a pirate for just about a year. He had managed to suppress his lack of experience with his speed and instincts, but that was his only saving grace. He could learn quickly, take in his opponent's power levels and adapt at a good pace, too…but the fact that he had to adapt to his opponents was bad. He needed to develop further to become a real threat. Build-up the foundation and work your way up from there…that was what Mikoto lacked…the bottom line for all fighters…a solid amount of experience. He had fought Trevor, Abel, Taisho, and Apollo and Ridley had hoped that would help him out, but the sea was too vast to hope to become complete after just four fights…Karasu was strong, well-versed in what a pirate needed and he still lost in the end. This wouldn't be a fight like the others, this wouldn't be seeing if Mikoto could win against his opponent…this would be seeing if Mikoto could make it on the Grand Line. And honestly, if Ridley had to rate their chances…he would say the odds were 7:3…in favor of them losing, it would probably turn out even worse if Kraven was skilled as Ridley thought…there was one person on their crew that they needed to keep no matter what…if Kraven took him…it was game over.

"Ridley's right," said Enma as he took his stance, "if we just take out the big guy then our odds probably will increase dramatically, okay?" Enma looked over at Shane's group to see what they were thinking, they had tuckered themselves out during the first four minutes trying to move the weight, but they were using the last minute of free time to rest up and recover. If they worked together than even Kraven's giant didn't stand a chance. The rest of the crew nodded and the crew got ready. Mikoto and Aaron both went into similar leg stretches knowing they would be counted on taking the early blows, Zesiro and Hiro-Shu moved back as both of them would probably be stuck with guarding the weight while Enma would have to figure out the big guy's weakness. Suddenly the bell rang, taking away all of the tension and releasing the entire crew into a massive charge…everybody booked it towards the opposing forces weights…with Shane's weight being basically ignored.

"Hey, weaklings!" shouted the Fishman from Shane's crew as he bolted up and began racing adjacent to Mikoto and Aaron with Aaron starting to pull a little further ahead. "What do you say I show you what I can do, huh? Just try and keep from wetting your pants!" The Fishman bolted upward, rushing further ahead of the two of them, apparently choosing to pour it on now rather than wait. Mikoto and Aaron shared a similar look, telling everybody that they had no idea who that guy was despite the fact that he was the Fishman Mikoto had knocked out cold earlier. The Fishman jumped into the air with surprising ease, he soared above his opponent's head and twisted around, launching a powerful downwards kick into goliath's head. The big guy stumbled for a second, but he quickly recovered. "Crap! Its all because I can't use my brass knuckles, oh, well! I'll still take Mr. Over-Compensating down!" He rushed forward, moving all the faster with his own smack talk compelling him. He launched several powerful, blows straight forward, rushing into the guy's incredibly large back like it was an oversized punching bag. "How do you like that!?" he said as he finished up his rush with an incredible punch. The larger than life monster stumbled for a split second, but quickly resumed his regular slightly slow pace.

"My brother there, Azu, is not your typical person as I'm sure you can tell," said the man smoking the cigar as the iron cloud wafted out of it and wrapped itself around the Fishman, Shino…a Fishman worth 45 million, which were poor men's bucks compared to his captain's bounty, but he was still strong in his own right. The man with the cigar, however, obviously outclassed him. "He was born with exceptional physical prowess, including an insane recovery rate and even crazier power. He can't be stopped unless you hit him with a big blow straight from the get-go…these small attacks of yours are only getting his engines going." Shino cursed, it was because he wasn't allowed to use his brass knuckles! Those things generally amplified his strength ten times its original amount…but still to meet a human whose strength completely outmatches anything natural was still impressive. Suddenly the man with the cigar threw the Fishman out of the way and brought his iron cloud back in front of his face just in time to be met with a powerful kick to his iron cloud shield.

"That's my teammate you are manhandling," said Dango, the other much bigger Fishman from Shane's crew as he brought his shell smashing into the iron guard and nearly blowing it open a feat Zesiro couldn't quite do even with his swords. The man with the cigar backed off for a second. He was a man worth 80 million, slightly higher than Dango's own bounty of 67 million, the man with the cigar was 'Iron Chain Smoker' Gora. This definitely wasn't going to be the quickest fight of the day. However, the rest of the crew was thankful as that meant that those two would be busy for the rest of the game. The giant continued to bulldoze his way down the center field.

"Hey!" shouted Shino as he looked over to the referee, "I thought you said weapons weren't allowed! What the hell does that make the cigar than!" The referee sighed and picked up a rule book.

"This book contains all rules concerning the Davy Back Fight, including a list of weapons prohibited for each fight. Sadly, its text remains continuously being updated, but this is the most up to date version available. His Eisen Cigar is would qualify as a Dial-Based weapon, however, the book makes a case that states that certain Dial-Based items like Dial Skates and his Eisen Cigar qualify as accessories not weapons and therefore are allowed, but if they are damaged replacements may not be used." Shino growled, they knew of such a rule and probably gave that Goro guy the Eisen Cigar knowing that.

"I say we just beat up the referee," mentioned Maria with a smile on her face. But the referee seemed to ignore her, "well, anyways, if I was in that field I would've down beat that giant down." Ridley smiled, hoping she could keep that spirit and strength up all the way through the next fight. Ridley had a feeling she would need it. Besides the rule book also made a special case that allowed artificial limbs like Maria's so they had to be thankful for that.

The goliath of a man was bolting towards the Infinity Pirate's weight. Hiro-Shu and Zesiro remained at the ready to counter it…although the Fishman was feeling a little uneasy without his swords especially after seeing his fellow Fishman warrior fail. "**Fists of Iron! Iguko's Rage!" **Hiro-Shu let a single iron covered punch echo out, aiming for the giant's shin bone, knowing full well that that was probably the giant's greatest weakness, take out the legs of any warrior and you could stop them from moving forward and that was all that was necessary here. However, suddenly the giant jetted, twisting its body and bolting around Hiro-Shu and Zesiro, changing its path completely.

"And that spectators is Azu's greatest technique, the Feint! A technique he uses when he heads at full-blast for one weight, but suddenly changes direction, a move that is easily accomplishable for him!" It was the announcer that was talking now, he didn't give too much commentary, after all Kraven's crew didn't much care for the showmanship of this thing, they were just interested in complete and total domination of their opponents. The crew stayed standing still for a little while longer watching it as they tried to put it together. Azu didn't use his feet for a sudden change of direction, no…he used his arms. He slammed one arm into the ground and used that as a pivot. It was a technique only he could probably use. He bolted down the field, this time heading at full-speed for Shane's weight. "And now we can see that Azu's true target was none other than Shane's flag! Eliminating the team with the most substitutes first, what a truly brilliant stratagem!"

"Is that how a gentleman acts?" asked the sole defender of their weight, "feints going after one team and heads after the other? No, a gentleman…a samurai would declare his intentions first and act them without any hesitation." The man turned around to completely face Azu. To any swordsman fanatic, they would've recognized him, Reymundo Takeshi, the carrier of the Hakobi-Shi…whose bounty poster reads 'The Next Samurai' Wanted Dead or Alive: 113 Million Belies. "And it is my intention to take you out!" The man jumped into the air, coating his right leg with Haki and swinging his entire weight around, smashing it into the side of Azu's head and blowing him back quite a few feet considering his size. All of Kraven's pirates, except Kraven himself, gasped, watching their titan actually be forced back by one attack.

"**Impulse: Air Waves!" **shouted Aaron, flipping around and launching a downwards kick straight into Azu's skull, sending the rest of the shockwave shooting down his spine. The real strength behind Aaron's attack was in utilizing his speed, turning all of his momentum from running into a devastating attack. Azu straightened out for a second, continuing to stumble back, but it was obvious that he hadn't lost consciousness nor was he out for the count yet. However, Mikoto intended to correct that. Mikoto rushed in, bolting towards the giant using his regular incredible speed Mikoto closed the distance, tightened his fists and sent an incredible barrage forward.

"**Wolf Rush!" **Mikoto fired again and again, shooting a machine gun number of punches into Azu's gut, each one faster than the last. Azu's body was shuddered back, he was slowly being pushed back with each blow. Finally Azu managed to be knocked back a little further, Mikoto readied himself for a big blow, jumping into the air, flipping around and angling his kick downwards in a manner similar to Aaron's attack, but he was stopped short as Azu's hands clasped in front of him, squeezing the life out of Mikoto.

Azus voice came over, incredibly mono-toned and almost slow. "**Space…Pass…" **moaned Azu as he brought Mikoto down, nearly onto the ground before slinging his arms up using his entire body to send the captain flying upwards.

"Oh!" shouted the announcer as his body nearly fell backwards like a swoon, "it is the famous Azu Space Pass! Generally used to throw the weights from one end of the field to the other, it can also be used on people using his entirely stout build and basically catapulting his opponent out of the way and into even the outer reaches of outer space. It looks like Mikoto will be the first coyote in outer space!" Azu lifted his arm and slowly swung his arm from side-to-side as if he was accepting an award…it looked fairly odd coming from a monster as big as he was. However, more impressive than his toss was the fact that he seemed to be already in better spirits as if the last few hits didn't even faze him as if to prove that, he whipped his body around picking up one of the Shane's crew members and once more catapulting him into the air. "And another one!" Azu turned around, looking at Reymundo the man who started the horrible hitting fest on his body and the massive monster's eyes glinted with an idea. He whipped his large arm around, scooping both Reymundo and the weight up with one swing. "And here it is Azu's third and most ego-destroying attack! The Smash Pass!"

"**Smash…Pass…" **moaned Azu as he continued to whip his body around, lifting the small weight only a few inches above the ground and swatting both it and Reymundo across the field like a hockey puck. Unlike before Reymundo could do nothing to stop this awkward pass and could only resign himself to being toyed around like a play thing, undoubtedly if he had his swords or if this was an actual fight he may actually be able to do something about it.

"And the Smash Pass is received by the rest of Kraven's crew!" shouted the announcer looking over at the end of the field were three guys had been on receiving end of the devastating smash pass. They had been knocked around like bowling pins, but they stopped the Smash Pass in the goal area…in other words Shane's 'flag' had been captured. "The Dark Knight Pirates are out!" Shane's crew and the Infinity Pirates couldn't believe their eyes, a second opening in the line-up had turned into this. The monster was unstoppable! He breathed out deeply as he turned back around and focused on the Infinity Pirate's flag, his entire attention narrowing in on that one weight. Zesiro cracked his knuckles and looked up at it. The last combination of blows proved that the beast could be taken down and that he could feel pain. Zesiro would just have to pound it in even harder than the last few blows. Hiro-Shu nodded as the duo rushed in, Enma quickly joined to assist them in taking down the hulking brute, meanwhile Aaron waited for Mikoto to come back down as someone would have to catch the poor guy.

Hiro-Shu bolted forward in front of Zesiro, skidding to a halt and bringing his hands out offering Zesiro a step. Zesiro stepped into Hiro-Shu's hands and immediately Hiro-Shu catapulted the shark up and into the air to be on equal footing with the giant. Zesiro whipped his fist down and pounded it into the giant, knocking his head down and causing the giant to lean over, which put the giant's head perfectly on level with Hiro-Shu. Hiro-Shu whipped around, firing a forward punch and sending the giant tumbling head over heels backwards. The massive monster, slammed his foot down, managing to catch himself once more before he suffered any real debilitating damages. Zesiro and Hiro-Shu charged forward again, ready to exchange blows with their target. Two heads were indeed better than one. Zesiro's attacks would pound into the monster's gut and before his inhuman healing abilities could take place Hiro-Shu's punches would echo through his bones, all the while Enma's attacks would slowly compliment the attacking combinations, of course, Enma couldn't use his bone spear so the problem slowly progressed into something else. It seemed problematic for the entire crew that this giant was still standing, but he proved himself to be a more than capable fighter in the end. It was true they probably relied on him for Space Pass and Smash Pass, but when it came to taking a beating, his power was unparallel. He was even doling out his own hits in the process. Finally the fight ended, it had taken all three of them, but the giant finally seemed to relent, his punches had slowed down and he was huffing and puffing. All three of them wound up and launched a finally combined punch for the man's face, blowing him back and down. "Finally," breathed Zesiro, "now they can no longer use that giant to score…"

"YOU IDIOTS!" shouted Ridley over the playing field. They were too caught up in their own little fantasy that they hadn't been paying any attention to him.

"AND THE 'GHOST HOOK' PIRATES WIN IT!" screamed the announcer into the microphone. The three of them turned around, including Aaron who had finally taken his eyes off of the sky to notice that the other four men on Kraven's side had managed to drag their weight over to their side of the field while they were all busy! "In other words the Kraven now has the ability to select any member from the Infinity Pirates…as soon as their captain returns from orbit." Aaron lifted his head back up and decided to continue his wait for Mikoto, who had still not fallen back down from his little…er, trip.

**First Pick**

Uh...was really ho-humming uploading this today I'm trying to squeeze it out, but I'm really short on time...so have a good day!


	193. Chapter 193 The First Pick

**The First Pick**

"Sorry about that," moped Hiro-Shu as well as the other two as they apologized for their actions, they should've kept a better eye on the rest of the crew, too rather than remaining so gung-ho about the big guy, who was currently resting up. The guy took a humongous beating, but by some miracle he managed to stay standing throughout it all. The next fight was Sudden Death Knife Fight…a game where Ridley said Maria's sheer physical power would prove useful. However, Azu's power may very well extend past Maria's. If he participated in the next fight as well they may as well kiss their hopes good-bye. Hiro-Shu looked back over at him, noticing how they had like ten doctors pouring all over him while Enma mainly attended to their wounds, true they had gotten off lucky and most of Enma's attention would be turned to Mikoto soon, but still their lack of doctors would make this fight horrible if it dragged on for too long…as a matter of fact it almost seemed like Kraven had suggested the Davy Back Fight because of this.

"Ah, don't worry about it," said Ridley, reluctantly, "besides it is better to lose the first match rather than the last. We can still come back from this no matter who they pick!" Ridley pumped his arm into the air as if trying to encourage his team, but truth be told he was more than a little drunk and his façade was obvious. He was just as worried as the rest of them, perhaps even more so as he had actually been through a Davy Back Fight so he knew how important winning the first fight was. The lost of momentum would be deadly if the fight were to drag on…the early loss sapped the team's morale and the loss of their captain as well as seeing the insane monster's strength would only further bring them down…it would be something if they had the crowd on their side and could run off of their cheers, but they didn't. The entire crowd seemed against them. They would have to try and win the next fight to further their own spirit!

"AAAAHHHH!" Speaking of a spirit booster, here came the best one town. Mikoto had begun his slow decent. Aaron was originally planning on catching him, but had apparently become distracted on prepping Maria, who for once didn't seem to mind the extra attention from the perverted romance king. In other words…everybody had forgotten about him. Mikoto crashed into the ground creating a collective 'ooh' amongst the crowd as they gasped, watching the proud pirate basically become one with the earth. Mikoto soon picked himself up and looked around. Things could've turned out a lot worse had Mikoto not known Geppou. He had managed to use his one shot about halfway down to slow his descent slightly, but that was it…now he was on ground and dragging himself over to Enma. Of course, he had no idea how the battle had ended until Kraven stepped in front of the broken pirate's way.

"Nice of you to join us," he said with a smirk, "I'll give you ten minutes to rest up before I pick the member of your crew I want." Kraven turned around and began to head back to his crew, peeking over his shoulder at the broken pirate as he continued his crawl to Enma.

"NO!" shouted Ridley jumping forward and moving towards Kraven, "he doesn't need to rest. He's our captain, he can definitely last a little bit longer besides he has all of next round to rest up through, so let's just get the picking out of the way and start the next fight!" the rest of the crew looked at Ridley with disbelief, they knew he liked believing he was in charge, but something definitely seemed weird. He seemed fairly confident and determined in this manner. Kraven smiled and looked at him. Kraven went to ask Mikoto if he was sure he wanted to let this man decide for him, but Ridley knocked his hand aside and looked Kraven determinedly in the eye, "he's sure."

"You." Kraven said with a confirmed smile, nodding towards. "You will make a marvelous person to be on our crew." Ridley nodded and moved forward. Kraven turned his back to the crew, "start the next fight." The rest of the crew baulked including Kraven's own crew, was this man really so heartless he would put off on having his own captain healed. Perhaps he would serve them better on Kraven's crew after all. Kraven smiled to himself, he thought so…that guy definitely knew his stuff. He must've seen a couple of Davy Back Fights to know all the different forms of strategy. Oh, well, getting him this early on served him well…now he couldn't continue to support his crew.

"Why didn't he pick Maria?" asked Sage, looking at the rest of the crew. "I mean without any substitute wouldn't we have automatically lost the next round."

"Our boss doesn't do no Peanuts Strategy," said one of Kraven's crew as he drove six knives into the ground in an oddly deformed circle. The Peanuts Strategy was basically picking the member of the next fight if the next fight was one-on-one…so basically it was a way to insure an automatic victory by such an underhanded means. Of course, it was one of the universally looked down upon tactics of the Davy Back Fight…of course, some people like 'Savage Titan' Pierre did it anyways.

"Nice try," said Kraven as he pulled Ridley in closer, "you put it together well, I mean, most people would've seen it as just a friendly allowance, but you saw the real reason behind it." Ridley shrugged off Kraven's hand and walked a little faster and further ahead of him.

"You may be my captain, but it doesn't mean I'm going to act like I like you," said Ridley as he basically flipped Kraven off, moving even faster to the stands. Kraven paused for a second and looked over at the doctor's team as Azu slowly sat up. Kraven hadn't counted on Azu taking too much of a beating and now he was trying to rest. The ten minute interval would've given his crew enough time to heal him up more and then Kraven could try and waste more time, pretending he was having a hard time taking his next pick and then go even further in having the referee explain the rules before Azu had to move…but Ridley's little declaration back then had forced him to kick things into overdrive…Azu would probably only get into the ring at 2/3's of his full-power. Of course, odds of him winning were still high, but…it was no longer ensured.

"Now that the stage is set up will the fighters make their way to the ring while I explain the rules," continued the announcer. "The rules are basic. No weapons allowed. Each fighter is to stand with their heels against two knives that are currently in the ground, retreating or moving wrong will earn you in getting cut by the knife. How do you win? Simple. You get both of your opponent's feet to leave both of their knives, if you do that they are disqualified! However, only one heel has to be in contact with the knife for the fight to continue and if the fighter's entire body is in the air than they are not disqualified until they hit the ground and even then only if they are still not in contact with the knife's keen edge. Everything else goes! Do you understand these rules?" Everybody nodded their heads, but more out of not paying attention than actual understanding. This fight would prove to be one of the most exciting match-ups based off of the players. Azu from the Ghost Hook pirates took his stance, but from the sweat on his brow and his slightly heavy breathing it was obvious he still hadn't fully recovered. Maria had also taken up her stance she wasn't too worried about the knives, her main concern was that she would move too awkward and accidentally have her feet leave the knives and get her disqualified on an accident. However, the crowd's real attention was on the third combatant the fighter from the Dark Knight Pirates the one and only 'Dark Knight' Shane went into the ring to lock horns with his opponents.

"I'm not going to lose on purpose just so you can get your crewmember back, just so you know," he said to Maria as he lowered his weight and prepared for the brawl. Maria paused for a second, but supposed the guy was probably right to do so. This was a dog-eat-dog world even the slightest show of sympathy for someone could get you killed. She just hoped he felt the same way when she kicked his ass.

The bell rang and all three fighters lunged forward, locking fingers and immediately tried the simplest act of pushing their opponent's backwards and over the knives. However, their own bad stances and the fact that they had two opposite forces being applied to them made it hard for anyone to get any momentum including Azu, perhaps his unearthly engine had finally been tapped out? Maria was the first one to break the tension as everybody could probably guess, she hated moments like this. The real excitement was in a fist fight with both side narrowly avoiding each other's blows! Maria lifted on heel straight off of the ground and nailed Azu with it, but she was careful to make sure that the other heel stayed put. Shane immediately went ahead to take advantage of that smallest of opens. Shane twisted around and fired a quick powerful punch straight to Azu's chin as an uppercut. The increased heat from Shane's punch, shattered into Azu's chin and bucked the giant back. Azu tipped back, but his feet didn't budge at the slightest. Azu shook his head and tried to retaliate turning around to face Shane, but the instant his attention shifted to him Maria's punch came crashing through from the side, sending Azu stumbling back and tried to keep his body steady. Shane delivered a fast, yet slightly awkward leg sweep to Azu's legs, knocking one of the leg free, but Azu's large body managed to keep the second one grounded and Azu remained in the game for a little while longer. Azu twisted around, sending his entire body twisting around, "**Smash…Pass…" **he targeted Maria, who tightened her guard and prepared herself for the moment of impact. The attack shuddered into her, but she pressed her legs into the ground as hard as she could resisting the urge to be knocked flying, her feet were pushed into the edges of the knives and she grunted as she tried to stay standing just a little while longer. She couldn't falter here. She stayed in and fired a rebounding punch into Azu's cheek, before he could recover from that she fired another, she used the hook from one punch to set up the next. Her body was twisting, rapidly from left to right again and again. Azu's face began to swell from the unending barrage of heavy punches. Azu grinded his body to a solid stance, "**Smash…Pass!" **screeched Azu as he brought his hand smashing into Maria again, pressing her legs even further into the knives, the metal edges combined with the force of Azu's continuous Smash Passes were almost destroying her legs as they were shredded against the knives.

However, Maria was not going down without a fight, she wrapped her arms around Azu's body, steadying herself as well as locking onto Azu's arm. It was an awkward strategy and definitely not one Azu was used to encountering. He looked confused and possibly even a little bit panicked. He tried to harden his exterior and part up a stronger façade, but Maria wasn't buying it. She redoubled her efforts, stressing her muscles even more just in order ensure this would work. Her muscles pushed themselves to their limits as Azu's legs were lifted off of the ground. His entire body was off of the ground for a split second as Maria twisted, lifting the human mammoth off of the ground and into the air. The entire crowd had their jaws on the ground as they watched…was such a thing even humanly possible! "Go, Maria, go!" The crowd was immediately wrapped up into a wave of cheers as everybody tried to will the young spunky warrior on. Maria tossed Azu behind him, sending the large giant crashing into the ground away from the knives and the ring. Maria tossed her two arms up into the air, the sweat visible on her brow as she breathed heavily. The crowd immediately went into an uproar, but it was only when the announcer's voice cut in that froze people over.

"What an amazing turn of events!" shouted the man into the microphone as he buzzed through the air, "Azu, the giant, the mammoth, the undefeated, has just been…defeated? It is not possible! It is amazing! And it just happened! However!" Everybody turned their attention to the announcer the word 'what' practically visible on their lips, "ordinarily the fight would be over, but this is a three way fight in other words the hardest fight so far is now coming up! Shane versus Maria, will we see what made these two people worth what they are today!?"

"What do you think?" asked Shane, "I know you are tired from having to heft that giant over your shoulder, but the fight goes on…and I said earlier I don't plan to go easy on you." Shane opened up his guard, offering Maria something that was her specialty...an all-out brawl. "Do you agree? You have a chance to back out now, but I doubt you'd take me up on my offer." Shane tightened his fists and taunted Maria into a forward charge, "bring it on." He obviously didn't want to through the first punch. He obviously wanted to give Maria a second or two for a breather, but if Maria took him up on that offer…she couldn't quite consider herself the person she used to be. Maria stepped forward and took a wide swing. It hit square on with Shane's chin, but he didn't back down he went into an even exchange slamming his own fist into her gut. Maria grunted, but stood through it. Her own exhaustion was showing as she stepped forward to land one of her punches, Shane sent a punch through and straight into him. This fight wouldn't last much longer. Shane was completely on the offensive now, he landed blow after blow after blow onto Maria, sending her body back with each one.

"He's better at this then I expected," said Zesiro as he backed up, amazed at the fact that Shane was managing to completely overwhelm Maria from the look of it. "I thought Maria was probably the most unstoppable person in a straight-up brawl…for her to have met her match. Shane was a weapon user its odd that he is so forceful even in a fist fight."

"Shane only picked up the weapon about halfway through his career," explained Dango as he sat down next to the Infinity Pirates, "truth be told he was fighting long before he got that weapon and he'll be fighting long after that weapon becomes obsolete. You gather your crew because you respect them and they return that respect it is a basic rule that makes pirates a deadly force no matter what a mutual respect will always be present amongst our crew. And all of us respect Shane for a reason. Your captain may claim it, but our captain definitely possesses the skills it takes." Zesiro raised an eyebrow a little bit, what did he mean about that? "Our captain possesses the skills it takes to become the next king of the pirates." Zesiro grunted a little, knowing that if Mikoto had heard a fight probably would've broken out between these two, but as he continued to watch the fight he quickly put it together…there was a definite difference between them, Mikoto and Shane, but both were definitely clear contenders for the title. From what Zesiro has seen though Zesiro would wager that if they were to fight he'd place his money on Mikoto. However, from the smug look on Dango's face it was obvious Shane still hadn't shown his entire hand.

Maria's head was rocked back as Shane's punch came in clear like a bullet, the proud shipwright didn't stand too much of a chance of winning anymore it seemed every step she took going forward ended with Shane forcing her two steps back. Maria was forced into keeping up a tight constant turtle shell of a guard, she was trying to remain standing and weather through the punches no matter how numerous or powerful they were, but it was obvious she was losing her ground. Shane's punch came screeching in and knocking her body loose, but she managed to hold on. One leg remained defiantly pushed into the knife, it wasn't going anywhere without a real strong blow. "Perhaps had this been a real match and not a Davy Back Fight, perhaps if you hadn't wasted so much strength taking Azu, perhaps then you would've actually managed to put up a good fight!" Shane said as his last punch rocketed through the air, miniature explosions following and propelling it as it screeched into Maria's cheek and knocked her down, finally dislodging her foot from the knife and knocking her onto her back. Shane turned away, listening to the announcer declare him the victory, but he didn't feel all too particularly thrilled, the girl was actually strong...if it would've been one-on-one...then perhaps the thrill would've been much, much greater.

**The Three-Barreled Race!**

**Behold the Power of ****Riddle King of Awesomeness Mach 200!**

Yup, bottom-line crap's about to go down. Mikoto's crew is now at -2 with only three events left if they lose even one more event it is entirely possible that they won't be able to come back. They are teetering on the brink and their only hope is...Mikoto. Its a sad thing.

Also, please remember I only promised to keep up this whole extra update thing under two conditions 1) I get ten reviews. You guys were a little low and if it weren't for some extra ones here and there I probably wouldn't have had to update. Just to warn ya you guys are kind of slacking off and the numbers are decreasing for some reason. 2) Up to chapter 200. Yeah, only what? Seven more chapters to go? Its not the best rate, but due to the fact that I still have decent back log (about 29 chapters still (DANG) I may keep it up to chapter 210 maybe even 220 depends).

Also, side note: ANOTHER ONE OF MY ARTWORKS GOT ACCEPTED TO A (student) ART SHOW! I'M FAMOUS!


	194. Chapter 194 The Three-Barrel Race

**The Three-Barreled Race!**

**Behold the Power of ****Riddle King of Awesomeness Mach 200!**

Shane reclined into a large chair that Suzanne brought out and was currently relaxing a little bit. The Infinity Pirates all looked a little shocked at what had just transpired. It wasn't too often that Maria was beaten in a contest of sheer strength and from the one-sided beating she took, it was questionable if she was even at full strength would she have been able to manage. Shane was an incredibly powerful individual, possibly much more so than the rest of the world. He just had that kind of unearthly power, too make matters worse the entire stadium was in an uproar in favor of him. Just when Maria's stupendous efforts managed to sway the crowd in favor of the Infinity Pirates Shane managed to crush those hopes. He didn't seem too upset about it, but then again no sympathy was the way of a pirate. Shane sat back and looked over the group, he supposed it was his turn to pick who he wanted on his crew. He looked over at the score card for the next few events perusing them and seeing which one would give him the biggest advantage. Whoever, they were they would have to be competing a lot more from here on out. Azu had competed in the last two events so despite being a valuable commodity he didn't serve any practical reason, besides he had won the strong-arm competition so having another one didn't really matter. There were still three matches left…of course, Mikoto and Kraven were forbidden fruits being the captains, so he just had to pick someone else. Perhaps there was one position on his crew that he needed somebody of extreme talent to fulfill their duties…he just hoped they wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Shane stood up and made his way to the podium. The next competition was the Three Barrel Race…there was a one-hour time limit to build their crafts…a massive crew like Kraven's had plenty of shipwrights to perform such an act meanwhile Mikoto's crew only had one, picking up Maria would probably cripple them during the next round…however, Shane's interest in the Infinity Pirates was for fighting and he wanted them to be at full-power during the next round. He wanted a real challenge not some victories made through cheap tricks. He stood on top of the stage, calling everybody to stand still. He raised his hand, obviously he was a big fan of being able to rub people's noses in his victories. He looked out in front of him and he smiled, all of these people were prime for the picking he would be able to point out anyone of them he wanted. "YOU!" declared Shane his finger jabbing through the air, almost as if it could slice through it and penetrate the heart of his target.

"M-me?" asked one of the men on Kraven's crew, taking a step back, a little bit shocked by Shane's designation, his face covered in sweat. Until that is Shane threw a small iron ball at him, knocking him down and onto the ground.

"NOT YOU!" growled Shane, apparently more upset than the guy was at the prospect of getting picked. Shane breathed out deeply trying to recover from the shock, he was obviously a little stressed, and apparently acknowledging what an important decision this was. He wasn't about to use it on Nameless Crewmember D. Finally once he had recovered, he looked back out amongst the crowd. He jumped off of the stage, his impressive strength and possible knowledge of Geppou carried him to the middle of the field. He breathed out again and moved over, grabbing a hold of his target and once more his grizzly and grave voice boomed through the voice, but the person he wanted could've heard him had he whispered.

"Why…why me?" quivered Sage as she felt her legs give out beneath her, causing her to collapse in front of Shane. Shane smiled and shook his head as he looked on at her.

"I have a rather large crew," Shane said modestly, although his crew wasn't obscenely large like Kraven's he did have a rather large crew, "and sadly all of the cooks on my crew are rather meager in the end. They lack the skills that would be necessary further on and as a result we were often forced to make do with poor nutrition. However, from what I've heard through the grape-vine that is not the case with you, you are actually a capable chef…and also our crew is rather low on girls which affect crew morale." Sage gulped, "don't worry! Don't worry, you're just going to cook!" Shane pointed Sage over to the Suzanne who would walk her through their ship and help her get acquainted with everyone. Shan was about to follow her, but he stopped and looked over at Mikoto offering him a sneering glance, a complete and total challenge to his true opponent. It was obvious that he didn't JUST pick Sage for a cook, he wanted to take another jab at Mikoto. He was offering up the ultimate challenge for Mikoto.

"Crap!" said Zesiro as he looked on, "both Ridley and Sage were signed up to compete in the next fight. It looks like it'll be me, Lily, Rosa, and Mikoto in the race. What do you place our odds on, captain?" He looked over at Mikoto was standing in the midst of the crowd glaring at where Shane was and at Sage who was being led away from them, his fists at his side, clenched so hard his knuckles had turned white. "Captain, what do you think are our odds of winning?"

Mikoto turned around, turning his back on Sage and facing his crew, "100%...we are not going to lose the next round." Zesiro sighed. Mikoto was right they kind of had to win the next round. If they lost the next round and they lost another member from their crew…there would be no way to get them back. They needed to work their butts off to ensure the next three rounds were all wins. Mikoto lifted his own hand up into the air as if declaring victory already, "that's a promise, so don't get comfy Sage!" Sage nodded, her faith in her captain was starting to rise again, Mikoto definitely wouldn't lose now. He was all fired up…Shane's challenge would not go unheard. Right now it was 1-1-0…the Infinity Pirates were the only ones who had not won a single even it was possible that they would be beat down even further if this continued.

"Well, now that the boiling heat and intense rivalry between these two pirates have subsided maybe I can move onto explaining the rules for the next round? Hmmm?" began the announcer. "The next competition is The Three Barrel Race! The competition is simple you must build your own miniature boat out of three standard issue Marine Barrels, apparently there was some cheating awhile back when people would use barrels varying in size and material…who couldn't forget about the gargantuan barrels used by the Foxy Pirates or the barrels made of Super Float wood by the Bloody Titan? Well, no such cheating is allowed in this. After that one hour of building you are expected to traverse this entire island in a clockwise manner continuing all the way around the coastline until you wind up back here! Of course, despite the cheating capabilities outside interference from the crew is still allowed as long as no cannon balls or similar devastating weaponry is used. If a ship sinks…then it is game OV-AH!" The entire audience seemed unimpressed by the man's over-excited ending. It wasn't like this was a real fight…it was a simple race. "Oh, and it should be noted due to the time the other events had swallowed up this...will be…the last event for the day!"

"What?!" growled Mikoto twisting his head over and up into the sky, "but I got to win back both of my crewmembers! You're just doing this because you're ahead, aren't you?" The rest of the Infinity Pirates wore similarly upset faces as they looked up at him. The man waved them away.

"There'll be two events tomorrow, but Capture the Flag and Sudden Death Knife Fight have both tired out all of our combatants beyond a shadow of a doubt. Just as I'm sure the next event will also tire out everybody participating in it as this island is rather a long circuit covering more than 5 and a half miles you are expected to take your boats all the way around it and despite this being Skypiea, the Davy Back Fights originated in the Blue Seas so NOOOOO using Dials!" The entire crew nodded. It seemed like an even darkening omen…they wouldn't have everybody on their crew tonight…they supposed the announcer could be right, but more likely this was just a ruse to make sure they didn't try fleeing since one of their teammates would automatically be essentially held captive.

"Well, it looks like I'm making everybody's boats…we'll split this up into two teams Mikoto and Zesiro and then Rosa and Lily," Maria said immediately trying to get her marching orders for the day. "Any ideas for what you guys are going to want for your ships?"

"I think I'm going to make my own," offered up Mikoto, which caused the rest of the crew to gawk at him like he was an idiot. "It'll probably work out for the best if Zesiro doesn't have to drag the extra weight, plus I have an idea!" Maria sighed…whatever idea he had it wouldn't work out for the best. "Are you sure?" asked Maria, double checking with their strong-headed captain. Mikoto flashed her a thumbs-up before continuing on his way. Yup, it was official…

He was going to sink.

(-With Sage-)

Sage sat on one of the railing as she talked to Shane, who was strangely enough sitting this one out. She was supposed to compete in this one, but with no substitutes allowed she was stuck waiting on the sidelines. She supposed she could consider it lucky, but she was kind of hoping to be able to help her crew out on this one. She suppose this was just another case of her being delegated to the side lines. She sighed and lied back, "how did you get your bounty?"she asked, looking over at Shane.

"This is my third one," explained Shane as he looked back at her as if verifying who was talking before turning his head back and keeping his attention fixed on his crew, "I got my first bounty because I attacked a Marine Base. I was looking for someone strong who was supposed to be there…I was utterly disappointed. They said a Vice Admiral was supposed to be stationed there for awhile…and I don't know if he was or not, but I can say this every last Marine in that facility was pitifully weak. I conquered the island fairly quickly. My second bounty was from various acts that I have built up over the year…the third one," remembering how he got this caused Shane to smile, "that one is a secret. Let's just say I have something very important that the Marines want." Sage puffed out her cheeks and reclined back onto the ship's uncomfortable bench. She was hoping for some actually useful information the only thing she gathered from that information was that he was strong enough to conquer a Marine Base and possibly a Vice Admiral, he crazy enough to attack a Marine Base in the first place, and he had been doing this for enough time to build up small acts. She wondered what exactly those were though, but based on Shane's non-descript way of talking she supposed he didn't particularly want to talk about them. "Also I don't particularly care if after this you go back to your old crew…I just picked you because I knew it would make Mikoto angry."

"Yeah, Mikoto is a pretty good captain," Sage said, shifting her weight and sitting up, "if you endanger his crew he'll come after you!" Shane smirked and leaned back further. He thought so. The two of them were like two peas in a pod…he had only agreed to this Davy Back Fight not because his ship was damaged, but because Kraven had attacked his crew. He supposed Mikoto's reason was legit as well. Nobody should ever disgrace a fellow pirate's Jolly Roger and Shane was rather surprised that Kraven could live with himself…even if he was a Shichibukai he was still a pirate! He supposed the captain had to have had his own reasons for chasing after Mikoto with such vigor, though Shane had to wonder what it was. Was it really just because Mikoto was offered position as a Shichibukai while Kraven wasn't? It seemed awfully petty if that was the only reason. Especially for Kraven to risk his own crew like this. For some reason he sensed that Kraven was cut from the same cloth as both him and Mikoto, he didn't particularly want to endanger his crew either.

(-One Hour Later-)

"And now it is time to introduce our competitors!" screamed the announcer as he moved over to the first group pulling their ship into the water, "it is a crowd favorite in all of the Davy Back Fights, it is the one and only Sea Charger!" 'Iron Chain Smoker' Goro raised a hand as Azu moved their well-crafted three person boat into the water, of course, Azu wasn't competing in it, but Goro and two other people were, one of whom was a Squid Fishman, whose non-worried smirk told of his many victories in this competitions, as he stepped into the canoe-like boat. The canoe was like all canoes, small width, but long enough to fit three people in it, plus it had some left-over wood apparently and they crafted a small canopy over it.

"After them the second competitor from the Ghost Hook Pirates! Nimbo and Nimba in the Mini-Shooter!" Two identical twins jumped off of the harbor and into their ship, which was basically two half-barrels attached to each other with a small pedal-like propulsion system up front. "Rounding out the group submitted from the Ghost Hook Pirates is the Backyard Bloody Boys, Boyart and Wright!" Their ship had a large propeller in the back of it along with a seat making it look like a bicycle with a long bar in between it and its other half a barrel cousin. It looked sort of like a dumbbell when viewed from above. Boyart was on the back half of the contraption and even through his thick and luxurious white mustache you could tell he was planning something devious.

"The Dark Knight Pirates…only have one entry? Are they even trying to win?" The entire audience burst out laughing until they saw the ship they wheeled down. Obvious unlike the Ghost Hook pirates who built three semi-hastily put together ships theirs was obviously the work of a skilled shipwright who had poured all of his time and heart into it. It was wide and perfectly proportioned, being almost like a miniature ship, sail included although for the time being it was ruffled up to give the audience a full-view of their ship. Suzanne was sitting in the back, she looked annoyed, perhaps that they only had on entrance and she thought that they would lose…or maybe it was just the fact that Shane had picked another woman to be on his crew…Shane was hers after all. The other two members in the ship were Dango and Shino, the two Fishmen. Dango was closer to the back of the ship almost right in front of Suzanne and was sporting the two paddles. Shino was up front, stretching his legs and making the ship bob left and right perhaps boasting that their ship wouldn't flip over no matter what. "And that is the…the…Shane and Suzanne's Love Boat?"

"WE DIDN'T AGREE TO THAT!" shouted both Dango and Shino glaring up at Suzanne, but she just ignored them and waved to Shane, who was just trying to hide his face.

"Anyways…moving onto the Infinity Pirates' three ships! First off we have the only one of their ship who could be considered a legitimate threat…The Shark Slicer manned by Zesiro only!"The ship was small, but aero-dynamically made basically being shaped like a drill with a single barrel of room for Zesiro who had his feet down the middle controlling a small pair of propellers and his two arms each possessed a paddle so he could pour both of his arms and his leg strength into moving the ship.

"Second off we have the two lovely ladies in The Leisurely Cruiser!" The second ship was obviously built for stability and not speed, but like the announcer had foretold this ship wasn't a serious entry. Ridley had just put those two together cause he knew Rosa would keep Lily safe and they both needed to be entered at least once. Of course, originally when he built their plans he had planned for him and Mikoto to be on one team and then Sage and Zesiro to be another team…however, that had obviously not panned out, "…and that's all…" cut off the announcer, obviously there was one more entry into the race, but for some reason he had chosen not to announce it.

"That's not all!" shouted Mikoto from aboard his ship, "announce me, too! Or are you too afraid I'll beat you!"

"I don't want to announce you! It'll be the low point of my career!" shouted the announcer, "it is embarrassing to announce you I mean look at your ship! It is just a plank!" And that pretty much summed up Mikoto's boat. Nothing more than a piece of wood, could almost be defined as driftwood due to its shape and size. It was obvious he hadn't even used one barrel in his creation. "Fine! Here it is! 'Kid Coyote' and his 'Just a Plank'!"

"Its name is Riddle King of Awesomeness Mach 200!" shouted Mikoto as he lifted his arm up to argue, but pretty quickly found out he needed that arm to do something as simple as keep balance and brought it back down. Quickly he and the announcer got into an argument of what his ship was called…in the end the announcer had decided to just ignore Mikoto's protests and continue calling it 'Just a Plank'.

"If he sinks…no, when he sinks somebody is going to have to go in and get him," brought up Maria and looking up at Aaron, since he was the only one of the few non-sinkers the crew had left besides her and she was too badly injured to go for a swim right now.

"Are you sure you wouldn't be better off letting him drown?"

**The Race is On**

I must say throughout all 220 chapters I have written of this story I have never felt sorry for picking someone like Mikoto to be my main character. The little psycho is exactly as he should be. The guy basically just writes himself...as a result Aaron brings up an interesting point. I wonder what the crew would be like without Mikoto's wild (and almost insane) antics pulling them forward.

And, crap...Saga Chapter 195 is nowhere to be seen. I know I wrote it...where could I have possibly placed it? I've stopped using a thumbdrive a while back but I can't find it on my computer...crap...got to go re-write it.


	195. Chapter 195 The Race Begins

**The Race is On**

"And the racers are off!" shouted the announcer immediately attracting a large crowd to the shore. It was an amazing rush watching all the ships get going and the business was beginning to boom, the townspeople had come on down and set up shops, sporting worthless trinkets and fair food. They were all aiming to make a killing off of the Blue Sea people's little competition. There were even betting booths getting set up all around them where people could try their hand on betting on the winner. Shane's well-designed boat seemed to be in the lead, but Kraven's Sea Charger and even his Backyard Bloody Boys were ranked high up. Zesiro's small one-person ship seemed to be after that followed once again by Kraven's third ship the Mini-Shooter, finally by Rosa's and Lily's ship…and 'Just a Plank' was entered in a different category…how long would it stay afloat. With bets being placed based on five minute intervals…so far not one person had betted on the ship staying afloat for more than ten minutes. Even now as the rest of the ships were pulling away Mikoto's little certain sinker was bobbing in the water. It didn't have sails or paddles or any form of forward momentum. Instead it was left with Mikoto paddling it using his own two hands…and mostly in the wrong direction…towards shore. However, asides from a few shouts and curses from Maria, Aaron, and even a few non-Infinity Pirate members he kept going…in the wrong direction. The majority of the rest of the pirates had focused on the actual contenders who were already beginning to have covered one-eighth of the smallish island.

Like predicated by the bets Shane's boat was in the lead, however, Kraven's Sea Charger seemed to be fighting it out with Zesiro's for second place and Kraven's two other ships were slowly sailing behind in fourth place, neither one really seeming too determined to battle it out. Despite appearing to be on the verge of losing again Kraven didn't seem worried unlike Mikoto's crew and even Shane's crew who knew one of their members could be picked if they didn't keep this lead. However, it seemed fairly certain that they would keep this lead.

"Wanna place any bets?" asked Kraven turning to face Ridley, who was remaining silent up until now. He had to admit that separating Mikoto and Zesiro into two separate ships were interesting, but he had initially planned on using Mikoto's fast feet to power the boat when he signed them up. "Who do you think is going to win, eh?" Ridley paused for a moment and considered this it definitely seemed like an interesting match, but Ridley knew for a fact that Kraven's crew was definitely holding something back. He looked over at Kraven and confirmed his theory. He didn't look worried in the least. That was a staunch difference to how the Infinity Pirates were looking what with Mikoto in dead last…and Rosa in second to last. Their hopes were hinging solely on Zesiro.

"Why did you challenge Mikoto anyways?" asked Ridley, "especially to a Davy Back Fight." Ridley looked away and back at the scene unfolding below. "You and I both know that there's no way Mikoto could win in a match like this." Kraven smiled and nodded, happy he had picked probably the only crewmember who had already put together Mikoto's weakness in the Davy Back Fights, but nonetheless he didn't seem to have grown any more worried about it.

"That's right," Kraven said breathing out deeply and calming down, "when you think about Mikoto most people probably think of his speed, however, most Davy Back Fights an overwhelming amount of speed would do you nothing. The flags are too heavy to move, there's a limited amount of space to move around in, you are out at sea. I have successfully managed to seal away Mikoto's speed. Ordinarily even without his speed Mikoto could still be a deadly foe as he has a secondary weapon even greater, his instincts." Ridley nodded, he knew very well that his captain wasn't a one-trick pony, however, the realization suddenly crossed his face. "That's right, his animal instincts only trigger when he's under attack. Do you see anybody attacking him out there?" Ridley frowned, asides from the crowd shouting at him nothing was even paying attention to him. "Exactly, in other words, your captains two greatest strengths his speed and instincts have been taken away from him…try to see if you can win this fight now." Ridley paused for a second and looked back over and at his captain, who was desperately trying to stay afloat.

"Oh, but to answer your question," continued Kraven, "I want Mikoto to lose a crew member just as I have. I want him to know the pain of that feeling." Ridley looked over at Kraven about to ask why, but a look at the man told him that the painful memories were beginning to surface and not to mention that the rest of his grounded crew looked annoyed that Ridley had even brought such a thought up. Ridley nodded and turned back to watch the race. Shane's ship was still in the lead, but just barely. However, it was obvious that the entirety of the 'Ghost Hook' pirates were waiting for something big.

"Let's stop messing around!" shouted the Squid Fishman in the first ship, the Sea Charger. He jumped up and moved to the back. The rest of Kraven's crew also did a similar re-arranging fashion. All eight of his arms opened up as he revealed the real reason why he was on the crew. Similar to Azu it was unknown if he was already on Kraven's crew before they became Davy Back Fight specialist or if he was added after since he was so perfect for this event. "**Eight-Arm Engine!" **As a Squid Fishman he was gifted with two unique traits the first was what all Fishmen, including Zesiro, had, sheer strength. The power of 20 men. The second unique trait was what only Squid Fishman had, eight arms. Each arm had the power of 20 regular men's arms…so combined with all eight fists his strength easily topped out at that of 160 men's arms…even Zesiro only had 40 of that…in other words one fourth of the power and Zesiro was the one that was closest to his power level. Shane's ship which was the only ship to have three men on it had the power of 6…in other words not even quite four hundredths of that power. The ship reared back, but due to a design that has been tested and proven during numerous Davy Back Fights it stayed on the water began quickly passing by Zesiro's ship and almost just as quickly surpassing Shane's.

"What the-" cursed Shino as he spat out water looking on at the ship sailing by. It was odd to think that a Fishman can drown, but it was true. While on land they subconsciously switch to a human mode and take in air through their lungs and if water gets into those lungs while in human mode they drown, similarly to how they can take damage if they are underwater and air is forced into their gills. It was an odd and rare event, but it has happened before. But Shino had bigger problems to worry about besides drowning. The other two ships the Mini-Shooter and The Backyard Bloody Boys were about to show their own power. The Mini-Shoot was short with two barrels connected with a long bar in between them. The Backyard Bloody Boys Ship, the B.B.B. was long with a barrel in the back and a barrel in the front rather than side-by-side. The B.B.B. lifted its front compartment into the air and collapsed down on the Mini-Shooter almost making it look like it trying to sink it, but the Mini-Shooter stayed strong and stayed afloat. Then the two ships clasped together forming one ship, the B.B.B.'s massive backwheel was still in the back and gave it its own propulsion system while the Mini-Shooter's small propulsion systems stayed in the front and gave it a boost.

"Hey, that's not fair!" contested Maria, standing up and putting her hands on her hips, clearly upset and visually displaying it. "Those two ships combined so technically they used a maximum of six barrels for it! In other words, it is against the rules!" Maria was happy that the first person to break the rules wasn't them.

"Eh, excuse me, lady," said the shipwright as he walked forward and shrugged off her words. He was a big burly man about twice the size of Maria and obviously very capable in both ship building and in a fight. "But can you repeat what you just said most importantly that part where you said 'those TWO ships' in other words even you admitted that it was two ships and not one. In other words, two ships can have a maximum of six barrels being used in it. In other words, it is allowed." Maria pulled her sleeve back and took a step forward ready to knock his block off, but Aaron quickly stepped in grabbing a hold of her and pulling her back.

"Relax," he said, "I'm fairly certain hitting him would be against the rules." Maria mumbled something about 'screw the rules', but she calmed down and joined Aaron for a seat on the sidelines once more. Their luck wasn't completely out yet as Zesiro was still somehow managing, he actually crawled up to third place and was fighting it out with Shane's crew as the two of them tried to compete with the overpowered 'Ghost Hook' pirates' ships. Meanwhile Rosa's and Lily's ship gets further pushed back into the darkness of ensured second-to-last place…however, it was better than their captain's ranking.

"That's it!" said Suzanne descending from her chair and resting on the ship's floor, "I'm tired of losing!" Dango and Shino both glared at her. 'Tired'? From what? They were the ones pushing themselves to the limit trying to move this floating piece of crap…with a name they didn't even agree on. "Let me take over." Vines eeked out from Suzanne's body and grabbed ahold of the paddles, practically wrenching from free from Dango and Shino's hands. She began rowing and speeding the boat up a bit, but the real benefit was that it freed Shino's hands. Shino smacked his hands together and smiled.

"I can't pull our ship, but I can certainly go ruin someone else's day!" Shino moved to the side of the ship and jumped in. He was tired of being turned into the butt of everyone's jokes around here. He got his butt handed to him by Mikoto and then again by Azu two rounds ago. He wasn't about to sit back and not have his fifteen minutes of fame. Besides during this round you were allowed your weapons, he smiled and looked down at his perfect brass knuckles now lining his fists. He'd make sure that at least one of those boats wouldn't stay afloat.

"Aren't you going in," asked Zesiro looking over at Dango who stayed pretty calm and collected, despite not doing a thing. Suzanne had taken over rowing and had managed to add a few new paddles, but through sheer perseverance and a hidden vat of untouched strength Zesiro managed to plow ahead a little further and keep with them. Shino was gone, but that was only one Fishman…and on top of that Dango looked much more capable of sinking ships than his little pink counterpart.

Dango shrugged and laughed, "well, I ate a Devil Fruit. I heard somewhere that if a Fishman eats one, they blow up and I wanted to see if that was true." Of course, it wasn't true several history books would've taught you that.

"Wait, you ate despite knowing that you might blow up?" asked Zesiro, Dango nodded. It was to satisfy his curiosity so it was worth it in the end. Zesiro shook his head and instead decided to keep his eyes forward and on the race before him rather than the less than stellar example of his race.

"Oh no!" shouted the announcer with fake empathy practically dripping from his voice, "there's no way for the remaining teams to come back now! It looks like with the latest revelation in Davy Back Fight technology the 'Ghost Hook' pirates win again!" Ridley grunted, he couldn't believe it…even worse he was fairly certain that they would be picking somebody from their crew…for some reason Kraven really did seem hell-bent on seeing to it that Mikoto lost a crewmember. And if Mikoto lost this one chances were they would never be able to recover their entire crew again from the last two fights…they were sunk. "Oh, what is this?!" Ridley turned his head down to the where the announcer was pointing. "It looks like the 'Kid Coyote' has landed, it looks like he has given up!"

"Who's given up!" shouted Mikoto throwing his arms up into the air as he picked up his 'ship', the Riddle King of Awesomeness Mach 200! He moved to his back and produced a set of straps that were barely visible on the small wooden plank and tied them together. He then went into his signature stretching pose. "Hey, Maria, where are the rest of the competitors?"

"Uh…Zesiro is about a third of the way, Rosa and Lily are probably only about one fifth…I think the two team leaders, Kraven's ships, have made it to the halfway point," brought up Maria as she looked on and into the distance. They didn't have any fancy Den-den Mushi's set up to relay the video from one end to the other, but still it would be obvious who won by who made it to the other end. Mikoto smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. He would win! Out of nowhere Mikoto began pouring on the speed moving faster and faster all the way down the line as quickly as he could. His speed undoubtedly surpassing even that of the fore-running ships.

"Eh…wait!" shouted the announcer as he panicked from his spot high above the arena. "That's not fair! I call cheating! He can't carry his ship!" Most of Kraven's crew went into an uproar obviously upset that this was happening, it wasn't fair! Everybody else was sailing along the island, but this kid got to run? Where was that in the rulebooks? The announcer quickly brought out a book and skimmed through it, flipping through the pages until he got to the Donut Race. He scanned through the rules and things that would result in instant disqualification, eager to prove to the Infinity Pirates that what Mikoto was doing was clearly against the rules. "Uh…it is not in here…" the entire crowd fell silent. What Mikoto was doing wasn't against the rules! "Wait! Of course, it is not in here! Who in all of the bloody blues would be stupid enough to carry their ship all the way to finish line!?" Hiro-Shu kind of shrunk back…the guy wasn't wrong…that was basically why it worked like that. He was fairly certain that Mikoto won because of nobody else in these 'bloody blues' was as stupid as he was.

"Take away his speed, huh?" smirked Ridley as he reclined backwards and into a comfortable sitting position. "It looks like he just proved you wrong. No matter what Mikoto isn't going down like you expected him to. He has broken through your rules once and managed to do what he's good at…he'll just do it again!" Kraven laughed. His head hung between his shoulders as he shook it. "What's the matter? Too scared to watch the fight unfold? We've won this round just like we'll win the remaining two rounds!" Ridley pumped his arm up and into the air, he wasn't afraid of Kraven at all.

"Idiot," Kraven whispered as his head rose back up and he looked over at Ridley. He nodded forward, forcing Ridley to watch Mikoto finally get going. For the first time this match it seemed like he was finally going forward. "He may just finally be getting his engine going, but that's just the thing." Kraven smiled and looked over to the distance past Mikoto and at his crew, who were already well past the halfway point. "He's JUST getting his engine going. He can't recover that lost time and distance. You've lost again."

**Now The Real Race Begins**

AND RE-WRITE! This was done all within the course of the past two days. Fun, times...fun, times...anyways, here it is I think I hit everything. But ultimately the most important part was just that Mikoto is insane and decided to take the race on land. And, yes, no where in the Davy Back Fight rules does it ever state the ship has to be in the water. It just states that the competitor and their ship must both pass the finish line. Mikoto's way of handling does certainly fit that rule, but as Kraven pointed out despite his insane leg speed the chances of victory is still fairly small.


	196. Chapter 196 The Real Race Begins

**Now The Real Race Begins**

Mikoto took off running, his body was basically accelerating past the point a normal human or for that matter a normal coyote was capable he had surpassed both of his halves to form a new superior whole. He was really pouring it on. He had the next two fights off, so he would consider himself rather lucky in the end. Mikoto's small engine was kicking it up into another notch, moving from first gear to second and then moving even higher and up to third. He was blasting past Rosa and Lily's small ship and was soon on his way to catch up to Zesiro and Shane's ship, but it would still be awhile.

"Try all you want, but you can't take away my captain's spirit!" shouted Ridley as he basically fell back, "you can say that he's too far behind all you like, but he's conquered bigger obstacles before so you better just shove off!" Kraven's crew looked ticked and all of them surged for Ridley, who had basically just shown off his own complete and total lack of decency towards his own and current crew. However, Kraven's own nonchalance to Ridley's attitude forced everybody to silence themselves. The entire crew seemed to calm down and move down and leave the captain and his new 'friend' alone. They backed off and immediately began to disperse back into the crowd.

"Don't forget, boy," boomed Kraven as he stood up and waved his hand through the air, "men! This is a Davy Back Fight, remember? What do you say we show our guests what real hospitality is like during these games, eh?" Kraven waved his hand forward, "remember as long as we don't step foot in the water and cause excessive damage to the ships, the rules state we can do whatever we have to in order to deter the opponent! In other words! Go out there and stop that coyote!" The rest of his men nodded and quickly rushed out in order to quickly stop Mikoto, cutting through the island in order to get ahead of him. Kraven sat down and looked over at Ridley with a smug smile on his face. Ridley frowned for a second, Mikoto couldn't quite stop them as he was…he needed every second he could get in order to make up for that lead. He looked over and saw that the only remaining options of who were left were Maria, who was damaged, Aaron, who Ridley was still trying to make his mind up about, Hiro-Shu, who couldn't catch up to them even if he tried, and Enma who was busily trying to further heal everybody's wounds…besides even if he could figure out which one would be best for handling this job…he couldn't tell them. The rules of the Davy Back Fight were absolute.

Kraven smiled, eyeing his latest recruit. He wanted to make sure Mikoto paid the ultimate price, that little monster was certainly going to regret ever being born once Kraven was done with him. Kraven turned around and looked over at his crewmate, a Longarm named Morko, as he came over and closer to the captain. Kraven waved Ridley away. Ridley muttered something beneath his breath, badly badmouthing his captain, but he left anyways. "How much longer until Azu is fully healed?" Kraven looked behind him and at his crewmate; he paused for a second as he looked back at Azu and the people taking care of him.

"We'll probably be ready to launch the emergency counter measures before nightfall." Kraven paused for a second before slowly nodding in agreement, apparently he didn't seem too confident in that news, but he accepted it. Victory amongst all else, such rules were the basic amongst all pirates even those who used the Davy Back Fight. "I hope they don't feel too angry at us, after all, such accidents always happen where pirates are involved." He smacked his hands against each other and moved forward, pretending to yawn and hopefully take some of the attention off of them. It didn't really matter almost everybody's eyes were either on the race or on Kraven's people who marching off to stop Mikoto, nobody really cared about the two older men sitting around and chatting in the first place. Oh, well, Morko chuckled at the silly thought. It would be their loss. The entire crew would lose in the end everybody would fail in the end, they all bit the bullet, took the bait, and walked right into their trap. He hoped they would be blind all the way up to the end. A good look at the captain could basically guarantee that it would happen like that. He smiled and disappeared into the background to place the finishing touches on things.

Kraven grunted. In all honesty he would've preferred a straight fight, head-to-head with Mikoto, but he knew he couldn't do that. In an actual fight they were about even, no, Kraven had the advantage…even if it was only a slight one, but he had longer reach, more power, and more stamina than his opponent, but still…he didn't want to push his chances. He wanted Mikoto to feel the same pain and punishment he had been dealt all those years ago. He said he wanted to be King of the Pirates…Kraven wanted to show him just how futile his hopes were.

On the other side of the island Mikoto was working overtime to prove just how wrong Kraven was. A loss here would mean he would be incapable of returning his crew members back to him and he couldn't deal with that. He just had to work harder and run faster! He doubled down, pushing all of his strength out of his body as he rushed forward like a madman. The opposing ship still wasn't in sight, but Mikoto knew they couldn't be beating him by too much just yet. There was no way they would be trying as hard as he was now. He was putting all of his energy into his one last rush for a victory.

"What are you doing back here!?" asked Reymundo as he watched the only competitors on his crew pull their ship onto the land and basically give up. "The race isn't over yet!" He shouted, but he knew all too well that while it may not be over…it may as well be. Their main competitors were more than halfway to the finish line and them? They barely it past a quarter before deciding to give up. Were they quitters? Probably. Were they stupid people who didn't know when to give in? No. They had lost and that was that. Besides its not like they were a part of this stupid feud the two opposing teams had going. As long as they kept their heads low and out of the way, they'd probably get off completely unscarred.

"Anyways…" muttered Suzanne under her breath not real too thrilled about being called a quitter, but even if she did she had more important matters to attend to. "Oh, Shane!" she yelled loudly looking around for a brief second before eventually coming to the realization that Shane was missing. "Where did my Shane go?" The rest of the crew basically ignored her, including her incredibly irrational decision that Shane was hers…something even their captain would've disagreed with and they decided to just keep walking and join the crowd. They had lost another event…but at least the food here looked good. They quickly lost themselves in the revelry of the crowd, even their missing captain didn't matter to them. He was more than capable of handling himself against anyone who was stupid enough to pick a fight with him.

(-With Shane-)

Shane sighed deeply, letting out a small breath as he looked at the destruction around him. Kraven's crew…they were all a bunch of lightweights. He stepped over several of the unconscious bodies of Kraven's crew as he moved deeper through the forest. They thought they were smart sending people around to hopefully make Mikoto stumble on his way, well…Shane wasn't a big fan of stuff like that. The 'Do Anything To Win' mentality most pirates had nowadays were plain boring. It was like this Davy Back Fight in Shane's honest opinion…he preferred one-on-one fights were no dirty tricks. The thought that people had soiled such an honest occupation with so many tricks actually made his skin crawl. However, following that same creed he had to step back now…he may have been able to interfere and stop the opposing interference, but he had to keep his nose out of the actual competition. He was about to turn around, but to his surprise he found himself fixating himself once more on the seashore. He was more than halfway around the course…he had to estimate himself at probably three quarters around the island. He supposed it was rather impressive to see the first ship, the Sea Charger, pass by. Shane frowned, but he supposed it wasn't anything too surprising the ship was going by fast…winning would be impossible for the Infinity Pirates. He frowned and turned around, heading back to the camp. He would've liked to have fought with Mikoto and his crew while they were at full capacity…but some things just weren't meant to be.

Then again it was possible that this was the end of the line for the Infinity Pirates. This wasn't an ordinary stumbling block…this was a wall called a 'Shichibukai'. If you couldn't surpass them than you may as well hang up your hat. It was a painful thought, but it was the truth. The road to Pirate King could only be accomplished if you have surpassed all other pirates in the world. And talking about opponents Kraven was a special one. He was far different than all other opponents in the world. His experience in the world along with his somehow personal vendetta against Mikoto probably couldn't be topped. An opponent with a strong will for victory and the knowledge to pull it off…Shane highly doubted there was an opponent who was more dangerous.

He was about a few steps into the darkened forest when he heard the heavy pitter-patter of feet, basically pounding against the ground. Each step seemed to bring on a new heavy wheeze that made Shane think of a man who was on the verge of dying. It made him twist his head to the side to examine what was making such a desperate sound. To his surprise he had, but only a second to see his target, perhaps he had turned around to late or perhaps he was too fast for even Shane to accurately track…but it was Mikoto. The little 'Kid Coyote' was rushing across the landscape at an impressive pace. Shane smiled. Perhaps he had sold the guy too short…in terms of spirit and willpower…maybe Mikoto surpassed even Kraven. It would definitely prove to be a good fight. Shane smirked to himself and turned around, eager to leave this makeshift graveyard and return to the finish line to see who wins.

Shane was surprised to see his own boat had pulled itself ashore…he supposed there was no helping it though. They were losing, perhaps if there was a way to at least get in third he would tell them to get back in there and try harder, but it looked like the first four spots were occupied by Kraven's three ships and Mikoto's…plank. Shane sighed and immediately sat back down in his own chair. "Where did you run off to?" asked a girl's voice, Shane was about to moan he really wasn't in the mood to put up with Suzanne burrowing into his recent actions, he turned around about to tell her to buzz off, but to his surprise it wasn't Suzanne. It was Sage…he murmured something beneath his breath and shook his head clear.

"I was off kicking some weaklings' asses," he responded, totally bereft of any and all courtesy. He was the captain so such actions were to be expected. He was in charge, but still Sage felt a little insulted and she turned her head away and began moping. Shane groaned…Suzanne would probably have just picked herself right back up and responded with some snazzy comeback…and he could've dealt with that. Ignoring him and acting like she was in a funk…he didn't like that. He hoped Mikoto would win just so he would take her off of his hands. "I was just evening the playing field," he muttered, "this Davy Back Fight is boring enough without some weak ass team cheating to make sure they win." Kraven's ears seemed to perk up, hinting that he overheard Shane's insults, but he seemed fine with ignoring it. "No such thing as pirate spirit, anymore," finished Shane with a deep throated mutter.

Sage smiled, she supposed Shane was alright in the end. In terms of crews to get 'betted' off to the Dark Knight Pirates seemed like an…okay bunch. She could've gotten turned over to Trevor's crew…or Oz's…or Renvont's…or any of the other ten or so pirate crews they have battled. It was a shame that the first actually halfway decent pirate they met had to be interested in beating the crap out of them…then again it seemed like such a goal was becoming more and more common. "HEY!" shouted the announcer as he lifted his butt off of his seat and into the air, cutting through Sage's little worries.

"I see the first ship!" he shouted, the rest of the crowd turned to look down the path, squinting their eyes and focusing on the blurry horizon. Sure enough you could see it. Two ships chugging along the way, the Sea Charger and the combined ships, both of which were Kraven's. You could hear a collective sigh travel throughout the crowd, nobody liked it when somebody had no chance of losing won. There was no excitement, no flare. It was boring in the end. The rest of the crowd moped and began to turn away. Even Kraven seemed sure of their victory, because unbeknownst to him their attack plan had failed because of Shane. In other words, he had no idea that along the coastline the little Kid Coyote had already had the little ships in his sight. And more important than them…the finish line!

Mikoto's ambition had been verified, he could win this thing! He just needed to try a little harder! Pour the gas on at a little bit more! He couldn't hold back any more. It was all or nothing now! Another quick pump of his feet seemed to bring him a little bit closer and then another one. "**Rapid Fire X 2!" **shouted Mikoto pumping his leg forward, slamming a quick succession of two kicks with his left leg into the ground to propel him forward again. "And again!" Mikoto quickly fired another two kicks with his right leg, pushing himself further forward. He kept alternating the kicks to further push himself forward with each strike. He applied the force again and again, moving forward faster each time. He would cross that finish line first!

"Eh, wha-wha-what i-i-is this?" shouted the announcer as he found himself incapable of forming coherent words. "It can't be! It appears the Kid Coyote's stupidity has paid off! He is rounding the corner right behind the two ships! And even worse, it seems he is going faster! It looks like we may just have a come from behind victory in this race after all…but HOW? How I ask you! How is this possible!?"

"Don't underestimate my captain," said Ridley as he leaned back, "he'll get me and Sage back, just you wait and see." Kraven smiled…this wouldn't be any fun anyways if there wasn't a chance of the kid winning anyways. This just made it seem so much closer and would make the pain even worse. Ridley was still smiling, gleefully. He knew his captain could win, not only was he was faster than the ships, but he was also smarter. He was sticking to the inside track. The inside track had smaller turns and as a result cut down on the total distance all the way around. In other words, Mikoto was covering a lesser distance faster…he may have been off to a late start, but anyone could tell you that he would win. Ridley kicked back with a smile on his face.

"The two combatants are neck and neck! Neither side giving in to the opposing one! Neither side seems to be on the verge of losing! The Sea Charger tries to go a little faster, the eight arm engine is really pouring it on, but the 'It's Just a Plank' is working hard on overcoming it!" Mikoto kept rushing forward, his legs eventually pushing him forward, superior speed was what mattered in the end. And that was exactly what Mikoto possessed. Speed that not even ships could beat! And the willpower to keep it up all the way around the island! Mikoto passed the ships by and kept going, crossing the finished lines with seconds to spare! The Infinity Pirates finally won one. The scores were now tied. The Infinity Pirates: 1, the Ghost hook Pirates: 1, and the Dark Knight Pirates: 1. With only two events left.

**No Rest for the Weary**

Okay, ordinarily I would say something like good news, bad news...yeah, no good news...(sorry to be a negative Nelly around Christmas), but I lost my power due to an ice storm. Thick ice, no power, no telephone (the power company says no power till Saturday, yeah...). Anyways, camping out at a hotel wasn't going to upload a new chapter due to the suckage around here, but decided...what the hell. May not post for the rest of the week though.


End file.
